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playing without a pick? are you?


t_e_l_e

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accoustic all the time, but i do not play that often my accoustic

 

but on electric i play almost always with a pick. playing without a pick often sounds dull, has not much clarity and loses volume, especially when strumming.

 

i know its me and my playing technic and style

e.g. jeff beck or mark knopfler play always without a pick and they sound great, but if i have to play electric without i am missing something.

 

how do they do it? except practice, do they have extra strong finger nails? playing the amp louder?

 

using all fingers of the picking hand would give some more options, but i'm so used to the pick that i can't play without...

 

how do you do it?

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I usually keep a little bit of (carefully manicured) nail on my picking hand so I can either use my fingertips or get some nail in there depending on the sound I'm after.

 

For me the loudest strumming option at my disposal is without a pick, using the backs of my nails (fingers down, thumb up. Sort of like a modified flamenco rasgueado.

 

I usually use a combination of flatpick and fingers because that gives me a stronger attack on bass notes. A good example is Take 5 by Dave Brubeck. When I play it with just fingers I can't get the bassline loud enough. Plus having the pick enables the lead bits.

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I'm comfortable on piano (not good, just comfortable) and those skills transfer well to finger style. I like the control you get over muting, soft attacks, and specific note combinations just like piano but I almost always use a pick. For me it's much quicker for linear stuff but mostly that's what I'm on right now.

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I play with a pick or without depending on the sounds I am trying to achieve.

 

The strings will take a toll on your finger nails. Too long and you stand a chance of breaking a a nail on the string.

 

Sometimes I steal my wife clear nail polish, but it doesn't last long.

 

 

If you can get used to national finger picks good luck and more power to ya.

 

 

 

 

[video=youtube;iAWIF7XewEI]

[video=youtube;mCHyMvNlZJw]

 

[video=youtube;cE2swkx9WXE]

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I've been a fan of Dire Straits for a long time and it sounds like he uses his fingertips and uses the amp to add the sizzle that would normally come from nails or a pick. That's the way I attempt his stuff.

 

IIRC, Mark will frequently kind of "snap" the strings between his index finger and thumb, which, along with some compression (and the amp settings), gives him some of that poppy attack.

 

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Nearly always use fingernails Thumbnail for lead and strumming and fingernails for patterns and simultaneous strings (jazzy latin stuff)

This came out of starting with classical lessons.

The attack is less that a pick but a lot more than fingertips.

I really like the directness, and delicacy*, it's as natural as drumming your fingers

The flipside is that 'normal' guitarists can't play parts that I write especially if they don't have nails

 

*(incidentally note on delicacy that Beck often uses his trem right up near the pivot point rather than at the "handle" end)

 

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Here's a pic of my picking paw.

 

I just cut my nails the other day to what works best for me on an acoustic or electric. Sometimes they are a bit longer.

 

The nail inside of my pointer finger next to my middle has been permanently worn down for 40 years, and usually has string oxidation on it, so even when I us a pick I'm dragging my nail on the strings a bit.

 

 

My nails are short enough to grab a bit of the nail and a bit of the meat of the finger tips. My thumb has a small callus on the edge of it, which is difficult to see, as I just put hand cream on. Freaking winter in New England, ain't letting up one bit to soon.

 

At 50 years old I ended up at a dermatologist with a nasty case of eczema on my hands. I actually thought I got into poison ivy or oak, at the time. We whipped it out with a steroid cream or actually 2 steroid creams, but since then I really watch what soaps I use and also us Cetaphil hand cream often throughout the day. Of course it one of the more expensive hand lotions at the store, but was recommended by the dermatologist. Since then I have zero out breaks.

 

Real Classical players have a really art to nail care.

 

Me, I kind of go with it.

 

After I cut them with clippers, I hit em with a emery board some I don't get snags on the string.

 

The picking paw pink does nothing, but goes along for the ride, but it that not short you can feel it hit the inside of your hand when you're playing. By then it's time to trim the nails up.

 

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"Nails.jpg","data-attachmentid":32182164}[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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When I was a kid, I just had a cheap gut string guitar. Once I'd nibbled down the few picks I had I started using my fingers and I wuz i think getting used to it. Then I got cheap electric...But no picks. Started using dimes.They lasted until I could afford picks.I've always looked as picks as a luxury, still do.

 

I realize that prolly doesn't really add to the conversation here.

