- Source: Claw hammer
- Source: Clawhammer
- Source: Claw Hammer
A claw hammer is a hammer primarily used in carpentry for driving nails into or pulling them from wood. Historically, a claw hammer has been associated with woodworking, but is also used in general applications. It is not suitable for heavy hammering on metal surfaces (such as in machining work), as the steel of its head is somewhat brittle; the ball-peen hammer is more suitable for such metalwork.
An early claw hammer is seen in Albrecht Dürer's etching "Melencolia I," dated 1514, halfway up the left side. There are several nails in the lower right corner.
Design
A claw hammer is composed of a metal head and a handle, which historically was made of wood but also may be of steel, fiberglass, or other composite. One side of the head has a poll with either a smooth or textured surface and used for driving, while the other is formed into a pair of downward curving V-shaped claws and used for prying — most commonly extracting nails from wood. The greater the curve of the claw(s), and longer the handle, the greater the leverage that may be applied.
Types
Claw hammers can be constructed many ways but generally come in one of two forms. The first, and most popular, type of hammer is the two-piece hammer. This hammer is constructed from a forged steel head with a hole for fixing a handle. One end is made to fit the hole in the hammer head, then a steel wedge is driven into the wood which forces it to expand and secure the hammer head to the handle. Other handle materials include glass fiber and even carbon fiber.
Another type of claw hammer is single-piece forged heat-treated steel where the head and handle are integral. These hammers often have polymer grips to add to their ergonomics and decrease vibrations when the hammer is used.
Another type of claw hammer is the framing hammer. This is an oversized claw hammer used in framing carpentry. The larger and heavier head can decrease the number of blows required to fully drive a nail, minimized further by increased leverage (torque) and head speed generated by longer handles. Framing hammers also characteristically have a checkered "milled" face, which reduces skip-off of the head if the blow is not precisely struck on the nail. The slight indentations left on the wood by the checkered face are considered unimportant in rough carpentry. Framing hammers also have a much straighter claw than regular claw hammers, as the claw is designed more for prying nailed boards apart, rather than removing nails (though its claw can also be used in that capacity).
The size of this type of hammer is commonly designated by the weight of its head, which may range from 7–32 oz (200–910 g).
References
Bibliography
Hazra Choudhary, A text book on workshop technology
Clawhammer, sometimes called down-picking, overhand, or most commonly known as frailing, is a distinctive banjo playing style and a common component of American old-time music. The style likely descends from that of West African lutes, such as the akonting which are also the direct ancestors of the banjo.
The principal difference between clawhammer style and other styles is the picking direction. Traditional picking styles (classic banjo), including those for folk, bluegrass, and classical guitar, consist of an up-picking motion by the fingers and a down-picking motion by the thumb; this is also the technique used in the Scruggs style for the banjo. Clawhammer picking, by contrast, is primarily a down-picking style. The hand assumes a claw-like shape and the strumming finger is kept fairly stiff, striking the strings by the motion of the hand at the wrist or elbow, rather than a flicking motion by the finger. In its most common form on the banjo, only the thumb and middle or index finger are used and the finger always downpicks, hitting the string with the back of the fingernail. By contrast, the thumb rests on the fifth string with the downpick motion, and is often released in a lighter up-pick to create the distinctive clawhammer sound.
This style of down-picking is also the traditional technique used to play the akonting, called o'teck (literally, "to stroke"). Given that the banjo was the folk instrument of African Americans before its wider spread, the clawhammer would thus be a descendant style of o’teck and related West African techniques.
