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" Barney Kessel used downstrokes,so did Wes,albeit with his thum. I play
both thum and pick.LG.."
George Benson contends that Wes Montgomery played both downstrokes and upstrokes utilizing the "corn" that he had on his thumb.
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03-31-2010 12:50 AM
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I think you're right when you quote GB. Wes did use up strokes,but only when he played either rhythm or single notes,not both, I dont know which
though. Does anyone out there know? I do know Joe Pass cut his picks in half and
used the pointed half. Wes contradicts at least two discussions on this
forum i.e--no pick--no theory. Nuff said. I feel that, when playing with
the thumb, you get more response than you do from a piece of plastic.
[ The spirit lives through the nerves in your thumb,or was it brush?-same thing]...
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I would say maybe finger pick for comping and use a pick to solo.
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Originally Posted by TommyD
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Originally Posted by derek
All the authentic players adhere to gypsy picking: Stochelo Rosenberg, Jimmy Rosenberg, Angelo Debarre, The Schmitt family, Adrien Moignard, Sebastien Giniaux, Gonzalo Bergara, the list goes on. Economy picking simply will not allow the Selmer-type guitars to produce a rich or loud enough tone to sound authentic. Many players favor 3.5mm picks, some up to 5mm but that's extreme.
Some contemporary players like Bireli Lagrene occasionally use economy picking to be able to play certain licks, but it's a rare occurrence.
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Bit off topic but apparently Charlie Christian used only downstrokes and planted his other fingers on the pick guard quite hard, and used a big thick pick
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This particular picking technique uses only downstrokes.
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Originally Posted by derek
yeah, sweep or economy picking for rapid "horn-line" arpeggiation is a critical skill to build - even for alternate picking die-hards!
alternate picking is not the absolute fastest way to play but many great players are able to get all the speed that the music requires and then some (see John McLaughlin for example).
alternate picking is a bit more percussive and has a certain sound that gypsy, sweep, and economy picking don't quite produce, IMO. its a bit more like flamenco punctuation, and is very appealing to a LOT of listeners.
i also play classical and plectrum styles. i hate to say it, but there is no friggin way that one can play the same kind of "classical" or "latin fingerstyle", etc music on a one-for-one basis, with a pick. so, just accept it.
my advice to the OP is to listen to players who are well known for a particular style of picking, and if you are certain that you want to sound similar to that, use the same approach. you owe it to yourself to listen and be certain of what you are hearing, because any path that you will take will require dedication, work, and time. we all only have so much time.
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Picking styles? Check this out:
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05-03-2012, 10:28 PM #35Prome Guest
It's helpful to think of where the energy of the pick stroke comes from. For years I've used "circular picking," which is where the energy of the pick motion comes from the thumb/index finger joints, leaving the wrist and elbow relaxed and static. With this approach, your wrist and elbow move only passively, not actively, though the elbow does move a bit to position your pick on different strings.
Another approach -- one I've gradually been moving towards -- is to keep your index/thumb essentially locked, though relaxed, and to pick from rotating your wrist as if turning a door knob or shaking water off your hand. A good way to get a feel for this is to use all down strokes on one string, resting the pick on the adjacent (higher pitched) string after each stroke -- thus, this is called "rest-stroke picking." This style is basically what Russell Malone and Benson use, though they both angle the pick differently than most guitarists. The Gypsy guys are basically using this approach as well. You get a better pop, and the upstrokes have a lighter, breathier sound. Keeping good time with single note lines at fast tempos is easier with this technique, I've found. It is in this technique you more often find the consecutive/economy picking directions mentioned throughout this thread, as opposed to the strict alternate picking that guys like Johnny Smith use(d).Last edited by Prome; 05-03-2012 at 10:32 PM.
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