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i have started using my first finger and nail in the last couple of years,i still play with plectrum aswell.The finger does feel more natural and it is very suprising how much you can do with it, the only problem is that the nail does get raggy and eventualy breaks with too much use .i do get more volume with a pick .if my nail was unbreakable i would use it all the time .it is hard to break the habit of using a plectrum though but very liberating to play without one especially at a gig or a jam .

https://soundcloud.com/user-16498480...rt-of-the-city

i use my finger and nail on this recording, all the riffs and solo`s were done with the finger you can hear it more on the solo`s, the finger nail do not sound like a plectrum,the nail has a tickely ickly sound ,not full sounding like a plectrum.

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At 50 years old I ended up at a dermatologist with a nasty case of eczema on my hands. I actually thought I got into poison ivy or oak, at the time. We whipped it out with a steroid cream or actually 2 steroid creams, but since then I really watch what soaps I use and also us Cetaphil hand cream often throughout the day. Of course it one of the more expensive hand lotions at the store, but was recommended by the dermatologist. Since then I have zero out breaks.

 

 

 

I'm a lifelong allergy sufferer, and I'm allergic to so many things that avoidance is impractical. Eczema shows up regularly on my fingers and hands.

 

I'd love to know the names of the creams they prescribed for you if you don't mind sharing.

 

I've tried using Cetaphil, but it has limited effectiveness for me.

 

 

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In my early twenties I bought a Yamaha classical guitar that was on sale. I took a few classical lessons which gave me some right hand technique but didn't stick with it.

 

When Dire Straits came out I bought the first two albums and a Stratocaster. I studied those albums and, in the process, learned the proper way to play "Smoke on the Water"

 

I prefer to play electric and acoustic with fingers only but will use a pick when the music calls for it. I always have a half-dozen picks in my pocket.

 

 

.

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A friend of mine in Vancouver is working classical guitarist who also is also very active in a great rockabilly trio. He uses synthetic fingernails that are glued on and sees a manicureist once a week.

 

Years ago I tried glue on nails but found them to be more trouble than they were worth. It might have been different if I had been getting professional help like my friend does.

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I'm a lifelong allergy sufferer, and I'm allergic to so many things that avoidance is impractical. Eczema shows up regularly on my fingers and hands.

 

I'd love to know the names of the creams they prescribed for you if you don't mind sharing.

 

I've tried using Cetaphil, but it has limited effectiveness for me.

 

 

Not at all.

 

 

 

Cetaphil is only used to keep you hands moisturized.

 

The dermatologist prescribed theses.

 

I used the one in the first picture for about a month, super sparingly, a thin layer at best twice a day.

The steroid thins your skin, including the guitar playing calluses you kind of want, as a musician. They do come back.

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"Package_20370.jpg","data-attachmentid":32182755}[/ATTACH]

 

And this is the second one I used. Twice a day,

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"1259030.jpg","data-attachmentid":32182756}[/ATTACH]

 

The both look like they have a .05% steroid in them, but he said the second one is stronger. IDK

 

My hands looked like this at one time, with lil blisters on them. I messed around with a bunch of the over counter stuff, but I figured I better find a dermatologist and find out what was really going on.

 

These days, I use no soaps other than Dove of Sensitive skin. I got my own soap at work too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"dyshidrotic_eczema_hand_2.jpg","data-attachmentid":32182757}[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

The first part is to whip out the eczema, and the second part is to not have it flair up again. I think mine was called Dyshidrotic Eczema.

 

 

The dermatologist said eczema is an auto immunity disease. How you get it remains a mystery.

 

While I was there, they went over me with a magnifying glass to looking any signs of melanoma. I was good, but when I was in the waiting room a few times, I saw folks that were not so fortunate.

 

Back in the 60's,70's and 80's I spent could less hours at the lake, or pool side. We had Coppertone.

 

Now my lovely lily white fair skinned blonde hair wife, back about 10 years ago, developed what is called a photo-sensitivity reaction to the sun. All she needs is a about 10 minutes in the sun and it all starts. She went to a dermatologist and her dermatologist told her the sun is a whole different game than it was 30 years ago. We buy a product call No Ad for her, at the highest SPF available. She should use it more often when she's outside.

 

We are both cautious of what the sun can do these days.

 

Both my wife and I had Vitamin D blood samples taken. and we ended up taking mega doses of it(50,000 IUD's once a week for a month). I just had this years blood work done 3 days ago and I'm waiting to see if I need to do another once a week treatment of Vitamin D. Plus they are checking a bunch of other old man base line issues that could creep up over time.

 

Another thing I do is, if I use a cleaning product or do some dishes, I wear gloves.

 

 

Chemicals have been developed over the past 100 years that should never had been introduced to the planet or exposed to peeps.

 

I go to music festival and play a few music festivals every year. I have a bunch of nice hats, including 2 Stetsons and a Shady Brady.

