Bottom is right, mostly, although you could reverse the order and thumb a higher string first. Top could be anything. Also it is not limited to four strings, you could be using thumb on bottom two or three strings and the fingers on the top three or four.
― Johnny Too Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 28 February 2013 17:59 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah was just trying to keep the diagram simple!
― ledge, Thursday, 28 February 2013 18:01 (eleven years ago) link
The specific pattern is that the thumb never stops playing quarter notes. Maybe we forgot to mention that.
― Johnny Too Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 28 February 2013 18:05 (eleven years ago) link
Hm. actually the dashes don't seem right in that diagram even for the thumb.
Just saw a guy playing a six string bass fingerstyle like a guitar.
― Johnny Too Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 1 March 2013 04:11 (eleven years ago) link
That lick mark knopfler plays before yelling "ha!" during the "in the gallery" solo is the reason one might want to sound snappy on an electric
― that Django got me Nuages (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 1 March 2013 07:11 (eleven years ago) link
oh yeah i missed a gap, first notes (the pinch) are quarter, the rest are eighths.
x----x-----x------t---t-t---t---
― ledge, Friday, 1 March 2013 09:14 (eleven years ago) link
interested to know what fahey tunes you play, hurting. are they tricky? in alternate tunings?
― ledge, Friday, 1 March 2013 15:29 (eleven years ago) link
I play Orinda-Moraga/Poor Boy Long Ways from Home pretty decently (alternate tuning), I can pick my way through Bicycle Built for Two ok (I play in standard but I'm not sure that's how he does it), and also Requiem for John Hurt when I'm in practice (a favorite)
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Friday, 1 March 2013 15:48 (eleven years ago) link
the triplets on Requiem for John Hurt are pretty tricky
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Friday, 1 March 2013 15:49 (eleven years ago) link
Oh and Jesus is a Dying Bedmaker -- one of the best song titles ever
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Friday, 1 March 2013 15:54 (eleven years ago) link
cheers. they mostly sound if not look well beyond my level but it's good to have goals.
― ledge, Friday, 1 March 2013 16:06 (eleven years ago) link
not just good, necessary. if i don't have something to work towards i end up treading water or not even playing at all.
― ledge, Friday, 1 March 2013 16:11 (eleven years ago) link
The easiest of them would be Orinda-Moraga -- the bend thing is a neat trick that's simple once you get it down
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Friday, 1 March 2013 16:16 (eleven years ago) link
One of my all-time faves:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLeqnEDF7jU
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 1 March 2013 16:47 (eleven years ago) link
Can do it a bit but not very well, too lazy tbh, flatpickers of the world unite!
― .... the rest look like Dudley Sutton (Tom D.), Friday, 1 March 2013 16:50 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BqISqpMRo8
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Friday, 1 March 2013 18:43 (eleven years ago) link
^^ James Taylor explains about nails
im starting to play rudimentary fingerstyle travis picking crabclaw whatever. i've just got the basic premise of it and i'm like too in love with this thing that i can make and just play with it all the time, not really progressing. i learnt like wildwood flower and then just played with the scale and chord combinations.
― plax (ico), Saturday, 2 March 2013 01:29 (eleven years ago) link
i think my housemates are pretty bored of this sound now
Learn this, it's easier than it sounds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFAsoKHepRI
― plotzin (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 2 March 2013 02:19 (eleven years ago) link
Plax, can you do "Blackbird" already?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 2 March 2013 04:10 (eleven years ago) link
no but lol i hate the beatles. this is ilx!
― plax (ico), Saturday, 2 March 2013 10:51 (eleven years ago) link
Boots of Spanish leather is a good starter song. Downside is it'll make you miserable
― that Django got me Nuages (Sufjan Grafton), Saturday, 2 March 2013 20:07 (eleven years ago) link
g-d i wish i could play guitar
― well if it isn't old 11 cameras simon (gbx), Sunday, 24 March 2013 19:00 (eleven years ago) link
I wish I could play a good fingerstyle, but instead I'm all:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f51QWBM7IME
Working on that Travis picking, though. I get discouraged easily. I think I listen to Will Ackerman and Leo Kottke and just expect to play like them after twenty minutes of practice.
Sometimes I tune to dadgad and I get 'choon or two going though:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOxJeoNFl3E
I have a steel strung and a nylon strung guitar. I find that practicing finger picking on the wider-necked nylon guitar makes chords a lot easier when I switch back to the steel string (almost to the point that I feel like I'm cheating).
