Alternate String Pull Off Deep Dive

Get comfortable for a deep exploration of the most beautiful technique in clawhammer banjo: the alternate string pull-off.
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[@richh1576]

I've been 'hammering' (high speed, sometimes at ~120 bpm) banjos (including all playing 'styles') for nearly 70+ years. THIS is one of your most important and well done presentations, ever !!! Much appreciated.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Thank so much, Rich!! This one was a long time in the making. If I had to remove all my vids but one, this one would stay I think. Best, Tom

[@Easternkyoutdoors781]

I've noticed a lot of banjo pickers in here in Eastern Kentucky whenever they would play drop thumb used that method pretty gratuitously, it make a good rhythm technique for it.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Interesting! Yeah, I love seeing all of these regional dialects of banjo playing. I learned this technique largely from recordings of folks in the Round Peak area of North Carolina. It really makes sense since a lot of them were fretless banjo players, and this works especially well for fretless. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!

[@zachb8012]

About this time every year I struggle with seasonal woes, exhausted with Winter with so much more to go in the Northern Rockies. This year my will to play music has suffered, though I make a point to play every day I'm just not feeling it and picking up new tunes has become a slog that's difficult to enjoy. I sorta had a break-through sitting here zoning-out on the pull off, where I started to feel it again, then had a good time revisiting old tunes and applying this improved technique to fit a succession of notes into bars felt clumsy 'til now. Maybe I need to stress less about what I'm going to play at the next open mic, focus on improving my fundamental techniques and enjoying how good it feels to play an instrument.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Zach, that is soooo cool to hear! Music has become a "practice" for me as much as a performance or a career. I love looping these simple banjo mantras: they ground me! Much love to you in the Northern Rockies. Winter always ends eventually, and those of us in colder parts of the world don't take mud season for granted!

[@zachb8012]

@@TomCollinsBanjo March winds gonna blow them Winter blues away. In our case it's more like May, but it still tracks. The days are getting longer.

[@fiddlepeg]

You are such a great teacher!! 😊🪕

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Awwww, thank you!!!! This vid took a lot of time to create, so I appreciate your comment!

[@josiahsterling7308]

Great timing. I've just been working on your first video. Happy to have more

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@streetlegal008]

Great content! I'm a guitar player, but I think I can learn some useful techniques from banjo style that I can adapt to my finger-style guitar playing. I've just started thinking about it from this angle, so I'm pretty excited. Anyway it's nice to listen to the banjo for a change!

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Ah, you're speaking my language!! I listen to mostly other instruments these days (especially electric guitar!) to bring ideas into banjo. So you and I are working in reverse! Let me know how the ASPO works on guitar, and thanks for watching!

[@RyanHirschberg-ryanhphoto]

I would love to see how you incorporate the aspo into a clawhammer song. 😀

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Hey Ryan....I use the ASPO in every song I play! Check my playlist of song performances on my channel. Roustabout has a ton of them. Also, I think every arrangement for BQ that I've done has ASPOs in them. I'm an ASPO nut!

[@steveweiss2081]

I use some aspo with acoustic and electric guitar, but not nearly to the extent that it’s commonly used with banjo. And it lends itself more to open tunings rather than standard guitar tuning.

[@barbarajacobs5549]

Mesmerizing! Thank you. Now to practice it…

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

You can do it, Barbara!

[@barbarajacobs5549]

Fretless practice also, thanks@@TomCollinsBanjo

[@joelerudit3755]

Excellent lesson Tom! I love this technique, it makes playing fast so much effortless. I have a question, for me it seems much more natural to do the pull-off using my middle finger. Would you recommend I still practice using the index finger for the pull off or is it more of a preference, like the index/middle finger preference for the right hand?

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Great question! One thing I didn't go into a whole lot of detail on is that this technique is also "finger agnostic". Use any finger that feels right (I often use my ring, which frees my index and middle to do other work between ASPOs). Thanks for the comment, Joel!

[@STP19]

Nice One Tom. Respect. STP

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Thank you, STP. Keep pickin'! Tommy

[@deeokeefe1602]

I love your videos, they have helped me greatly. Thanks! I have a question about this that I've not really seen addressed anywhere. I always get a whisper (well, sometimes more of a yell) of the fretted note that is "set" to make the pull off on the next note. It's like a little soft hammer on before the louder pulled off open string. So for example, if the 2nd fret is set to pull off to the open string, that 2nd fret note will sound, and I'm having a dickens of a time keeping it silent like yours appears to be. Any hints for dealing with that?

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Such a great question! The downstroke that is happening while you do your "set" with the fretting hand should cover up a lot of that phantom hammer-on sound that you're getting. Also, lightening up that fretting hand will help a lot. That phantom sound is usually an indication that you're "over playing" your fretting hand. Keep it loose, light and relaxed! Practice a few thousand reps slowly and report back here!! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Tom

[@LittleElvis967]

Would you recommend a set of strings for claw hammer banjo. I recently purchased an open back and feel the strings are too thin with not enough tone to them.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

That's a pretty common consensus. I like the Bill Keith Medium lights. They have a beefier 1st and 5th string and might help you fatten your tone a bit.

[@peterrandall9523]

@@TomCollinsBanjo Useful advice- thanks 🪕🇬🇧

[@JacobvsRex]

Omg. Discovering ASPO the last few days after 6-7 years of playing banjo is blowing my mind…..lol

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

So excellent! It's an absolute game changer. Thanks for your comment!

[@JacobvsRex]

Lol, Literally every song I know and play I'm re-evaluating now @@TomCollinsBanjo

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

@@JacobvsRex That's fantastic!!!

[@Weymann63]

Hi Tom, that's a great lesson. Just wondering how much, if any, fingernail there is in the pull off? or if the crispness of the pull off comes from a nicely toughened fingertip.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Great question! And I know why you're asking...in the second part of the video my isolated pull-off sounds a little ...twangy! I noticed it while editing. There should be zero nail in the pull-off! I thought about reshooting to fix that twang, but decided no one would notice. You won the official Golden Banjo Ears Award! Seriously though...keep the fretting nails short, and don't let them interfere with that pull-off! Cheers from Cape Ann! Tom

[@RyanHirschberg-ryanhphoto]

Is it alright to use the middle finger for the pull off? I find it easier, since the finger is longer, and I get a louder sound.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Totally! Use what feels comfortable and gives you the nicest tone.

[@benbavonese4362]

Can you hold chord shapes with this or is it just meant to be used on open G?

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

the ASPO is great for any tuning, but will have to be adapted to the different chord shapes.