 

 

I hope this helps a bit.

 

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accoustic all the time, but i do not play that often my accoustic

 

but on electric i play almost always with a pick. playing without a pick often sounds dull, has not much clarity and loses volume, especially when strumming.

 

i know its me and my playing technic and style

e.g. jeff beck or mark knopfler play always without a pick and they sound great, but if i have to play electric without i am missing something.

 

how do they do it? except practice, do they have extra strong finger nails? playing the amp louder?

 

using all fingers of the picking hand would give some more options, but i'm so used to the pick that i can't play without...

 

how do you do it?

 

Acoustic & Electric: unless I’m playing a strum rhythm - I play fingerstyle.

 

it’s faster with less wrist movement.

 

if your tone is affected, tweak compression, EQ & volume.

 

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Me too. I wish I'd learned that style instead of one or the other. Flat pick + finger picking seems like it would not only give you the best of both, but also allow a quick switch to the pick when needed, especially when something like tremolo picking is suddenly needed on single strings.

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playing without a pick often sounds dull, has not much clarity and loses volume, especially when strumming.

 

i know its me and my playing technic and style

e.g. jeff beck or mark knopfler play always without a pick and they sound great, but if i have to play electric without i am missing something.

 

how do they do it? except practice, do they have extra strong finger nails? playing the amp louder?

 

using all fingers of the picking hand would give some more options, but i'm so used to the pick that i can't play without...

 

how do you do it?

 

Oddly I tend to use a pick more often if I play acoustic, to get the volume out of it. But I'm much more of an electric guitar player than acoustic, so if I grab a steel string acoustic, my proficiency drops down to more like a camp fire player than an articulate "Clapton Unplugged" player.

 

On the other side, when I play electric I almost always play with my finger tips & nails. I don't usually even have a pick within reach. I took some classical guitar lessons back in the late 90s and that style just stuck with me. I just find that having individual fingers assigned to one or two strings allows me to jump strings (i.e. string skipping) with more speed and precision.

 

But like you, I've watched Mark Knopfler in awe wondering how he can get that much attack tone from his finger tips. It's also interesting to see that he only uses thumb, index and middle fingers with his ring finger just along for the ride. I would personally be struggling if I wasn't also employing my ring finger, so his style appears to me as being a bit handicapped while also being awe inspiring. I also tend to leave about a 1/16" of finger nail on my right hand to add some attack. They do get longer and then I also get to whine like a little girl when I break a nail.

 

But there's been some downside to my finger style. I probably tend to over arpeggiate the sound of songs I play a bit too much. I often need to go back to the song to hear the accentuations in a song and correct my renditions and be more faithful to the exact lead lines, whereas left on my own accord, I tend to make a lot of rock songs sound like "In the style of Scarborough Fair". :0

 

Also, I struggle on and off trying to learn Misirlou (for example) with my biggest hurdle being the tremolo picking on the wispy high e string. (I know that using .013 gauge would help, but I don't string my guitars that tough) But for songs like that, I'd be hopeless with just fingers, so I switch to a flat pick. So in general, I've never made any real progress into speed playing, so no Vai or Paul Gilbert here. :(2

 

Sometimes when I need to switch to play like a pick, I'll brace my index finger tip with my thumb and use the tip of the index finger like a pick. But that lacks the durability of a pick, i.e. goodbye fingernail. Example, when my band would play "Bang a Gong - T-Rex" my index finger might be the pick, then jumping to "The Weight - The Band" I'm back to straight on finger style.

 

But I've played with a true veteran keyboard player, about 77 yo now, who used to be part of a regular act in Las Vegas and opened for Lionel Ritchie, etc. and he's often complimented "my style" like, "you've really got something there" Of course, he is very kind. smiley-wink

 

But my point is, we can't all play in all styles, There's Andres Segovia and then there's Michael Angelo Batio.

 

Also I tend to create renditions of oddball songs that suite my tastes/playing style, often not written for guitar; e.g.:

 

Hans Zimmer's "You're So Cool" (marimba)

Floyd Kramer's "Last Date" (piano)

Senza Fine (Strings - an Italian song I first heard from the '65 Jimmie Stewart movie, "Flight of the Phoenix")

Whiter Shade of Pale (Hammond B3)

Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (I believe that was Hammond B3 style keyboard too)

 

So I guess my story is, playing method will tend to take you down certain paths of musical style, or your musical tastes will drive that style, and that's fine with me, but indeed, I wish I could just drop into a Van Halen or Hendrix tune at the drop of a hat, but those have long learning curves for me since it's just not been where I've focused my time and attention. I guess I'd be more likely to be found at a coffee shop or open mic than a rock stage. LOL

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But my point is, we can't all play in all styles, There's Andres Segovia and then there's .....

