Acoustic Blues Guitar Playing Tips - Finger Pick Versus Bar Fingers.
There are virtually hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of acoustic guitar players around the world. It's the most preferred music instrument by far, because of it's portability and the actuality that you can get a fundamental tune out of it in a couple of weeks.
I'm going to discuss 'acoustic blues guitar' because this is my main interest and I want to discuss finger picking methods. Commonly, electric guitarists use a plectrum of some type to pluck the strings in and up down motion. Naturally, there are often exceptions, similar to Mark Knopfler, who uses his naked fingers to play both electric and acoustic guitars.
His unusual style caused Chet Atkins to say "I don't know how he's doing, but he can sure do it!" You don't need to adhere to the norm - we can generate our own rules, but we need to start off somewhere. This beginning point is normally focused on past master players. In the genre of acoustic blues guitar, this indicates people such as Robert Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Doc Watson, Reverend Gary Davis and many others.
Naturally there are quite a few variations in style, but pickers can be broadly divided into two classes - those who wear finger picks and individuals that don't. We'll ignore how many picking fingers they utilized for now. I've seen ragtime blues performers perform competently with up to three finger picks on the right hand, which didn't most master pickers only use one, either steel or plastic.
Finger Picks
I prefer a steel finger pick, as it can be bent over so it's tip corresponds with the contact point of a naked finger hitting a string. This suggests there's no adjustment required for the angle of attack. Plastic finger picks are typically thicker and stick out a little more, so an adjustment in picking technique is required. This is critical if playing some tunes that require picks, and some that don't, for example.
Thumb-pick opposed to bare thumb.
Typically, the pick makes a sharper, harder sound and amplifies substantially. Some techniques are easier to achieve in this way, like 'throwing' the thumb onto the string making a percussive sound. A important benefit is that it saves the thumb from becoming sore. Bare finger players must play really often in order to develop a thick callous so these folks can play in comfort. Generally, picks are simpler to get in between the strings, so are good for picking individual strings in rapid succession.
Bare fingers style.
A naked thumb can hook underneath a string, drag it up from the body of the guitar and let it snap back, producing an accented note which can be effective in some styles of blues. In general, naked fingers are very precise and can produce a excellent bouncy technique when playing ragtime guitar, either in the style of Scott Joplin-type piano rags or old ragtime blues in the style of Blind Blake. The thumb rolls and triplets highlighted in the latter's guitar pieces make it really tricky to play with finger picks.
Many of the latter stylists, similar to Chet Atkins, used strengthened finger nails. I question if a lot of older blues guitarists utilized this approach, but who can say? Many Texan guitarists favored a plastic thumb pick and bare fingers, frequently simply employing one finger of the picking hand with incredible dexterity. Blind Blake appeared to have used naked fingers and and several contemporary blues men recollected that he had a hole in his picking hand thumb, {where it was worn down by the bass strings of his guitar.
The legendary Willie Walker, who just recorded two sides in the 20s, appeared to be a true king of the ragtime style. His songs showcase lightning quick single string runs that seem tough if employing the thumb and index finger alternately hitting the strings. It seems probable that he used a plectrum held between thumb and forefinger, utilizing this to alternate the bass line while striking the treble strings with one or two fingers.
There are quite a few, styles of finger picking and we can rely on the example of the wonderful guitar masters to help us to develop our own technique the perfect blues guitar lessons.
I'm going to discuss 'acoustic blues guitar' because this is my main interest and I want to discuss finger picking methods. Commonly, electric guitarists use a plectrum of some type to pluck the strings in and up down motion. Naturally, there are often exceptions, similar to Mark Knopfler, who uses his naked fingers to play both electric and acoustic guitars.
His unusual style caused Chet Atkins to say "I don't know how he's doing, but he can sure do it!" You don't need to adhere to the norm - we can generate our own rules, but we need to start off somewhere. This beginning point is normally focused on past master players. In the genre of acoustic blues guitar, this indicates people such as Robert Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Doc Watson, Reverend Gary Davis and many others.
Naturally there are quite a few variations in style, but pickers can be broadly divided into two classes - those who wear finger picks and individuals that don't. We'll ignore how many picking fingers they utilized for now. I've seen ragtime blues performers perform competently with up to three finger picks on the right hand, which didn't most master pickers only use one, either steel or plastic.
Finger Picks
I prefer a steel finger pick, as it can be bent over so it's tip corresponds with the contact point of a naked finger hitting a string. This suggests there's no adjustment required for the angle of attack. Plastic finger picks are typically thicker and stick out a little more, so an adjustment in picking technique is required. This is critical if playing some tunes that require picks, and some that don't, for example.
Thumb-pick opposed to bare thumb.
Typically, the pick makes a sharper, harder sound and amplifies substantially. Some techniques are easier to achieve in this way, like 'throwing' the thumb onto the string making a percussive sound. A important benefit is that it saves the thumb from becoming sore. Bare finger players must play really often in order to develop a thick callous so these folks can play in comfort. Generally, picks are simpler to get in between the strings, so are good for picking individual strings in rapid succession.
Bare fingers style.
A naked thumb can hook underneath a string, drag it up from the body of the guitar and let it snap back, producing an accented note which can be effective in some styles of blues. In general, naked fingers are very precise and can produce a excellent bouncy technique when playing ragtime guitar, either in the style of Scott Joplin-type piano rags or old ragtime blues in the style of Blind Blake. The thumb rolls and triplets highlighted in the latter's guitar pieces make it really tricky to play with finger picks.
Many of the latter stylists, similar to Chet Atkins, used strengthened finger nails. I question if a lot of older blues guitarists utilized this approach, but who can say? Many Texan guitarists favored a plastic thumb pick and bare fingers, frequently simply employing one finger of the picking hand with incredible dexterity. Blind Blake appeared to have used naked fingers and and several contemporary blues men recollected that he had a hole in his picking hand thumb, {where it was worn down by the bass strings of his guitar.
The legendary Willie Walker, who just recorded two sides in the 20s, appeared to be a true king of the ragtime style. His songs showcase lightning quick single string runs that seem tough if employing the thumb and index finger alternately hitting the strings. It seems probable that he used a plectrum held between thumb and forefinger, utilizing this to alternate the bass line while striking the treble strings with one or two fingers.
There are quite a few, styles of finger picking and we can rely on the example of the wonderful guitar masters to help us to develop our own technique the perfect blues guitar lessons.
