Attention finger pickers only!!!!

[onewilyfool]

Let's see what's out there? I ONLY finger pick, so use fingers for strumming too.....but lets see what the prevailing methods are!!!

[CAMELEYE]

I should add that although I fingerpick regular guitars with just fingers, I do use a Golden Gate thumb and brass for the other three when I play dobro.

[Aitch]

For country blues, thumb and two fingers; for arpeggiated stuff, i tend to use thumb and three.

[zombywoof]

Anybody else do what I have been told is something like a flamenco strum - as best as I can describe it a down strum opening the fingers so the back of the nails strike the strings either together or in sequence like an arpeggio? I sometimes combine this with an up or down strum on the low end using the thumb.

 

I guess this all is part of what you could call Middle Class New York Jewish Kid style of Blues.

 

.

[GotTheSilver]

Why do you post a poll with more than one question? It is impossible to answer more than one question in one of these polls (e.g., how many fingers vs. finger picks or not).

 

I use my thumb and three fingers. Just flesh, no nails or picks.

[BluesKing777]

I have tried all the combinations so far - started with thumb + 3, then got stronger with thumb + 2 and concentrated on getting thumb + index only for the last few years to approach a Davis(ish) and Lightnin'(ish) sound with lots of brushes to get the Wilkins(ish) sound...... trying to be a flexible as we can.

 

So my index finger is the leading foot for dancing.....but I do like to do a thumb + 2 for doublestops like Seasick(ish). (especially with a DeArmond pickup through an amp with a smidgeon of distortion.)

 

 

BluesKing777.

[EuroAussie]

In my short pickin' journey I found I use thum and two fingers for the blues, thumb and three figers for more folkier and traditional picking. And I also use both flesh and nail to create dynamics. Finally I generally plant the pinky for stability but as starting to work on getting out of that comfort zone, especilly when there is a strum required in the bar, with the pickin.

[Del Nilppeznaf]

In my short pickin' journey I found I use thum and two fingers for the blues, thumb and three figers for more folkier and traditional picking. And I also use both flesh and nail to create dynamics. Finally I generally plant the pinky for stability but as starting to work on getting out of that comfort zone, especilly when there is a strum required in the bar, with the pickin.

 

Most of the finger pickers I try to emulate will use the pinky..or pinky and ring finger as an anchor, so I'm wondering why you want to move away from that EA?.. i think it's a good idea to keep the pinky/rin finger anchored..over time it just becomes natural..and differing techniques you can play with it..but it has to be a solid part of your technique first i think.

 

i am incorporating many different tecniques into my playing as i progress...but I will 95% of the time have my pinky..and sometimes ring finger either on the pg or high E or B or both. To achieve that percussive style we mentioned in previous thread. Ala John Martin..the pinky needs to act as a rythmic guide...and to learn this technoque well i feel you NEED to have a firm placement with that finger before you can start experimenting. I also like to have my hand anchored AND strum with the index finger sometimes.

 

man there is soo many styles and techniques ... ( my thumb placement on the neck has greatly improved and I am starting to brush the strings like a butterfly's wing more ..thanks DaluthDan ..i think it will greatly reduce my fret wear )

[EuroAussie]

Most of the finger pickers I try to emulate will use the pinky..or pinky and ring finger as an anchor, so I'm wondering why you want to move away from that EA?.. i think it's a good idea to keep the pinky/rin finger anchored..over time it just becomes natural..and differing techniques you can play with it..but it has to be a solid part of your technique first i think.

 

i am incorporating many different tecniques into my playing as i progress...but I will 95% of the time have my pinky..and sometimes ring finger either on the pg or high E or B or both. To achieve that percussive style we mentioned in previous thread. Ala John Martin..the pinky needs to act as a rythmic guide...and to learn this technoque well i feel you NEED to have a firm placement with that finger before you can start experimenting. I also like to have my hand anchored AND strum with the index finger sometimes.

 

man there is soo many styles and techniques ... ( my thumb placement on the neck has greatly improved and I am starting to brush the strings like a butterfly's wing more ..thanks DaluthDan ..i think it will greatly reduce my fret wear )

 

Yeah, im still mainly anchored as im still not stable enough to let the pinky free. But Im starting to focus on quite a few Jack Johnson tunes which involves a lot of percussion and strumming / picking in the same bar which at least for me requires to float a little ...

[zombywoof]

Most of the finger pickers I try to emulate will use the pinky..or pinky and ring finger as an anchor, so I'm wondering why you want to move away from that EA?.. i think it's a good idea to keep the pinky/rin finger anchored..over time it just becomes natural..and differing techniques you can play with it..but it has to be a solid part of your technique first i think.

 

Lots of the guys I grew up trying to copy rested three fingers on the body of guitar. Didn't know it at the time though.

