Watching, and of course playing with, other washboard players is really one of the better ways to learn how to play this fine instrument.
However, depending on where you live there may not be that many washboard players around which, as is my case, means can be pretty much on your own. When I started playing I didn’t have a clue and unfortunately, didn’t think of searching the web right away. And even when I did, I didn’t think of searching for videos so at first I didn’t find much information on how to play a scrubboard. Because of that I began to list the different washboard websites I had found as well as made my own to share ideas on how to put “bells and whistles” on a washboard, an activity that can be a lot of fun: Jazz Up Your Washboard.
Still many people visiting that site where/are searching for advice on how to play, a question that not easily answered although the answer is easy: you tap or/and scratch!
Yet at first your tapping and scratching doesn’t always sound like the pros. What are you doing wrong? There must be some secret thing that you still need to find out, right? Sorry, no secret. Washboard playing is all about tapping and scratching, the problem is that it seems really easy and it’s actually kind of hard.
But not that hard, with a little time and practice you too will thrill the crowd with your rhythmic skills! For the record I’ll point out that I’m not the most coordinated person in the world nor its greatest player, far from it really, and also that there are many different washboard playing styles and what is good for me, may not be good for you. Many players mostly tap, others manage their own awesome balance between tapping and scratching, some mostly scratch. They use thimbles, brushes, spoons, wisps, metal guitar fingerpicks, drumsticks, bottle openers and more.
The web has many videos of and by great washboard players, I’m still learning a lot by watching what these great musicians are doing and practicing the patterns I figure out – often with a metronome. If you do this, little by little your sound is going to change and improve, and it’s a great feeling. With time you’ll come back to the videos that seemed too difficult at first and realize that they’ve begun to seem less complicated, and that’s a great feeling too.
I’ll be posting some here and hope to manage a few of my own.
So, how do you play the washboard!
I truly believe that the answer to that is: any way you want! There are so many different kinds of music that can be improved with a washboard: Blues, Bluegrass, Folk, Jazz, Rock, Zydeco… You can primp up your board with a cymbal and/or other bells and whistles or leave it as it is in which case a rubboard may be the way to go. You can use one hand to hold the washboard, hang it around your neck, place it horizontally on your knees or on a small table or something in front of you… It can be big or small, some players have developed incredible devices to suit their style!
For the first time player: your two basic possibilities are tapping and scratching so, for instance, a simple 4 beat rhythm could be played with a very short scratch followed by 3 taps.
Keep in mind that the scratch needs to take the same amount of time as the tap. Don’t play too fast and consider alternating your hands (right, left, right, left – or vice-versa: left, right, left, right). Once you get the feel for this you can try moving the scratch to the second beat: tap, scratch, tap, tap (this will make you scratch with your other hand)- the third: tap, tap, scratch, tap – and the forth: tap, tap, tap, scratch.
OK, sounds good! Now, if you want to roll a longer scratch it can easily take up the time of two, three or even more taps so you will need to adjust the pattern to fit the rhythm. Try this for instance: scratch 2 taps followed by a 2 beat (tap) long scratch. “tap, tap, scraaaaaaaaatch, tap, tap, scraaaaaaaaatch…” (I use brushes here, and BTW, these 2 first examples are for those of you who have little or no rhythmic knowledge at all. The metronome helps keeping the rhythm steady as well as keep track of where the first beat is.)
Scratching up gives a different feel than scratching down. Scratching quickly gives a different sound than scratching slowly. Alternate your hands: right, left, right, etc… Meet other players, play with other musicians, play along with recorded music… Practice, practice again and practice some more!
FYI: This page will contain much of what I wrote for Scratch Your Ax Washboard Basics but hopefully will end up being more complete and useful to a beginner looking for info.
Some advice from the pros!
As LittleBrotherBlues explains, playing along with other musicians doesn’t necessarily mean playing complicated rhythms:
Although the next video from a washboard technique class by Washboard Chaz may be a bit intimidating for the beginner, it (and all the other videos from this series by keepharpin) gives some great examples of how you want to practice with both hands to create a certain independence between them:
