Elements of Round Peak Banjo: Part 1

An introductory look at Round Peak clawhammer banjo focusing on the alternate string pull-off technique.

[@rufus9628]

Impossible to find a banjo teacher in south Italy. I'm learning with you :) thx

[@FretlessFury]

Hi Rufus, Thanks so much for the comment! My wife was an Italian major in college so she reminded me to say grazie!

[@CalmedByNature]

Watching this 12 1/2 years after you made this. thank you!

[@FretlessFury]

Thanks for commenting! Glad you enjoyed.

[@briandonnelly3052]

watching this 16 years after you made this video.

[@FretlessFury]

whew! Time flies, Brian. Thanks for watching!

[@jimmyhudson6993]

Thanks, Tom. I'm a new player who is focused on Round Peak. I really appreciate your excellent tutelage. These videos really help.

[@hikrose]

You are a natural, awesome teacher. Sensei. Mahalo.

[@banjodr1]

Thank you Tom, a very well-done session.

[@LynzM31]

This is a great video - I'm just getting started on clawhammer and probably don't need another thing to work on yet, but I'm definitely going to bookmark this for later. Your style is wonderful and you're a great teacher, too :)

[@banjoape]

Thanks, this is great! Looking forward to part II

[@canerods]

Valuable information!! Thanks for the great job in explaining Round Peak!

[@Tm0g762]

Excellent playing and instruction. Subscribed! Thanks for your hard work.

[@FretlessFury]

Awesome, thank you Thomas!

[@TVonthetubesyo]

Great intro! Thanks for sharing.

[@StevePlaysBanjo]

Thanks! This more clearly explains the unusual notation I was seeing in Mile Krassen's book Clawhammer Banjo

[@FretlessFury]

Glad it was useful, Steve! I'm going to be uploading some more lessons in the not-so-distant future. Don't change that dial!

[@anthonynoonan7846]

Thanks Tom well explained , great lesson .

[@juliancrouch]

Amazingly generous of you to share your experience like this. I am a big fan of your playing. You should hear my pathetic attempts at your version of Breakin' Up Christmas....

[@amycatestl]

This was very helpful. Thank you!

[@zeppmusic]

Very helpful, Tom. I'll surely be pointing my students to your video(s)! Looking forward to more... Cheers, ZEPP

[@glennmeyer4539]

Hi Tom really enjoying these videos thanks

[@FretlessFury]

Very welcome!

[@stagelifelv9324]

Beautiful!

[@FretlessFury]

Thank you!

[@STP19]

Excellent; from West Lancashire, United Kingdom, bought a fretless Sweeny Banjo fron one of your Countrymen, (also got hold of the Book you recommended). Many thanks for the clear instruction. STP

[@Dylan20]

Thank you! You cleared up a question that I've been wondering about for a year now: How do some banjo players do that single-note style without the brush stroke? I learned two things just now: That this is indeed round peak style, and how to do it!

[@FretlessFury]

You're welcome, Dylan! Thanks for the comment.

[@SirCoughsalot]

Very helpful. Thank you. I am trying hard to improve my banjo playing.

[@yoppykyabetsu]

Excellent!

[@Stev187]

Awesome, Tom!

[@davidtaylor7875]

Brilliant - I felt Really Dumb until I found this - Got It thanks

[@anthonynoonan7846]

Great lesson thank you.

[@CrowBanjo37]

Tom - Great video thanks!

[@gabriel_kyne]

Hi Tom, do you have any plans to continue this series? Great work you're doing, thanks for what you've posted already.

[@MrMikeEdie]

I'm very grateful for this. Thanks :-)

[@fredquann2796]

Very interesting and well done

[@FretlessFury]

Thank you kindly, Fred! This was soooo long ago. Glad it's still helping folks out.

[@LyndaNorth]

Thanks, I just read about this on Banjo Hangout. This is great instruction and technique.

[@FretlessFury]

Thank you so much, Lynda!

[@chipwalton1]

thats a great job

[@FretlessFury]

Lots of folks have started on fretless banjos, so it's certainly doable. I still recommend that most people start with a fretted banjo because you just have a lot less to worry about, and can be up and making music in short order. Best, Tom

[@Polyinstrumentalism]

This is probably from two things. First may be that you're using a capo, which makes it a little more likely that you'll end up fretting the "second" fret when you are only trying to pull off from it. The other tip would be to try and pull off from the empty spot on the fretboard instead of from directly on top of the string. Hope this helps.

[@meritcooper]

that is great help. I play bluegrass but love clawhammer. This will help me try it. - Meritcooper BHO

[@georgewills3682]

Thanks Tom. Wonderfully clear. I'm not sure when you play the variations at the end though, whether you continue to pull off on the first string. Your left hand looks like it stays in the same place - but I'd like to be certain. George

[@AvoidingChores]

Going DEEP in the archives for extra work during boot camp :)

[@somarmd]

Tom, awesome instruction! Thank you for posting. I have been wondering how to create that sound on the banjo. I actually have Round Peak Style by Brad Leftwhich. For me it was easier to understand watching your teaching. At some point I will be able to go back to Brad's book with a better understanding. Thank again!

