Clifton Hicks Banjo Q&A #37

[@CliftonHicksbanjo]

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[@HiNinqi]

Lord that banjo is absolutely gorgeous close up. Whatever woods those are and the head together look great!

[@bserk5]

I never considered lowering the pitch to my range but keeping the same intervals. Thanks a ton, this banjo really feels like it meshes now.

[@raymoore6277]

Thanks for the answer Clifton. Have been playing 'Fair Damsel' from your tutorial, wonderful tune and song, it's great to alternate styles of playing, though I like the 2 finger style you teach it in.

[@Weymann63]

Interesting piece. Worth noting that as the bridge migrates towards the rim, so does the nut, giving you a shorter neck and more compact instrument, which has advantages. Also the tone will be a little brighter, helping those old gut strings project amongst other instruments.

[@robkunkel8833]

Thanks about the adjustable tailpiece. It was pushing down. Just never thought about it. 🏆. “German Silver”. Period humor. 🏆👍🏼

[@kingsolomon4392]

Plz make a video on what tunings match what keys for improvisation! I hear you said if the guitar is in Drop D, you would use D tuning/ Rueben tuning on the banjo to match.

[@timothyterman7810]

Good answers. Thanks. Especially concerning chords. I play a lot of chords, with single note melody here and there. It's not oldtime, but works for me.

[@CliftonHicksbanjo]

I, too, will chord when I feel it sounds right.

[@Jjboneyard]

Really sounds pretty Scruggsy when you play Reuben even though you only have 2 fingers

[@sysunflower7764]

Thanks for great info. About retuning to make a song as easy as possible to play, do you have any advice on how to know which tuning that would be best for a song? For example, I'm at the moment trying to learn a song that goes Am, G, F, Dm and there's also an Em. That makes a lot of hard chords to fret when in open G.

[@robkunkel8833]

😀. Excellent advice on the bass string. Nobody teaches that. 🛠🌴Some Smithsonian Public Radio aired a piece about music from the beginning of time and the development of the bass and it’s reproduction revolutionized music the narrator explained with great examples.

[@zachsmith5399]

I really like this banjo, do you remember what it is?

[@zachsmith5399]

maybe Pisgah?

[@davestambaugh7282]

Everyone knows how because they heard that lyric"strumin on the old banjo. On the tenor you are supposed to strum or scrub as it wer but not on five string.

[@davestambaugh7282]

Before the turn of the century there were a few folks who wanted to strum with a pick. They took the fifth string off and kept the open cord tuning. After a wile someone got tired of the useless fifth peg so they started making banjos with four strings and the plectrum banjo was born.

[@mattevans297]

I would add the following advice: just as you want to follow through over the first string onto the head, when you play the inside strings you want to follow through onto the adjacent string. So, when you play the second string, your fingernail should be stropped by the first string, making it move just a little. Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, or is just plain obvious.

[@CliftonHicksbanjo]

I've actually never mentioned that but it's worth noting. I would give that advise to a new guitarist, but with banjo pickers I find it simpler to advise people to try followin-through onto the hide when striking _any_ string. That has the effect of making them focus on striking _into_ the banjo (not across it) and if you follow through onto the hide your finger will be touching that adjacent string anyway.