Clawhammer Question & Answer

My opinion page addressing inquiries concerning clawhammer technique.



I'm overwhelmed with the number of tunings that clawhammer banjo players seem to use. Which tunings do you tend to use the most?


I primarily use six tunings and have tuning charts and chord charts for all six on my website. You can find them in the "instruction" section of my clawhammer tab page. I love them all as each seems to have a unique quality that makes certain songs just "come alive". That being said...

I use "G" and "Open C" much more than the other four tunings listed on my site. Interestingly enough, I probably use Open C Tuning (gCGCE) as much as G Tuning. This may be due to the fact that I'm a baritone and sing a lot of songs in "C" and "D". Open C Tuning works much better (at least for me) when playing a chordal style backup than does "Double C".



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Thanks... Mike



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