I tune down to c# to make everything a bit easier, generally speaking. For some reason, things that need to be in standard tuning are just easier to fret with the capo at three; rather than just tuning up to E (maybe that's a mental thing though and I should get over it).
I was recently told to listen to John Hurt because even though what he's playing isn't that easy, it **SOUNDS** easy and is, therefore, easy to follow.
― Austin, Friday, 5 April 2013 07:10 (eleven years ago) link
on top of the difference in tension, i imagine you're getting better action with the capo'd fret vs. the nut.
i've been trying to learn finger style stuff, but life's in the way of that most of the time. i can play most of a skip james song, and the first few parts of "angie" (jansch's version) but uhh that's really hard. i started with a hybrid style but cuz i can't keep track of picks it's turned into a thumb-and-fingers thing. somehow i imagined the solution to this was "buy fingerpicks".
― arby's, Friday, 5 April 2013 14:45 (eleven years ago) link
I think the sound of fingerpicks is very nice, much nicer than bare finger/nail on steel strings. It's also loud though, and I mostly practice at night, so I stuff a shirt in my guitar and play bare-fingered.
― --808 542137 (Hurting 2), Friday, 5 April 2013 14:47 (eleven years ago) link
the problem i have with fingerpicks is how clumsey i feel with them. i also have less control tonally with the picks vs my fingers (which fyi for me is the difference between none and very little). and then the volume thing. i can't play loudly with my fingers, but i'm convinced i should figure that out. i was fortunate enough to hear this guy play a guitar i built and i'm always shocked at how much volume and projection the dude gets with just his fingertips (uses a thumbpick tho, iirc):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZiQGO1YfEc
― arby's, Friday, 5 April 2013 15:02 (eleven years ago) link
have you played with different size/material picks and with bending the metal ones to fit better? I find they're less clumsy with a good fit. I also prefer the metal to the plastic, in part because you can shape them.
― --808 542137 (Hurting 2), Friday, 5 April 2013 15:09 (eleven years ago) link
yep, i have metal ones. nice low friction cobalt things. i am just clumsey. almost feels like playing with gloves on--probably just a matter of me adjusting to them.
― arby's, Friday, 5 April 2013 15:13 (eleven years ago) link
Was supposed to go to a Brazilian guitar seminar today but don't think I can make it. If you are a thrifty/needy nylon string guitar player in NYC I might could donate my spot to you.
― I Am the Cosimo Code (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 21 September 2013 14:01 (ten years ago) link
You are a nylon-string player, JR&B?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Saturday, 21 September 2013 20:55 (ten years ago) link
I own a nylon string and have been trying to play for the past two years so I guess the answer is yes, sort of.
― I Am the Cosimo Code (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 21 September 2013 21:25 (ten years ago) link
I wish I could play with my fingers on guitar more, really just be able to arpeggiate much better in general. I'm pretty decent at some alternate picking, but I haven't even gotten to the point on bass I play with my fingers much. I do pick out some chords pretty well with a pick with alternate picking.
― earlnash, Sunday, 22 September 2013 04:28 (ten years ago) link
I've been growing and strengthening the nails on my right hand for fingerpicking purposes, but I've found this is impeding my bass playing. Is it possible to do both?
― Pingu Unchained (dog latin), Monday, 30 September 2013 10:46 (ten years ago) link
Good question.
― I Am the Cosimo Code (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 30 September 2013 12:37 (ten years ago) link
You could always glue on fake nails for your guitar gigs and take them off for your bass gigs but I imagine that would grow tiresome.
― We Shield Millions Now Living Who Will Never Die (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 24 March 2014 12:10 (ten years ago) link
j/k
― We Shield Millions Now Living Who Will Never Die (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 24 March 2014 14:37 (ten years ago) link
Have a good book to recommend to beginners, if anyone is interested.
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 April 2014 14:17 (nine years ago) link
yeah sure!
― goole, Monday, 21 April 2014 14:50 (nine years ago) link
Fingerstyle Guitar From Scratch, by Bruce Emery.
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 April 2014 14:55 (nine years ago) link
I will check it out. I often practice from this. But as the reviews say, you learn from playing the songs with very little instruction.
― Sufjan Cougar Mellencamp (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 21 April 2014 14:59 (nine years ago) link
(Xp) Or Travis-Style Guitar From Scratch, by the same author.
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 April 2014 15:02 (nine years ago) link
looks intersting, thx
― goole, Monday, 21 April 2014 15:20 (nine years ago) link
i'm a lefty, play guitar righty, and find it easier to play fingerstyle than with a pick. i played piano for many years before picking up guitar, which may have helped.
