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View Full Version : interesting instruction on two finger old time banjo



darylcrisp
Jun-01-2016, 8:47pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Pv-RmNzKQ


and a great version of Little Maggie in two finger style


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HY87CIgApQ

Tobin
Jun-02-2016, 8:10am
Thanks for posting these. I've been toying around with 2-finger thumb-lead style lately. Haven't done enough of it yet to really get comfortable with the movement (thumb lead is just ...weird for my clawhammer brain). But I'm definitely curious enough to want to give it a go. I just haven't been able to find much in the way of examples where it can be put to good use. The Thumb-Lead Banjer website (http://2ftlbanjer.wordpress.com/) is OK, but seems a bit limited in the tablature department. Not a lot of tunes there that I already know or play.

I'd love to see more examples of this style being put to good use!

keithb
Jun-03-2016, 1:46pm
I experimented a bit with thumb lead after watching these videos a few months ago.

I find it works well as a backup style, but I have trouble adapting clawhammer melodies to thumb lead.

darylcrisp
Jun-03-2016, 6:05pm
check out Chip Arnold. he plays a style that if memory is correct, came out of Gray, Tn(east ten). really nice guy you can contact, he teaches at some banjo seminars in the area thruout the year. this is an index lead finger style, sounds really good, and very much like smooth clawhammer.

this works well for me, transitioning from clawhammer to this index lead style.
Chip has more video available on youtube.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYVNc7k3ZGo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jijpb-aLweQ

keithb
Jun-04-2016, 9:01pm
Great stuff, darylcrisp. I'll be working on adding some of this to my repertoire for sure.

Tobin
Jun-13-2016, 8:39am
So I've been messing around some more with 2-finger thumb-lead playing. It's starting to get there, slowly but surely. It's always fun to build a new technique and be able to feel it coming together as the coordination gets better. Being honest, I struggle a bit with how many fingers to "plant" on the head when I'm only using my thumb and index. If I plant just my pinky, my middle and ring fingers sure do a lot of waggling around in the air, throwing off my accuracy. But if I plant my ring finger alongside my pinky, it seems to constrain my hand's sense of freedom. I'll figure it out, I guess, but it's tough to decide which way to go at this point.

I love the idea of switching back and forth on the melody of a tune between clawhammer and 2FTL, for a wider variety of sound within the same piece of music. This is a really good example of what I want to be able to do with it:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQTB0wBk-04



I experimented a bit with thumb lead after watching these videos a few months ago.

I find it works well as a backup style, but I have trouble adapting clawhammer melodies to thumb lead.

I agree. I wish there were more examples out there of playing standard OT tunes in this style. I've tried to adapt a couple, but they just don't seem to work too well.