Clawhammer Question & Answer

In one music theory course I took, the instructor started out his first lecture with a statement that has stuck with me for 25 years. He said "music theory is simply an attempt to explain what musicians have been playing intuitively for thousands of years".

Put into plain english: if it sounds good to you, it's theoretically correct. So I guess the answer to your question is - you may have to learn a little theory but not much!

That being said, it is nice to know why what you're playing is sounding so good! If you take the time to learn some basic theory, you can then apply any technique or musical phrase you happen to like to a variety of different musical situations and banjo tunings.










Thanks... Mike