Rasps

[John Cohen]

What is the proper way to execute a rasp?  Do you rake down the strings with the nail of the index finger?

[TONY BRYAN]

It's very flattering to see you picking apart my picking!  Unfortunately, the rasp that you are looking at in Spanish Romance has very little to do with Morley, though I can relate to TBj and his rasps - he manages to do the rasp and flick of the wrist at the same time, which I used to be able to do, and try to repeat as the last flourish in Spanish Romance.  My brains and muscles just don't coordinate that quickly any more.

For this particular technique you will have to refer to the late Pete Seeger's How to Play the 5-String Banjo, Latin American section.  There he describes how to play the Spanish 'rasgado', which has a meaning much the same as 'rasp'. I seem to remember he describes how to ball up the fingers of the right hand and then let each finger come out regularly and slowly, starting with the little finger.  Then it's practice, practice, practice.  What's new?

In the case of Spanish Romance, the rasp has to cover two beats, so it's the long version.  You make the rasp longer by adding the thumb, but you don't separate the notes - it's one long continuous movement covering two beats.  

To adapt this technique for Morley, it's just four fingers, and fast.  And loud.

Regards

Tony

[thereallyniceman]

Thanks Tony,

Practice, practice, practice eh?  I feared so!

I dug out my copy of Pete Seeger's  "How to play the 5 String Banjo" and here is the paragraph on rasgado. This is the type of rasp that I have never succeeded with, other than by turning my hand over as I described above!

If you can find a copy of Seeger's Book I would recommend that you buy it as it is stuffed with interesting information, although not exclusively Classic Style there are many techniques in there.

[Trevor Boyd]

I agree - I was lucky enough to find a copy of the 3rd Edition (1961) in a second hand bookshop a couple of years ago.  (Mind you, he also tells you how to make your own long-necked banjo by sawing through and lengthening the neck!).

[TONY BRYAN]

Trapdoor2's comment about the drum head tricks conflates two similar, but different, effects.  The rasp is essentially non-percussive (TBj excepted, most of the time) but the drum head roll and tap are nothing if not percussive.  I normally interpreted the roll as a triplet drum roll, so only three fingers are necessary: ring, middle and index, in that order.  Having looked a few times at the TBj video, I don't see his little finger being involved in the drumhead rolls, so I assume he only uses three fingers.  The difference between the rasp and the roll is that the roll requires you to tuck the three fingers behind the fleshy part of the thumb then flick each one out in quick succession.  You also have to make sure the direction of the flick is downwards, otherwise the tips of the fingers just brush across head.  

I've seen the single tap done several ways, but I tend to flick the fleshy part of the index finger down from behind the middle finger, as if you were trying to flick off something that had got stuck to it.  You can also do it by flicking the  index (or middle) finger down from behind the thumb - like the last movement of the roll - but if you come down on the wrong part of the finger, it can be painful.  

None of these techniques work well if you have finger picks on as they tend to execute an effect called 'projectile picking'.  Not popular with audiences, if you have one.  

As to practice: in the end you do it so often that you don't realise you are doing it.  It becomes a nervous tick.  When I am sat at my desk thinking about what to write next I often do a couple of rolls on the desktop without thinking about it; when I walk past a cupboard or any other piece of furniture that resonates, I often give it a couple of flicks.  Do that for fifty years and you will find it comes quite easy.  But you will irritate all your friends, if you still have any.  

Regards

Tony

[Trapdoor2]

You must have been talking to Miz Diane. She has been complaining for almost 30 yrs that I tend to drum or flick or tap on stuff as I walk by.

My original banjo teacher used all four fingers to do the drum thing. He could tuck his pinky under his thumb and execute the nicest 4-beat roll. I don't think he ever applied it to the banjo, it was simply an annoying thing to do to the tip of his brother's ears. Brothers are like that.

I flick the middle from behind the thumb for single tap...and it sounds like a gunshot if done properly. Makes 'em jump!