Clawhammer Question & Answer

I don't believe any that any one instrument is inherently more difficult than another, you'll get out of it exactly what you put into it.

A harmonica might seem very easy at first but if you want to eventually play like Howard Levy did when he worked with Bela Fleck, it suddenly becomes one of the hardest of instruments.

Clawhammer may come easier at first than Scruggs style, but if you ever want to join successfully in bluegrass or jazz jams, you'll probably have to work harder than three finger pickers who have a number of role models to pattern themselves after. Michael J. Miles is the only frailer I've yet heard who can hold their own on stage jamming with Bela Fleck. Does that make clawhammer harder than three finger style? I don't think so, I just think clawhammer is where bluegrass style was twenty years ago; waiting for another "Bela" to show us frailers the way.

You can devote your entire life trying to master any instrument and still just be scratching the surface of it's potential...










Thanks... Mike