 

The different style guitarist don't always know each. This reminded me of a story. My first cousin (his Mom and my Dad were twins) used to play with Chet a lot. One time Chet told him he was taken down a little and to always remember your place in the world. He went to see Segovia play and was very curious. He asked and of course was permitted by stage hands to go backstage to meet Segovia. He went into the dressing room and introduced himself. He asked Segovia if he could see his guitar to which he replied "I have put it in my case and when I do it stays there." Chet left feeling a peg or two lower, since Segovia didn't even know who he was. Sorry for interrupting the thread, just a laugh....

 

I started with electric in 1959. In mid sixties I found the music I was really drawn too was acoustic. I played it a lot, and learned to finger pick with all the James Taylor and John Denver stuff. I went back to electric and continued to use a pick until I watched a video of Knopfler and decided to give it a try. I find it to be MUCH more expressive without a pick, but I don't feel totally fluid yet with fast stuff. One thing I tried that helped bridge the gap was use of a plastic thumb pick with the pick end sanded way back. It lets me use fingers at will and then by closing the index to the thumb you have a near standard pick. Might work for some of you.

 

I noticed that Andy, who does all the videos for Pro Guitar Shop on Youtube never uses a pick and I love his playing. He just closes index to thumb as a pick without actually having one, and then finger picks also. I am sort of using him as my online "teacher" for that style. He is really good at it.

 

 

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I noticed that Andy, who does all the videos for Pro Guitar Shop on Youtube never uses a pick and I love his playing. He just closes index to thumb as a pick without actually having one, and then finger picks also. I am sort of using him as my online "teacher" for that style. He is really good at it.

 

yeah i noticed this just lately aswell, which was also a reason why i started this thread :)

 

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The different style guitarist don't always know each. This reminded me of a story. My first cousin (his Mom and my Dad were twins) used to play with Chet a lot. One time Chet told him he was taken down a little and to always remember your place in the world. He went to see Segovia play and was very curious. He asked and of course was permitted by stage hands to go backstage to meet Segovia. He went into the dressing room and introduced himself. He asked Segovia if he could see his guitar to which he replied "I have put it in my case and when I do it stays there." Chet left feeling a peg or two lower, since Segovia didn't even know who he was. Sorry for interrupting the thread, just a laugh....

 

I started with electric in 1959. In mid sixties I found the music I was really drawn too was acoustic. I played it a lot, and learned to finger pick with all the James Taylor and John Denver stuff. I went back to electric and continued to use a pick until I watched a video of Knopfler and decided to give it a try. I find it to be MUCH more expressive without a pick, but I don't feel totally fluid yet with fast stuff. One thing I tried that helped bridge the gap was use of a plastic thumb pick with the pick end sanded way back. It lets me use fingers at will and then by closing the index to the thumb you have a near standard pick. Might work for some of you.

 

I noticed that Andy, who does all the videos for Pro Guitar Shop on Youtube never uses a pick and I love his playing. He just closes index to thumb as a pick without actually having one, and then finger picks also. I am sort of using him as my online "teacher" for that style. He is really good at it.

 

 

Good story. It doesn't surprise me that Andres Segovia would be like that, but OTOH, I always found it interesting that he was a guitar instructor to Charo from her age of 9 to 16. Cuchi cuchi!

 

[video=youtube;_McDOa6TOfg]

 

Well, it's cool to hear that Andy has a similar technique that I've gravitated towards. I hadn't noticed that before, but definitely admire his playing skills and find his reviews more useful than most - fo sho.

 

I'll have to try the idea of the sanded down thumb pick. I think I might be able to manage that. Thanks for the tip, no pun intended. smiley-wink

 

P.S. I find myself having to have to run to the chord encyclopedia when I've looked at some of JT's stuff. Unlike the standard thinking that was so pervasive, i.e. to learn on an acoustic and then transition to electric, I feel like they are more like two different instruments. The techniques and use of partial (i.e. only what is needed) chord shapes becomes so much more important on an acoustic to get clear note tones. With an electric, I can get away with grabbing a barre chord and then picking out the strings/notes I need. Electrics are more forgiving. But it didn't help me that my first guitar in 1966 was a Framus acoustic with high action and low frets. But I still have it to this day since it's great for slicing hard boiled eggs. LOL/JK

 

But actually I do still have the Framus, and one day, about 20 years ago, it was in the hands of a friend of mine, a pro-guitar player with no "day job" and who got his BA in classical performance on guitar, and I was dang near startled to hear the sounds he could get out of it.

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