Finger picks/ picking

MartinBush · August 2022

Hi all

I am going to have a go at improving my finger picking technique. I am starting from almost ground-level so I expect I will have a lot to learn.

Many many years ago I did some classical exams, so it is not completely new to me, but any technique I may have had in my teens will have long gone now I'm in my 40s...

I have a steel-strung Yamaha acoustic and want to work towards approximating stuff like Simon and Garfunkel's 59th Street Bridge Song - that sort of style.

I want to try some picks and wondered what would work. For some reason I don't like the idea of steel picks as I imagine they would damage the strings. Maybe that is a bogus assumption.

Also, are there any exercises I should look at?

Martin

bertie · August 2022

metal picks don't damage the strings but are very "unforgiving" - if you have a modicum of nail on your fingers (1mm - 2mm) then the Alaska picks are reasonably easy to use, personally I found them uncomfortable, and with a couple mm of nail - is enough for me to get "contact"

To start with - I wouldn't bother with anything - getting your hands/fingers working is more important

exercises ? long time ago since I "learnt" and back then I went with using thumb and index finger, to get a feel for rhythm and a little muscle memory..............then work up to thumb and index and ring................etc - its highly conceivable that, that is not the way to do it, and there are proper "teachers" on here who can help better - but as a 10 year old - it worked for me

MartinBush · August 2022

Thanks @bertie ;

I do try without picks, but I think I am used to using a plectrum and so it just feels wrong to not have something to contact the strings with. Maybe I will try with some cheap picks and see if they work to some extent then look at some better ones.

DavidR · August 2022

I only ever play acoustic with fingerpicks! Plastic on thumb, steel on first 2 fingers. Steel picks don't damage acoustic strings which are metal too Martin.

Steel fingerpicks I use are Dunlop .018
Dunlop 33R018 Tabs 20 Fingers Tube Nickel 0.018 inch : Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments & DJ
Twist them and angle them until they hit the string flat. Keep them highly polished (on your trousers works for me!). You wear thumb opposite the nail. Clasp uppermost. I have seen players manfully trying to wear them like nails. That doesn't work!

Then I use either this 'Golden Gate' thumb pick which is hard
Golden Gate GP-5-4PK Pearloid Thumb Picks 4-Piece, Medium : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive
Or this 'Jim Dunlop Red' thumb pick which is soft
Jim Dunlop 9051R Thumbpicks : Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments & DJ
Some pieces, and different guitars, suit the hard one, some the soft. (On my hand steel thumb picks are harsh and not nice. They are mainly used by banjo players historically I believe, never played the banjo, but you can try anything and everything to see what works for you).

You cut and file plastic thumb picks to suit. Fitting wise, all the ones I have ever had have been thermoplastics and can be heated in a saucepan of boiling water, removed from the water, fitted to your thumb and allowed to cool. They will retain shape forever after that. Exercise care doing this.

There are pages of picks on Amazon.uk. I've tried loads over the last few decades and those above are merely what I've settled on. Trial and error is the only way. What you eventually settle on will be entirely different. Some of the different types seem frankly weird to me but, if no one used them, they wouldn't exist I suppose.

After that, I'm afraid its just application and practice. Coming to it young helps. Many find conquering picks later in life just too tedious. Fingerpicking with finger pulp and nails is sort of a different technique IMO. I've never been able to get the volume just doing that. Even when I was growing my nails out when playing in a classical guitar ensemble I still used fingerpicks when I went back to acoustic guitar playing. Only because I always had though. Not saying they're any better. One of the joys of the guitar is, over the years, you can try all these things and keep developing.

Have enormous fun! Everyone's different.

P.S. I've never been able to use a plectrum either.

DavidR · August 2022

As regards exercises, try and get some tablature music by Elizabeth Cotten is one idea. Reasonably simple and will introduce to alternating base lines. Also, nice music. A lot of fingerpicking is developing the ability to use thumb and fingers on Rt hand (if Rt handed) seperately. Thumb to play base line. Fingers to play melody line.

malcolmkindness · August 2022

DavidR said:

As regards exercises, try and get some tablature music by Elizabeth Cotten is one idea. Reasonably simple and will introduce to alternating base lines. Also, nice music. A lot of fingerpicking is developing the ability to use thumb and fingers on Rt hand (if Rt handed) seperately. Thumb to play base line. Fingers to play melody line.

Exactly, it's essential to get your thumb and fingers operating separately. I always suggest that people practice their thumb strokes until it is second nature before trying to do anything complicated with the fingers.

I wouldn't bother too much with finger picks initially, they will feel uncomfortable and may put you off completely. I normally use a plastic thumbpick and bare fingers but occasionally metal fingerpicks, which as others have said, will not damage your strings.

It will feel impossible initially but one day everything will fall into place and then you will wonder why it took so long to master.

Be careful with Elizabeth Cotten because she used to play the guitar upside down, ie bass strings with her fingers, I would suggest some simple lessons from the Stefan Grossman workshop.

GoFish · August 2022

I find fingers useful for tactile feedback, but it all depends on what you're used to. Why not try it both ways until you find a clear prefernce? Picks can prove to be an extra thing to get accustomed to.

Seconded the idea of starting with thumb+ one finger to see where it takes you. Play around with the basic D chord and open D string. Lots of familiar songs there.

Then pick one easy song and drill it to get some muscle repitition in.

Progress won't be linear but bits will click into place and you may even start to remember flashes of your old classical technique. Good luck!

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