Banjo lesson #2 - First chord and tune. (Beginners tutorial - frailing / clawhammer banjo)

These tutorials are designed for complete beginners on how to play frailing (clawhammer) banjo. In this episode we build on the basic frailing strum by adding the D7 chord and playing a simple tune using G and D7.
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Hey everyone :) Welcome to the banjo ranks! I'm Banjo Jen - a singer-songwriter from Sheffield in the UK. I don't really play loads of old tunes (even though they're cool) and I don't focus overly on too much theory or technical aspects. But I use the wonderful frailing banjo style to play and create songs, and - most importantly - to play for fun. So I hope that I can help you to do the same thing and get enjoyment out of this fab instrument if you're just starting out (just be aware you will always be the butt of jokes in folk music circles if you play the banjo!). Please join me in the uphill struggle to make banjo cool!
If you're interested in my original singer-songwriter material, please check out my website www.banjojen.com and subscribe to my main KZbin channel / banjojen . Thank you :)
Other links:
Facebook: / banjojenmusic
Instagram: / banjojen
Twitter: / banjojen
Bandcamp: banjojen.bandc...
Spotify: open.spotify.c...
These tutorials are of course available for free, but if you feel that you'd like to contribute anything, obviously any donations to poor banjo players are always appreciated in these tough times! My PayPal account is www.paypal.me/... for any of those exceptionally lovely humans :)
And finally, always remember …pick tunes not fights!
Jen xx

[@dotmargrave]

I’m 74 years old, I’ve just got myself a banjo I just love your music lessons they’re so easy to follow alone to many thanks.

[@TaterBisket45]

Got my first banjo in the mail yesterday, practiced the bum diddy bum all last night and now im half way playing , im so excited , thank you a million times!! 😊😊

[@tracyportersr]

I'm in my first week of learning clawhammer. I've watched 4 other instrcutors on KZbin before happening upon your channel. I just wanted to tell you that you are the best instructor I've come across for a beginning clawhammer player without any previous string instrument experience. You present in a systematic crawl, walk run method that is easy for me to understand. I look forward to learning the first song as well as future lessons.

[@irishsnowqueen]

Well put. I fully agree. I also found this to be the best instructions yet.

[@ralfhoffmann5677]

How nice to have someone English for a change!

[@nyartist]

She is so incredibly charming and has great way of teaching. I've been playing clawhammer for 10 years and still I get things from her videos. Kind of relearning things.

[@amandasanders1141]

Thank you! Just hired a banjo and this is really clear and useful 😊

[@jacobrobinson59]

To be honest I don't even really listen to much banjo or folk music. Banjo just always seemed like the most fun instrument to play by yourself/out camping/possibly at a hoe down. Thanks for the lessons. I really appreciate your teaching style. 2 days in and I already sound like I kind of know how to play :D

[@paulmarkowski9794]

Thank you Jen, you had me as an admirer at Good Dogs Get Biscuits Daily! Just hearing that one time made standard tuning a lock in my brain. Also referencing Patrick Costello and other online instruction is so helpful. Nearing my first year with my resonator Goodtime and have a dozen bluegrass songs memorized but still improving on- and thought 2-finger thumb lead and frailing would be nice to become familiar with. Getting to a song in the second lesson makes practicing the technique so much more enjoyable- that you! Of all my half-dozen or more online instructors, you are by far the prettiest and have the nicest singing voice. Thank you for making these videos.

[@randybradley1251]

Hey Jen, I discovered your lessons while donating platelets and I love em. I about rolled out of the chair laughing when your British accent made me think of the pun, "Skip to my loo"! 🤣 I was delighted to get home so I could play along and I feel like I'm making good progress. Thanks!

[@anthonymilesmusic]

Great lesson! Working my way through your course! Thank you!

[@sman7099]

Really loving this series! Thank you, Jen.

[@irishsnowqueen]

You are wonderful. Thank you so much for making this so easy to understand. You’re an excellent teacher! I reluctantly played guitar for 25 years for something to sing to. But the moment i held a banjo something woke in me. Love at first touch and sound. It’s so exciting to be finally singing to an instrument i love to play. And I’m sounding not horrible because of you. 😉❤️

[@shadowshadow2485]

Thanks for your lessons , very helpful ,thank you so much, 70yrs old ,moe

[@jgmusicjgmusic7883]

Hi Jen I'm one of those trying guitar players trying to un pick to do the bum chitty failing down stroke method my brain gets fried but you do help a lot. Thanks

[@johnaslin2635]

Jen you are a really good Teacher and brill to Watch

[@shadyskipper2697]

Cheers, thx for this great lesson!