Although much traditional clawhammer banjo playing is highly rhythmic, it typically includes elements of melody, harmony, rhythm and percussion. The varied playing styles emphasize these elements to different degrees, sometimes changing the emphasis during the performance of a single tune. The possibilities include sounding individual melodic notes, strumming harmonic chords, strumming and picking to produce rhythmic and percussive effects on the strings, as well as making percussive effects by brushing or thumping the thumb or fingers upon the banjo head or skin. This diverse range of musical sounds and effects gives clawhammer banjo its artistic solo potential in addition to its traditional role as a rhythmic accompaniment to other musicians. In particular, the duo of a fiddler playing melody alongside a driving clawhammer accompanist once served as a basic Appalachian dance band, as recalled by Ralph Stanley in his autobiography, Man of Constant Sorrow.
Technique
A common characteristic of clawhammer patterns is the thumb does not pick on the downbeat, as one might in typical fingerpicking patterns for guitar. For example, this is a common, basic 2/4 pattern:
A fingerpicked melody quarter note on the downbeat,
Other strings strummed with the fingers, for a total of roughly an eighth note starting on the upbeat,
A thumbpicked eighth note, usually on the shorter fifth string, to complete the bar.
Here, the thumb plays the high drone on the second "and" of "one and two and". This combined with the middle finger strumming provides a characteristic "bum-ditty bum-ditty" banjo sound, whether actually played on a banjo or on a guitar.
The fretting hand also comes into play in this approach to playing banjo. The fretting hand can hammer, pull off, slide and bend individual and groups of strings. This can create the illusion that the picking hand is doing something more than down-picking.
Clawhammer vs. frailing
While the terms "clawhammer" and "frailing" can be used interchangeably, some old-time players draw a distinction between the two. Some players further distinguish between "drop-thumb" and "clawhammer." The term "double-thumbing" is sometimes used interchangeably with "drop-thumbing," though double thumbing refers specifically to striking the fifth string after every beat rather than every other beat, while drop thumbing refers to dropping the thumb from the 5th drone string down to strike a melody note.
Confusing the nomenclature further are the many older traditional terms which include "overhand," "knockdown", "hoedown," "down-picking," "rapping," "beating," "stroke style," and "clubbing." This is reflective of the informality of old-time music in general, as each player develops an idiomatic style.
On guitar
Although both "clawhammer" and "frailing" are primarily used to refer to banjo styles, the terms do appear with reference to guitar. Jody Stecher was the first guitarist to record in the style, as accompaniment for the song "Red Rocking Chair" on his recording, A Song that Will Linger, with Kate Brislin.
Fingerstyle guitarist Steve Baughman distinguishes between frailing and clawhammer as follows. In frailing, the index fingertip is used for up-picking melody, and the middle fingernail is used for rhythmic downward brushing. In clawhammer, only downstrokes are used, and they are typically played with one fingernail as is the usual technique on the banjo.
Alec Stone Sweet describes the clawhammer technique in the liner notes to "Tumblin' Gap: Clawhammer Guitar Solos": "There are five characteristics of the way I play clawhammer. First, every specific note played by the right hand is produced either by the index finger or the thumb. Second, no note is ever plucked; each is played either with the thumb, or by striking down on a string with the nail of the index finger. Third, the index finger never plays off the beat, and the thumb never plays on the beat. This feature of clawhammer technique gives the music a heavier – and, to my ear, more natural – drive than it would have if it were played, say, as melody over an alternating bass. There is one exception to this rule: variations on a common clawhammer banjo lick (that you can hear on the climatic high notes of the second part of Polly Put the Kettle On, and the third part of Joke on the Puppy) when the thumb plays on beat. Fourth, for any piece, most of the notes are produced by the left hand, in combinations of slides, hammers, and pull-offs; slurs can occur on or off the beat. Fifth, I play in multiple tunings, and sometimes replace the sixth string bass with a high sixth string treble (of the same gauge employed for the first string). The banjo player will realize that I use my thumb on the bass strings to obtain drones, much as a clawhammer player uses the banjo’s high fifth string; indeed, when I string the guitar with a high treble in place of the sixth-string bass, it is partly to imitate the fifth string of the banjo. In many of the tunes, I keep multiple drones going, on different strings. To sum up, in my version of clawhammer guitar, the thumb plays off the beat, even when it plays harmony bass notes or bass lines; no strings are ever plucked; with respect to the right hand, only the index finger and the thumb sound notes, but never at the same time. What is incredible is how much full textured sound one finger, one thumb, and left hand slurs can generate."
