So what's wrong with picking every note?

[Bosko]

Nothing wrong with it, it but why limit yourself when you play an instrument that will let you slide, slur, hammer on/off, play double stops, bends etc. I think if you always try to enunciate every note, it can sound a little sterile, repetitious, boring, and mechanical.

[TH]

Nothing wrong with it, it but why limit yourself when you play an instrument that will let you slide, slur, hammer on/off, play double stops, bends etc. I think if you always try to enunciate every note, it can sound a little sterile, repetitious, boring, and mechanical.

Ouch!
(4:30 Freddie's on...)

David

[Bosko]

I like Freddie in small doses, especially in big bands.

[robby27]

Use it all!

Agreed!

[fumblefingers]

Nothing wrong with it, it but why limit yourself when you play an instrument that will let you slide, slur, hammer on/off, play double stops, bends etc. I think if you always try to enunciate every note, it can sound a little sterile, repetitious, boring, and mechanical.

who does only that?

[fumblefingers]

Can't one play 'legato' on a pick stroke simply by adjusting the accenting?

yes. most people here are confusing "legato" with "ligado".

1. legato does not require that a note not be struck.

AND

2. ligado explicitly means to "hammer-on" or "pull-off" in non-classical guitar parlance.


Incidentally, Howard Roberts was the first person I heard using the hammer/pull lingo.

Finally, I was told by my super-hip jazz teacher not to use classical professor speak, when in LA in 1980. he said that everyone would hate you if you spoke like a professor. jazz is a street music. ya gotta keep it real. man.

[bluewaterpig]

The opening question is like asking "so what if I color everything red?"

Different articulations add color to a player's style. You can take one line and make it sound like 10 different lines all through different articulations.

If a player is unaware of this, then I would say that they're brutally limiting themselves.

[augusjazz]

The opening question is like asking "so what if I color everything red?"

Different articulations add color to a player's style. You can take one line and make it sound like 10 different lines all through different articulations.

If a player is unaware of this, then I would say that they're brutally limiting themselves.

I totally agree.

[AlsoRan]

The opening question is like asking "so what if I color everything red?"

Different articulations add color to a player's style. You can take one line and make it sound like 10 different lines all through different articulations.

If a player is unaware of this, then I would say that they're brutally limiting themselves.

I guess I have to tread as carefully as politicians when posting because written words are always in danger of being taken completely literally. This can put one in danger of being mistook for being ignorant or misinformed at best and mentally ill at worst. (Like the song says, " Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood!")

I should have changed the question to say what is wrong with picking most of the notes, the way early Pat Martino does, as opposed to using a lot of slurs and legato?

I think I have gotten my answer.

To my ears, picking a lot and hard is like playing a horn loudly or singing loudly. It portrays areas of exclamation. While doing a lot of slurring and legato tends to soften a passage, more like a general conversation instead of a shout.

So I am listening closely to the effect of my pick as well as gauging expended effort vs. using a slur. Its all about the desired effect.

T'anks!

[brwnhornet59]

I was there when Holdsworth and McLaughlin got coked out of their brains and started fisting each other. Nah......

Very random dude.

[bluewaterpig]

I guess I have to tread as carefully as politicians when posting because written words are always in danger of being taken completely literally.

You don't have to tread lightly, but if you ask a question, be prepared to get an answer.

You can't convey sarcasm through text. When you post a question in here, it's going to be seen as somebody literally asking that question. That's the point of this forum.

[bobby d]

Picking every note is a great method. But picking every note all of the time, on every song, for the rest of your life is limiting yourself. But never picking every note is also limiting isn't it?

[fumblefingers]

I was there when Holdsworth and McLaughlin got coked out of their brains and started fisting each other. Nah......

all - i reported this post to Mr B, who has done nothing.


so srinjay, WTF do you mean by "fisting"? do you mean "punching" or something else? punching is the word to use in English unless you mean something vulgar. WTF do you mean?

[JakeAcci]

Things just got interesting!

[bluewaterpig]

feel free to report me, but before you do, do answer my question. Granted that there are multiple interpretations of the word; you are not the offspring of Charles Xavier, and as such have no telepathic talents, and as such even if the word fisting is used (in the parlance of our times) to mean what you said, there is NO way for you to be sure of the context that I used it in the given sentence.

Stop trying to be a smart ass. You knew exactly what you were saying when you posted that.

I personally don't care, but I think it's absolutely pointless (and a little concerning) to stick a crude comment in the middle of a perfectly fine conversation about jazz guitar.

[kris]

I don't think there's anything wrong with picking every note, or picking most every note. Some of my favorite players play like that.

I think you'll find ups and downs to both. I prefer the sound of picking every note as a lot of those old school guys do that. The truth is- when you start playing up-tempo songs, picking every note can be pretty difficult. If you can do it, all the power to you! At the end of the day, it's what you like to do. It's always great to hear from other people to learn and get different approaches- but it's really up to you and what you want to accomplish. I've noticed a lot of guys that are more modern players are really into the legato thing, but I'm just not into that kind of playing right now.

You are 100% right.
A lot of guitarist playing low action strings and like legato.
Playing fast tempos picking every note is not so easy special on arch-top with heavy set of strings.
Clint Strong playing fast tempos picking every note and use 10's strings.Interesting.
He play solid body guitars.

[mr. beaumont]

Jeez, can't turn my back for long, eh?

Hopefully we can keep this on track...troll removed...

[JakeAcci]

Since you implied two men, both musical giants btw and not worthy of such degradation, that is exactly how it came off and exactly what you meant.

This highschool explanation of yours might work with your friends or your boyfriend, but we are grown men here. Would you mind acting like one?

Sorry to get even further off topic..BH I know you mean well, but I found your homophobia here more offensive than the meaningless trolling that inspired it. But that's just me, and again, I know it wasn't your intention.

[brwnhornet59]

Homophobia? I think you mistake my attempts at trolling a troll for homophobia. No worries.

I am actually a staunch supporter of Gay rights and marriage. I have rallied for and contributed to this cause for several decades. My sister is a Lesbian and two of my closest friends are gay. But something tells me that John M and Mr Holdsworth are not, and of course the topic of this thread was not "Jazz Musicians who fist while using coke".


Sorry to offend Jake.

But back to the talk of Jazz.

[itsall4you]

I come from the 'pick every note' method.

You can still sound very legato even when you're picking every single note.
(extreme example

)

Now personally, I've grown tired of picking every note and I'm incorporating slurs into my playing and the transition was easy. I don't think it is the case the other way around.

One thing to consider is once you can pick every note it's easy to put hammer on's and pull offs in to your playing. While I understand people saying that you shouldn't pick every note because you need to use all the available tools on the instrument, picking is an extremely fundamental thing to do on the guitar. It sounds like you pick every note. There's nothing wrong with that, and it'll be easy to transition into other forms of playing because your right hand technique will naturally be good with this approach.

[AlsoRan]

The opening question is like asking "so what if I color everything red?"

Different articulations add color to a player's style. You can take one line and make it sound like 10 different lines all through different articulations.

If a player is unaware of this, then I would say that they're brutally limiting themselves.

BWP, you are correct. I should have said what I meant amd meant what I said. Otherwise, I could end up wasting a lot of folk's time.

Since we can't all meet in a giant auditorium and converse (wouldn't that be grand), accuracy is important in the written forum context.

Let him(she) that hath ears take heed!