[@Hottub111]

this is great, im subscribing~

[@joelfafard]

thank you!

[@baanjoguy]

Thanks Tom.

[@younglife99]

Awesome. Thanks so much. I started playing clawhammer about a year ago (and fiddle 4 years ago) and it's interesting to see my interests begin to focus. I'm going to push into round peak banjo. Thanks again.

[@tastas3880]

Thank you

[@FretlessFury]

Welcome!

[@tastas3880]

@@FretlessFury im on a gourd banjo and i have a minstrel banjo... 3 years playing

[@sazji]

Thanks from me too; I wonder if you might also recommend some good recordings of round peak style banjo and the banjo/fiddle combo you mentioned?

[@lordofthecake]

taught with zen like clarity compared to some, excellent job

[@FretlessFury]

That's so kind of you, Richard! Thanks! This is such an old video. I hope you check out my newer material. I feel like my teaching has improved a lot since I published this years ago. Cheers!

[@ArkRed1]

Nice soundin' banjer.

[@Banjer]

Tom..I hope you develop you series...it is very interesting....Ciao :)

[@jasperdoestheastro]

I love your instructional videos, but I seem to be having a problem with the basic Round Peak strumming pattern. I'm playing a fretted banjo, and everytime I do the pulloff on the first string, I get a note instead of an open string. Is this because I'm doing it too hard, or because I have a fretted banjo?

[@traviswilliams]

To Tom and all the other players here....I am a bass and sax player. It is time to learn banjo. I love the sound of the fretless and am wondering if it would be best to start on a fretted or just jump right into a fretless? Thanks for any thoughts.

[@bsctfa]

Just starting out--what's the tuning on the open chord?

[@richardperry6086]

What tuning are you in.

[@matthewmoore2495]

I would give this two likes if I could!

[@FretlessFury]

Thanks, Matthew! Be sure to check my newer vids as I've learned a lot since this one went live. Cheers! Tom

[@banjofrailing3813]

Where did the name "Round Peak" come from? Great session.

[@stevenp748]

Banjofrailing My understanding is that the name comes from a place in North Carolina called Round Peak, where this particular style is said to have originated.

[@clawhammer704]

Round Peak is a community in Surry Co., North Carolina. That area is part of the foothills of the mountains so the tall hills do have a more rounded looking shape from the mountains. That's from my observation. I grew up in the county over from Surry Co. My father was from Yadkin Co. and my mother was from Surry Co., Dobson community.

[@robkunkel8833]

Grazie... è altrettanto difficile da trovare un insegnante di banjo nelle US Isole Vergini. Come sta il mio italiano (ap)?

[@riverwindflutes]

Whats the tuning on your banjo?

[@stevenp748]

riverwindflutes The tuning is shown in the beginning of the video, around 6 seconds in. Looks like standard tuning but up by a whole step (open A instead of open G).

[@eikogo]

dont whine just be a pro and play like a beast lolololomg

[@alexhickey5633]

Have you ever played a merlin banjo?

[@FretlessFury]

Hey Alex...I was just writing you a reply on my other vid when I saw you posted this. I haven't played a Merlin, but I've long admired them. They're the ones with aluminum necks, right? Apparently they were made to a very high standard. I hope to play one some day.

[@alexhickey5633]

Tom Collins haha thats gas. Theyre all aluminium except the pot. The fingerboard is ebony. I dont think theyre a high end banjo at all. Theyre more of a collectors item tbh. Very unique sound and super rare. Of the 260 ever made only 100 are said to still exist. Im looking for one myself! Luke Kelly from the dubliners played one for almost 20 years until it exploded on stage

[@kinky_Z]

It's funny - back when I was doing these banjo moves back in the 60s/70s, we called it "frailing." Period. We didn't call it bump ditty or round peak. We just frailed with various tension and emotion to get this same shit without patenting a "name" like "bump ditty" or "round peak." Seems so pretentious...no offense. I appreciate the uploads.

[@FretlessFury]

Hey Patricia, thanks for the comment. Round Peak really refers to a place where the players developed a specific style of playing. This style of playing was alive and well in the 60's and 70's, but not as widely known as it is now. It's just a way to name and understand regional styles of banjo playing. There are lots of ways to play clawhammer banjo, so taking a look at different regional styles can really help you a.) find the sounds you love and b.) learn how to play the instrument differently than you might have come up with on your own. "Bump ditty" isn't patented by any means...it's just a way to describe the basic rhythm that these players adhered to. I hope I've clarified. Let me know if I haven't! Best of luck to you!

[@rpatt100]

Excellent!