Clawhammer and Scruggs style are two ways to play the same five-string banjo. In clawhammer, the hand strikes down on the strings with the back of a fingernail, and the thumb catches the fifth string. In Scruggs style, the thumb and two fingers pick up and across the strings in rolling patterns, wearing picks. Scruggs style is the sound of bluegrass. Clawhammer is the sound of old-time music.
At a glance
| Clawhammer | Scruggs style | |
|---|---|---|
| Hand motion | Down strokes | Thumb picks down, fingers pick up |
| Picks | None, in most cases | Thumb pick and two finger picks |
| Sound | Round, rhythmic, a little soft | Bright, fast, a steady stream of notes |
| Music | Old-time | Bluegrass |
| Usual banjo | Open back | Resonator |
| Role in a group | Plays the tune with the fiddle | Takes breaks and plays backup |
How clawhammer works
The hand holds a loose claw shape. It drops toward the strings, and the back of the index or middle fingernail strikes one string. The hand drops again and brushes across several strings. As the hand lands on that brush, the thumb comes to rest on the short fifth string. As the hand lifts, the thumb plucks it.
The basic rhythm has three sounds: strike, brush, thumb. Players say “bum-ditty” to count it.
All the finger strokes go down. That is the heart of the style. Some people call it frailing.
How Scruggs style works
The thumb, index finger, and middle finger pick single strings, one after the other, in patterns of eight notes called rolls. The thumb picks down. The two fingers pick up. A thumb pick and two metal finger picks make the notes loud and sharp.
The melody notes sit inside the rolls. The other notes fill the space around them, so the banjo sounds like it never stops.
Earl Scruggs brought this style to a wide audience when he joined Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in late 1945. Other players had used three-finger picking before him. His rolls, his timing, and his tone set the pattern that bluegrass banjo players follow. Read banjo rolls to learn first.
The sound
Clawhammer is a rhythm and melody style in one hand. The brush gives it a built-in beat. It sounds warm and steady, and it locks in with a fiddle.
Scruggs style is a lead style. It is louder and brighter, with more notes in each bar. It cuts through a full band.
The banjo
Both styles use a five-string banjo, and the same banjo can do both. Players tend to choose different instruments.
Bluegrass players use a banjo with a resonator, a wooden bowl on the back that throws the sound forward. It is loud and bright.
Clawhammer players often use an open-back banjo. It is lighter and has a softer, plunkier tone. Many set the strings a little higher above the fingerboard, which leaves room for the down stroke.
Read open back vs resonator banjo.
Tunings
Bluegrass players stay in open G tuning most of the time and use a capo for other keys. Read how to use a capo in a bluegrass jam.
Clawhammer players retune more often. They use several tunings to fit the key and the mood of a tune. This is one reason old-time jams stay in one key for a long stretch.
In a jam
In a bluegrass jam, the banjo player takes a solo break when the turn comes and plays backup the rest of the time. The circle expects rolls, vamping, and a banjo loud enough to lead. Read how to play banjo backup in a bluegrass jam.
In an old-time jam, nobody takes a solo. The clawhammer banjo plays the tune along with the fiddle, over and over. Read bluegrass vs old-time music.
A clawhammer player is welcome at most bluegrass jams. The style is quieter, so it works best as rhythm and on old fiddle tunes such as Old Joe Clark and Cluck Old Hen. A Scruggs style player at an old-time jam needs to ask first. Many old-time circles prefer no finger picks and no rolls.
Which is easier to learn
Neither is easy, and they are hard in different ways.
Clawhammer has one basic motion. That motion feels strange for the first few weeks. Once the hand has it, a player can back up simple tunes soon after.
Scruggs style feels more natural at first, since the fingers pluck the way most people expect. Getting the rolls even and fast takes a long time.
Which one to choose
Choose by the music you want to play and the people you want to play with.
If you want to play in bluegrass jams and take breaks, learn Scruggs style.
If you love old fiddle tunes and want to play them with a fiddler, learn clawhammer.
If you want to sing with a banjo alone at home, clawhammer gives a full sound from one instrument.
Many players learn one and then add the other. The left hand skills carry over. Listen to both before you decide.
Players to hear
For Scruggs style, start with Earl Scruggs, J.D. Crowe, and Sonny Osborne.
For older styles, hear Stringbean, who played with Bill Monroe before Scruggs, and Ralph Stanley, who played clawhammer as well as three-finger style.
For more on the instrument, see the bluegrass banjo guide and the list of bluegrass banjo players.