[@mikeclarke9281]

This is a great lesson, i shall practice this before moving on, thank you

[@jmbishop8863]

You are an absolute delight. So glad I found your channel. I subscribed at once. Wonderful spirit about you. Lovely young woman. Thank you

[@gerryhicks6849]

Keep up the good work

[@ThePiercedOne]

Finally someone sharing the wonderful world of claw hammer banjology! Everyone knows Banjo is the most fun instrument to play! Looking forward to future videos once you get past my current skill level currently “mediocre but enthusiastic” put it this way I can knock out a passable cripple creek and if you’re looking for someone to bring her round the mountains when she comes, I’m your man! Hit a bit of a glass ceiling with my self teaching ability, chords are no bother but working out melody is very hard for my non musical brain!

[@frailingatlife7755]

Thanks Symon! 'Mediocre but enthusiastic' is great, ha! Yeah, I'll build it up gradually and add in the little tricks that make it sound like we're doing way more than we're actually doing, so even if you're not doing that much extra, people believe you're more advanced! It's how I get away with it! I consider myself mediocre but a good illusionist!! It's always good to go back to basics first though anyway - for a few days I've been working out what to cover and in which order etc and I think it's made my own playing better by revisiting all the basics! :)

[@ThePiercedOne]

Frailing at life I think the trickiest thing for beginners such as myself is having knowledge of the traditional trailing tunes. I’ve found that’s the main reason I hit a wall with my playing as much of KZbin etc seems to be tutorials on bluegrass or Scruggs styles and with a lack of frailing tutors in uk it appears but I find it so much fun discovering old time tunes. In the end though my philosophy is it doesn’t matter how good you are as long as you enjoy it and it’s a laugh!

[@frailingatlife7755]

@@ThePiercedOne Absolutely, it has to be fun or there's no point! Look up Patrick Costello and Clifton Hicks if you haven't already, their channels are gold mines!

[@ThePiercedOne]

Frailing at life used Patrick’s channel for a while and worked through his how and Tao book. Haven’t heard of Clifton but will check it out. Thanks

[@HarryJVick]

Hey Jen, I'm having a little trouble with thumb positioning. I seem to naturally rest my thumb on the 5th string, essentially muting it every time after I play that string. Am I meant to do this or should I adjust my position slightly so that the 5th can really ring out better without being muted in my adopted position?

[@banjobobby1]

Your beat counting 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &1 etc works for me too! Although I can easily do it, the more traditional 1, 2 ...and... 3,4 never seems to fit with anything. A separate question please Jen Can the reggae beat be replicated on a banjo? I know it can be an a ukulele, because I can just about do it!

[@frailingatlife7755]

It's tricky to do using frailing, as the emphasis in reggae is on the 'and' beats rather than the main ones so you have to emphasise the strum - but also reggae uses a very 'chopped' shortened strum so you have to mute the strings after you've struck them by lifting your fingers off the fretboard. There are some good tutorials for reggae on guitar on KZbin so you could look at those and try to adapt the banjo stroke :)

[@MeatPrison5557]

[16:07] for full playthrough of the song when rehearsing

[@garettpatria]

I love you!

[@DG5466]

Great lesson ! although I can do this with the melody my claw hammer hand looks a bit weird as I down stroke with the index finger whilst the other fingers rest on the head! my thumb is still against the 5th string and the index with the downstroke is like a rest stroke against the next string (like B-D) it rests. but it feels comfortable although not the classic claw hammer shape I can work up speed. Is this okay to have a slightly unorthodox hand shape? Thanks, love the video one of the best I've seen ( I have been playing for about 5 months (played guitar for years)

[@frailingatlife7755]

It's fine to play with whatever hand shape feels comfortable. It sounds like resting your fingers on the head would keep your hand more static (as it does in more picking / bluegrass style) so it may limit your wrist movement which you usually need more of in clawhammer, but if it's working for you that's the main thing!

[@dukemjjjjj]

Marsha - you are quite good and I hope to get there someday yet I struggle with getting from the rhythm (bum..tiddy ..bum….tiddy ) to the tune notes (left hand.) and was hoping you could tell me how to resolve that issue?

[@padraicsnype2714]

Can one play just single notes if not able to form vhords

[@simonmorgan1971]

I have only just caught up with this series. Do you deaal woth strumming iin 3/4 time as well as 4/4?

[@frailingatlife7755]

You must be psychic - have been planning on doing that for the next tutorial when I get time! :)

[@simonmorgan1971]

@@frailingatlife7755 Not psychic but frustrated! I am trying to get a handle on that great old Irish song, 'The Wild Rover' but the 3/4 time makes it very difficult. Please let me know when you post your tutorial.

[@perrybucsdad]

That's not a pickup... that's a banjo belly button :)

[@luisrened1308]

Where are you from?

[@frailingatlife7755]

Sheffield UK :)

[@wipper2898]

Highigan

[@williamfitch1137]

I couldn't understand your name! Would you spell it out Please?