― sikeclops, Monday, 21 April 2014 19:48 (nine years ago) link
Lefty too. Have had a lot of trouble taming right hand since I came over from bass and at some point was playing mostly one finger at slow-medium tempos. And no ring finger obv.
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 April 2014 20:37 (nine years ago) link
I'll keep that in mind for guitar students, thanks. What are its strengths iyo?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 22 April 2014 01:21 (nine years ago) link
Strengths of being a lefty? For fingerstyle guitar? Not aware of any.
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 April 2014 02:02 (nine years ago) link
Ha, no argument there! What are the strengths of the Emery book?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 22 April 2014 02:13 (nine years ago) link
Emery books strengths are
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 April 2014 03:43 (nine years ago) link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musicians_who_play_left-handed#Left-handed_with_strings_backwards
― bogo jumbo boba (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 21:30 (three years ago) link
from Dick Dale to Gruff Rhys
― bogo jumbo boba (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 21:31 (three years ago) link
My brain can't do the mirroring properly so I couldn't see that Elizabeth Cotten was playing fully upside down.
― Garu’s Got a Rona (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 21:37 (three years ago) link
Lol, I was going to say something rude to you but I'm happy we're now all on the same page.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 21:42 (three years ago) link
From Sufjan's list: Laetitia_Sadier
I had no idea, and I'd seen guitar-era Stereolab more than a few times!
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 21:43 (three years ago) link
So it seems like she is playing the melody with the thumb, the bass with her index and then the thumb is also doing the comping.
― Garu’s Got a Rona (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 21:50 (three years ago) link
yep, just a "simple" claw with anchor, but both fingers have 4-string range.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 21:55 (three years ago) link
There's a pretty interesting music youtube guy called Benn Jordan who plays upside down guitar - he was given a right handed guitar as a left handed child and no-one ever intervened to let him know the strings were the wrong way round. By the time he found out it was too late to change. Watching him fingerpicking made my brain go a bit weird
― kites aren't fun (NickB), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 23:36 (three years ago) link
https://youtu.be/7n5Rdt8cOQk
― kites aren't fun (NickB), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 23:41 (three years ago) link
Which songs would you recommend learning as a progression to get to:https://tommyemmanuel.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/chet-atkins-walk-dont-run2.pdf
Do you play any bass + melody stuff already? Can you play "Freight Train" (whether upside down, right side up, with or without thumb fretting, etc)?
― I guess I'd be lonesome (Sund4r), Friday, 16 October 2020 17:58 (three years ago) link
i used to be able to do a mean Dust in the Wind
― Dinglebarista (Neanderthal), Friday, 16 October 2020 18:07 (three years ago) link
Silent Lucidity or gtfo
― nonsensei (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 16 October 2020 18:43 (three years ago) link
Been playing since the 80s and I still can't cleanly play a bar 7th chord on the A string or a bar minor chord on the E string worth a chud. I just cannot get that note on the bar between the fretted notes clean.
I'm not ready for 'the claw' or anything, but I can get the picking hand down some now. I can't keep callouses on my picking hand, which is the reason I never got away from playing bass with a pick.
Albert King and Doyle Bramhall II both also did/do the upside town strung guitar. I saw Bramhall up close at a small club in Lexington a few years ago and it was really wild to watch him play.
― earlnash, Tuesday, 20 October 2020 02:45 (three years ago) link
Since October, I've got my head around Travis picking, have learned* how to play Don't Think Twice and The Boxer and have been messing with some mental Nick Drake tunings - notably BEBEBE - and can do clumsy, ragged impressions of Northern Sky and The Fly.
*learned is always a fairly loose term; mostly I still play like an arthritic rhinoceros.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 23:02 (three years ago) link
nice, Don't Think Twice was one of the first I learned and it's got some really pretty chord changes in it
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 23:14 (three years ago) link
Where's a good place to go from there, man alive?
it's got some really pretty chord changes in itI love the 'walks' from the Am to F and D7.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 23:18 (three years ago) link
Have you ever heard the John Fahey tune Orinda-Moraga? That's a nice one that sounds harder than it is, although the nuances can be tricky. Good intro to fingerpicking in open tuning as well. A lot less left hand action than Don't Think Twice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hHXJXx0-gA
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 4 January 2021 18:18 (three years ago) link
I've been working up a version of Mississippi John Hurt's Let the Mermaids Flirt with me, maybe 75% based on his version but with a few of my own ideas mixed in.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJmGWLJB3Nn/