Players in this down-picking style include Jody Stecher, Barbecue Bob, Ola Belle Reed, Alec Stone Sweet, Steve Baughman, and Michael Stadler.
Another usage of "clawhammer" in guitar circles refers to a style in which the pinky finger or the pinky and ring fingers are used to brace the hand and the index finger, middle finger, and thumb are used to pluck the strings. The index and middle fingers are held in a claw shape and they do resemble the two prongs of a claw hammer, but this is an uncommon and arguably incorrect usage of the term "clawhammer". See fingerpicking.
On ukulele
The clawhammer banjo technique works quite well on a ukulele in the standard GCEA tuning, especially playing in the key of C or the key of G. Since, like the 5-string banjo, there is a string that is higher pitched on the opposite side, the same technique results in the same sound.
See also
Carter Family picking
Dan Levenson (musician)
References
Further reading
Rosenbaum, Art. "The Art of the Mountain Banjo." Mel Bay Publications, 1999. (ISBN 0786633786).
Seeger, Pete. "How to Play the 5-String Banjo." Published by the author. Beacon, NY. (ISBN 1597731641). Introduces a variety of banjo styles and techniques.
Leftwich, Brad. "Round Peak Style Clawhammer Banjo" Published by Mel Bay Publications, 1999 (ISBN 0786629029, ISBN 978-0786629022).
External links
Clawhammer forum
Claw Hammer was an American indie rock band from California. Claw Hammer formed in 1986 in Long Beach, California; its members were from several neighboring municipalities. Their name was taken from a Captain Beefheart song. The group released a cassette and some small-issue EPs and singles before signing to Sympathy for the Record Industry, who released their debut LP, an eponymous effort, in 1990. In 1991 they did an album entirely covering Devo's 1978 Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!. The group signed to Epitaph Records for their 1993 release, Pablum. In 1994, Claw Hammer performed as the backing band on Wayne Kramer's Epitaph release, The Hard Stuff. Jumping to major label Interscope, they released two more LPs, the last being 1997's Hold Your Tongue (and Say Apple). The group played live until 2000.
A reunion show was held on September 13, 2013, at The Echo in Echo Park, Los Angeles.
Personnel
Jon Wahl – guitar, vocals
Chris Bagarozzi – guitar
Rob Walther – bass (1987–2000)
Dave Valdez – bass (1986–1987)
Sean Edwards – drums (1986–1987)
Rick Sortwell – drums (1987–1991)
Bob Lee – drums (1991–2000)
Discography
= Albums
=Get Yer Za Za Yout (cassette) (Trigon Records, 1990)
Claw Hammer (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1990)
Double Pack Whack Attack EP (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1990)
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Not Devo (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1991)
Ramwhale (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1991)
Pablum (Epitaph Records, 1993)
Thank the Holder Uppers (Interscope Records, 1995)
'Scuse the Excursion (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1996)
Hold Your Tongue (and Say Apple) (Interscope Records, 1997)
Deep in the Heart of Nowhere (live double vinyl LP) (Munster Records, 2009)
= Others
=Bullet in my Head / Self Destruct (2 songs on 12-inch compilation "Gimme the Keys) (Trigon Records, 1988)
Poor Robert (3 song 7-inch EP) (Grown Up Wrong Records, 1988)
Sick Fish Belly Up (7-inch single) (Trigon Records, 1989)
Brother Brick Says (7-inch single) (Trigon Records, 1990)
Malthusian Blues (7-inch single) (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1993)
Videography
William Tell
Hollow Legs
Queen's Lead Helmet (1997)
EPK (released by Interscope)
References
External links
Claw Hammer biography and discography
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