 

I play both with fingers anchored and fingers floating. Personally I see anchoring fingers as a crutch. Does not stop me from doing it at times though. I feel it gives me more control - I can play faster and probably a bit cleaner with a couple of fingers resting against the body of the guitar. But anchoring fingers also makes for lousy maneuverability. So I will also let my hand float at times. One of my quirks is the only time I use my thumb to strum is for up or down double stops on the low end. As I said above though, other than that I sweep the back of my hand across the strings hitting them with the backs of my nails. Can't get that snap with fingers anchored. If you watch the video of Lightnin' Hopkins playing "Baby Please Don't Go" you will see him doing this.

[fretplay]

Anybody else do what I have been told is something like a flamenco strum - as best as I can describe it a down strum opening the fingers so the back of the nails strike the strings either together or in sequence like an arpeggio? I sometimes combine this with an up or down strum on the low end using the thumb.

 

I guess this all is part of what you could call Middle Class New York Jewish Kid style of Blues.

 

.

 

 

I think it is more Spanish. The downward stock with all the fingers is a Rasgueado. Nice on electic to finish a rock song!

[bobouz]

Thumb & two fingers.

 

Anchored ring finger,

lift for quick strum.

 

Nails & skin.

[Rambler]

I use thumb and finger after Lightnin', Rev. Gary and Doc Watson. Good for rolls, brushes and what not. The thumb takes a more active roll, so you dont need that extra finger. When i mess with lap steel, I'll get a 2nd finger going. Fwiw, I dont much buy into the finger per string version of arpegio picking, which seems kind of rigid (is that derived from classical guitar? makes sense).

[Jon S.]

Thumb and 3 fingers. Usually nails.

[QuestionMark]

Thumb (with a pointy Dunlop clear thumbpick) and three fingers (with metal fingerpicks that are at least .20). Years ago I stopped affixing my little finger to the pickguard or guitar top. Realized I was only doing it because someone years ago (when I was ten years old or so) told me to do it. I find my guitar playing and finger-picking has a lot more flexibility and accuracy when I remember to break the habit of affixing my little finger. (I generally no longer affix it, but every once in blue moon I find myself unknowingly affixing it again (only to say, what they hey, and stop it, again.)

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

[MissouriPicker]

I use my thumb and sometimes 3 fingers, sometimes 2 fingers. I've become, after a lot of half-hearted effort, fairly proficient at strumming with a pic, but I still prefer fingerpicking. I don't think there's any "one and only right way) to fingerpick. I think you start with learning a two/three finger technique and end-up doing what works for you. Once you know where your fingers are on the strings you'll find yourself picking in all kinds of patterns and variations of fingerpicking. 1-2-3 fingers and your thumb can all work. Peter Yarrow of PP&M fame uses his thumb and index finger, and he can pick very fast when he needs to. All depends on what works best for you........I'll use a thumbpick half the time and never fingerpicks (could never get used to them).....Good thread. This kind of discussion can be very beneficial to folks who get confused with the often seemingly conflicting opinions from different lesson books that tend to focus on one technique as the "best" way. There is no "best" way. But, there is a way that works "best" for you.

Almost forgot-----my little finger is not anchored to one spot as it was years ago. I still do it every-now-and-then out of habit, but my fingerpicking now is a mixture of strumming with a pick or my index finger and fingerpicking with 2/3 fingers, or just standard fingerpicking (thumb and 2/3 fingers).

[Hairy Dave]

I think I selected Thumb and Two Fingers - got home, messed about with my guitar and quickly realised I play with Thumb and One Finger. I obviously see myself differently in my own head lol

[tvguit]

I've been working on Mississippi John Hurt's stuff lately. I went from thumb and one finger to thumb and two fingers to get that repetitive "e" string thing that he does. His music is so much fun to play and sing. I hope I will actually be able to do it someday!

[rustystrings]

I use thumb and three fingers with my hand floating for the most part unanchored, both pads AND fingernails. I started off playing classical guitar with lessons for a while from a guy who as the product of Florida State University's guitar program. As the years passed, the guitar's position is closer to horizontal and I can't remember the last time I played a "rest stroke." In the last five years or so I've pretty much transitioned into bare-hands only playing - it's been more than a year since I even bothered getting a flat pick out of the case pocket, and I can't remember the last time I bought any.

 

I was taught that anchoring with a finger unnecessarily deadened the top's vibration, and then I just never did it, period. OTOH, for certain blues and country styles it's probably the correct method.

 

The downside to learning the picking style I did as opposed to thumb and two fingers is that I didn't naturally absorb the alternating bass thing present in so much of John Fahey's stuff.

[Pepperland]

Yeah, im still mainly anchored as im still not stable enough to let the pinky free. But Im starting to focus on quite a few Jack Johnson tunes which involves a lot of percussion and strumming / picking in the same bar which at least for me requires to float a little ...

 

Break the habit now if you're planning on floating. Lots of great players anchor but they

only use one or two fingers to pick with. If you want to use thumb plus three, it makes

it very difficult (or impossible) to do.

You also might want to vary the picking hand position relative to

the soundhole to change the tone and attack. There are more reasons to avoid anchoring than

I can think of right now but I float and whenever I try to anchor my pinkie, it just feels

awkward.