finger & hybrid picking tips & tricks?

[mezzio]

I've been working on "new" techniques that I couldn't be bothered with when I was a kid because it wasn't cool enough for me, lol. Anywho, been working on getting hybrid and finger picking down, and its proven to be a real challenge. Over time i know ill get used to the style, but what's driving me absolutely nuts is how obnoxiously quiet it is. I watch videos and stuff, and the folks in the videos have a good even volume across all the strings.

Is there something I might be doing wrong for the finger picked strings to be so quiet and muffled? Is it just a matter of building calluses up on those fingers? Its just really starting to turn me off from doing it anymore.

 

[alantig]

Practice. And building calluses - or switching to using your nails. I never could get the hang of finger picks - I need to feel the string. But I have gotten acrylic on my nails for the past couple years. I always seemed to shred a nail right before I wanted to record something. And not always from slamming into something - sometimes all it took was a simple bump.

 

[mezzio]

Hmm, well it might take a few days, but I suppose I could let a few nails grow out

 

[xjbebop]

I just started working on this recently, and have noticed a big difference depending on how much I dig in / pop the upper string with my fingers. I played bass for a long time before taking up guitar, so when I use more of a slap/pop technique it helps to balance out the volume across the strings.... I'm still finding it very challenging but I know it's just gonna take time & practice...

 

[JMintzer]

It's all about learning the fingerpicking patterns...

I used to sit on the couch, watching TV and play 2-3 chords, practicing alternating fingerpicking styles, until they became second nature...

 

[garrettb]

It's all about learning the fingerpicking patterns...

I used to sit on the couch, watching TV and play 2-3 chords, practicing alternating fingerpicking styles, until they became second nature...

Same here. Gets your fingers coordinated and will build up those calluses and strength on the right hand.

That and trying to cop a lot of early Govt Mule stuff.

 

[IKnowALittle]

When I started playin', many a moon ago, all I wanted to play was old country blues with a ton of fingerstyle/fingerpicking goodness. I was fortunate in that I was good friends with someone who could do it really well.
When I took up electric, I played hybrid for a long time, until I just said, "Screw It", just going to play with a thumbpick. Lots of advantages.
The only way is to have patience, be consistent in your practicing, don't get discouraged ... and you have to practice the "right stuff" ... if u don't it will screw u up forever.
Good luck.

 

[JMintzer]

Nils Lofgren plays w/a thumb pick...

 

[jfine]

I've been hybrid-picking almost since I started playing. I had a folk guitar teacher who taught basic strumming and fingerpicking--for the first two or three years I never used a pick, but I started to when I went to electric guitar. I never mastered actual fingerpicking, but the fingers wouldn't stay out of the way so I started incorporating them along with the flatpick. I thought I'd invented it until I saw James Burton with Ricky Nelson on the Ozzie & Harriet TV show! I'm left-handed playing right-handed guitar, and I've never been able to pick quite as fast as a right-handed player, so the hybrid technique helps me get around that.
As far as the difference in tone between the pick and the fingers goes, it takes some practice. Try using a little bit of nail along with the fingertip, and work on getting the finger off the string immediately after you've plucked it. Wearing the guitar up a little higher can help too, so you can attack the string at an angle rather than straight on like a classical player would do. I use .80mm nylon picks, specifically because they sound pretty much like my nails do. A little compression can help, but try to get things as even as you can without it first.

 

[jfb]

David Grissom has a new lesson series with TrueFire. Good hybrid picking content found there.