I have a couple songs that I flatpick/strum on my guitars that I want to play on my 6-string banjos. But strumming most of my 6-string banjos with a flatpick just creates an insane cacophony. (My old Rogue 6-string, backless, was an exception, but its strings were so close together, that was about all it was good for.)
So while I was practicing with my 6-string banjo the other day, I tried playing it clawhammer-style and discovered that it worked very well, even "down-picking" individual notes with the back of my fingernail. I'm still not getting the individual strings as consistently as I would like, but I'm getting them most of the time, and that's close enough for this song.
And no, I'm not going to send my Deering 6-string back to the factory and ask them to put a "frailing scoop" in the thing.
Anyone else out there clawhammering on a 6-string banjo? If you haven't signed up, please use the contact link below to respond.
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