Finger picking

(19 posts)

  1. Sandemose
    Member

    Hi guys,

    I recently started with finger picking, from not have dealt with it all actually. I always thought it was so hard and I said to myself I didnt "need" it that much. Then I heard Ben Monder, and recently Mike Moreno and Brent Mason, using finger picking in different ways that was amazing. I cant believe I ignored this aspect of guitar this long. It struck me when I heard those guys (there are plenty more of course) that the possibilities are endless. I dont wanna change between pick and finger picking, so Im practicing hybrid. I basically play chords over different strings sets only playing P,2,3,4 (P = pick) and vice versa (4,3,2,P), through keys or comping tunes very slow. I imagine being able to execute this kinda stuff fast and with flow, you can paint with really unusual textures and timbres. Next step will be to create different pairs like:
    P,2 - 3,4 and P,3 - 2,4 etc, through all combinations. Being able to play this kind of stuff might boost your ballad playing, comping singers (alone in a duo), or just solo guitar. I might sound rediculous, but this really opened up a new world for me. Anyone here thats really into this or similar? Im not trying to be to obsessed with strucutres (I often find myself being to systematic at times), only just working with it.

    Best,

    Sandemose

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  2. jazznan
    Member

    I think fingerpicking in jazz is underused, Mick Goodrick is a real proponent of fingerstyle playing and Abercrombie has used just his thumb for years. Kevin Eubanks just uses thumb and index for single lines and Gene Bertoncini is another guy to check out.

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  3. Sandemose
    Member

    jazznan: Yeah, thanks for mentioning those guys. Mick Goodrick is great with that, and Abercrombie of course is a monster. What Im going for is more of the Ben Monder dimension of it. Just the fact that you can take a chord, and play it in different registers, different string sets, you can create a sense of motion (with different moods) even if the chord itself is static. Kinda like watching from a window of a train, how a field change with colours as you go by it.

    Best,

    Sandemose

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  4. hitdoggie
    Member

    How about Lenny Breau? He utilized his nails in amazing ways.

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  5. Sandemose
    Member

    hitdoggie: thanks for the advice, absolutly great player. Found this documentry on youtube. Its killing! By the way: you touched something important in your reply. Nails, or flesh? I will never be able to save my nails for this kinda stuff, and also like the sound of the fingers. How do you guys do and think about this?

    Best, Sandemose

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  6. InWalked
    Member

    Obviously guys like Tuck Andress, Charlie Hunter and Philip deGruy have tremendous counterpoint happening. Check Tuck's dvd Fingerstyle Mastery where he demonstrates rolls and applies to the changes of Stella By Starlight. I remember seeing a Mick Goodrick or Joe Diorio column years ago where he reharmonizes the Villa Lobos no.5 with more modern harmony and the results were very fresh.

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  7. Colonel Trane
    Member

    Sandemose, I really like the window of a train analogy.

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  8. Sandemose
    Member

    Colonel Trane: I like analogies :)

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  9. steepcreeks
    Member

    Hey Sandemose,
    I'm with you on this and I've gotten into it more over the last year in my own playing. As you mentioned I find it most useful over ballads or if i've gotten to a part of a tune where I can be slightly more abstract (perhaps accompanying someone and creating different comping textures) and can just add some hints of color. The nice thing about it is it gives chords you are already playing a whole nother sound. I particularly like to use it over various quartal voicings. It sounds good to me here because you're essenially stacking 9ths/2nds whatever. If you're doing a 4 note voicing alternate between string sets, you'll get some nice moods. I play an L5 so I constantly am on the thin line guarding against feedback when playing these type voicings. I'm actually adding a volume pedal to my line starting with tonights gig to help control this! You had an earlier thread talking about quartal harmonies and their usage, all that harmonic vocab will be instant gratification when you get that stuff going. I guess so far I've only really gotten into P,2 voicings. So much more to be explored!

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  10. Vilibald
    Member

    Adam Rogers has some tasty fingerstyle stuff. He studied classical guitar quite thoroughly, I´ve read. Line by Line with John Patitucci and Brian Blade (with Patitucci as the leader) is a great example, as well as his lates trio record with Scott Coley and Bill Stewart (Time and the Infinite).

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  11. Sandemose
    Member

    Yo Vilibald: thanks for the tips, Adam is a beast no doubt. I have checked out those records on Spotify, and thought those were great. Thanks again. I know I have posted this before, but this clip with Mike Moreno is so killing. This is what Im talking about:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGvhEivW_XQ

    Best,

    Sandemose

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  12. Neither
    Member

    Hi there,
    An example of finger picking by Mike Moreno :
    http://www.talkmarket.com/Mike-Moreno-Still-Here/619/
    Some of you talked about Mick Goodrick, In Pas(s)ing with John Surman, Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette, is for me his best album.
    Sandemose asked interesting questions : "Nails, or flesh? I will never be able to save my nails for this kinda stuff, and also like the sound of the fingers. How do you guys do and think about this?" So do you play with nails or flesh ? And what do Kurt play ?
    I'm working now with hybrid and one of my problem is to deal with the difference of sound between the sound of the of the pick and the flesh of my fingers. It works for me with the thumb + the 2nd and 3rd right hand fingers (3 notes voicings) but it's difficult for me when I add 4th finger (4 notes voicings). Any advices on that subject ?

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  13. Sandemose
    Member

    Neither: I think Kurt plays hybrid (or I have seen him do it), and also with the pick stuck between 1th and 2nd finger like Scofield among others. I dont think Kurt plays with nails.
    The difference of sound between pick and the rest of the fingers will go away. Ive been just playing around with it for a while now and the sounds kinda close in on eachother, notes played with pick and with fingers that is. I play with a 2mm pick Dunlop Gator, so heavy picks might be a sollution as well, or one of many solutions. But as you said, the problem is the 4th finger. It really stands out tone wise, that together with that it almost is in the treble register (E, B strings). I play through keys on the E,B,G,D strings, most triads in all inversions, doubleing one voice depending on the inversion up and down the neck, trying to be concious about getting a well ballanced chord. The 4th finger is so weak, so its hard to find a good angle with it, the right hand gets more into a "fist" position which is akward for me. But I cant find any better way than to just work with it.

    Best, Sandemose

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  14. kylesmithguitar
    Member

    I've been working on hybrid picking for a while, I've got a couple of ideas on strengthening the 4th finger. For a while, I would force myself to play arpeggios through chord changes, almost in a classical style, but with hybrid picking. (pick, m, a, 4th) if that makes sense. You also might try playing through some of the giuliani arpeggio studies this way. It should help get the 4th finger up to speed. They should be pretty easy to find for cheap/free.

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  15. Sandemose
    Member

    kylesmithguitar: Good tips dude. Thanks for sharing.

    Best,

    Sandemose

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  16. Benny
    Member

    'Pumping Nylon' is a fingerstyle (classical technique) book that's been recommended to me a few times. You can look at a big extract here: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1Gsrt7Koqu8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=pumping+nylon&source=bl&ots=FS3r12tG80&sig=wwRI82_Clzkvcv-5sT-pfg2fRbY&hl=en&ei=etpcS-CoCqD80wSM0LmCBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CDAQ6AEwCQ

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  17. Sandemose
    Member

    Benny: yeah, thats the one! Ive heard alot about it, gonna check out the link right now. Perhaps hyrbrid picking can be applyed to that as well?

    Best, Sandemose

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  18. Anonymous

    Got to put in Joe Pass and Ted Greene

    • Posted 2 years ago
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  19. Vilibald
    Member

    And Martin Taylor...

    • Posted 2 years ago
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