Jazz Guitar Fingerstyle or Pick Dilemma

[reventlov]

"Sorry guys, please don't beat me up anymore."

Not to beat you up any more but if you're not familiar with fingerstyle improvisors, you MUST check out Lenny Breau - no list of fingerstyle improvisors is complete if he's not there.

[Zip]

Yes, Reventlov, of course you are right. I 'discovered' Lenny Breau some 20 or more years ago but then let him slip off my radar as I got more and more into the pick playing. I'm diving back into the vinyl collection for rediscovery. Thanks.

[derek]

Retracting my stupid comment and scurrying back under my rock. Sorry guys, please don't beat me up anymore.

No worries, beatings are included in the membership.

[Bluesguy]

We are just throwing names at ya, Zip. It's mostly harmless. But we can stop now.

[Zip]

I emerge from under my rock bruised, torn and battered...but somehow better for the experience.

[gravyTrain]

For what it's worth when I read that Joe Pass decided he liked the sound (and ability to do more) with only his fingers, then he moved to using his fingers only as a general rule, I can only assume that anyone can do it if they persist and practice.

Think about it: Joe Pass spent in excess of 20 years using pick + fingers, then moved on to fingers only -- talk about beating muscle memory. Wow!

Of course, I'm a huge JP fan.

[Val]

And Charlie Byrd and Ted Greene and many Brazilian players we have probably never heard of and Laurindo Almeida and Oscar Aleman and......
For my money, the Fred Kelly "Bumblebee" pick is better than the Herco because the depth is adjustable, and they come in heavier gauges and different points.
Also, there is nothing to stop a guitar player from developing a thumbpick technique like the one Don Reno used for banjo. It's damned fast. Of course, he was a really great flatpicker, too.
Many, many techniques and just one of them could take a lifetime to master.
I use pick and fingers, but the fingers I use only for four note chords on the top strings. I guess I got it from watching Frank Gambale. Just a suggestion.

[Hoopskidoodle]

For my money, the Fred Kelly "Bumblebee" pick is better than the Herco because the depth is adjustable, and they come in heavier gauges and different points.

They also have a more secure band to attach them to your thumb. I've always found Herco picks to be, in addition to sticking out too far, rather flimsy and precariously attached to my thumb. With the Fred Kelly Bumblebee picks I just got, I might throw caution to the wind and attempt a thumb-only upstroke.

[FatJeff]

Funny this topic just popped up again now...just yesterday I made the decision to bail on the Herco picks and go back to just plain old Fender Heavies. The Hercos are a good idea but I never got "the feel" out of them that I wanted. I tried a bunch of things...trimming it down all stubby so that I could comp w/ thumb and then transition to pick; sliding it up and down my thumb depending on if I wanted just fingers, or the pick; etc. In the end I disliked the comfort (it cut off my circulation), and didn't feel as if it angled itself like I want my picks to. So, back to the pick-in-the-mouth scenario for me.

[derek]

For what it's worth when I read that Joe Pass decided he liked the sound (and ability to do more) with only his fingers, then he moved to using his fingers only as a general rule, I can only assume that anyone can do it if they persist and practice.

Think about it: Joe Pass spent in excess of 20 years using pick + fingers, then moved on to fingers only -- talk about beating muscle memory. Wow!

Of course, I'm a huge JP fan.

All the video I have of Joe (4 or 5) has him making changes back and forth from fingers only to pick. He does this a few times during each song. It is what I tend to do also, being a big JP fan too.

[MooseMagnet]

I like playing with pick only, pick and fingers, and fingers only.
But... when gigging a lot, my fingernails/fingers don't hold up, and I have to use a pick.

[vsaumarez]

Lots of players have discovered the same secret. Fingers have a much more intimate connection with strings, but there is a trade off. But that trae off doesn't need to compromise you as player if you think of it as an additional feather in your cap. Some tunes just cry out for that soft touch where speed is not an issue. Some guitarists hold the pick in the fleshy folds of their palm for a quick change from fingers to plectrum. Some use there teeth. It's probably better that your learned with a plectrum first, and no need to give it up.

[vsaumarez]

Lot's of players have discovered the same secret. Fingers have a much more intimate connection with strings, but there is a trade off. But that trade off doesn't need to compromise you as a player if you think of it as an additional feather in your cap. Some tunes just cry out for that soft touch where speed is not an issue. Some guitarists hold the pick in the fleshy folds of their palm for a quick change from fingers to plectrum. Some use there teeth. It's probably better that your learned with a plectrum first, and no need to give it up. I should think 200 bpm is tops for many with fingers. Lucia being the exception.

[cosmic gumbo]

What's the difference between a plectrum and a pick. Do you pick with a pick and pluck with a plectrum? Does it matter that much? I think them flamingo guitar players are digital players. Everything digital is usually faster.

[NSJ]

I see a lot of players comp with the fingers, single note runs with the picks (from Holdsworth on down).

The big MUSICAL reason for fingers = true POLYPHONY--multiple, independent lines.