hybrid picking - do you use pinky

[johnnywas]

title says it all

 

can do some fingerstyle but my preference is for rock guitar

 

so interested in hybrid picking (ie pick and 4th and 5th fingers)

 

using the pinky is probably beyond me - I've tried and hate it

 

if you use hybrid picking do you use the pinky ?

 

and if not how much does that effect your ability to play arpeggios ?

[solitarycheese]

Do what works for you. I was taught not too, and I don't know of any major players who do. Pick (thumb and index) take the bass strings, the middle and ring take any other strings.

 

When fingerpicking, the thumb takes the E A and D, and then the index takes the g, middle the b, and ring the e. The pinky hangs free, while the other digits should be touching their assigned string when not in use.

[Dubb]

if you use hybrid picking do you use the pinky ? and if not how much does that effect your ability to play arpeggios ?

Never have used the pinky for hybrid picking, and probably never will. 80% of the time I just use my middle finger, and occasionally I will have to recruit my ring finger as well. But never the pinky - that's not even considered proper finger-picking technique, is it? Although I could be wrong on that... but I certainly never use the pinky to pick anything...

[BeowulfKingsley]

I use my pinky all the time for hybrid and fingerstyle...but I'm seriously screwed up. There are lots of amazing hybrid picking players who just use pick middle and ring fingers, in fact most of them. I use the pinky while I'm comping chords a lot, and on some patterns it seems to make sense to do it, but like I say, do what works for you and make it musical. That's the thing.

[Stackabones]

I've hybrid picked for just about two decades and I use my middle, ring and pinky when doing so. The pinky is not a big player, but I'm glad it's available when I need it.

 

The pinky comes into play depending on the chord (such as a four-string voicing) or the lines I'm going for.

[1001gear]

E X

A 0

D 2

G 0

B 1

E 0

 

Finger pick that without the pinky.

[Dubb]

I would normally just strum that chord with my thumb or index finger. But then, I sort of just "taught myself" finger picking, so I stray pretty far from the "classical" style.

[mugwump]

I also taught myself. I used the pinky "because it was there". I still do, even after being told many times that I shouldn't be.

 

It's a resource. I see no reason not to use it.

[1001gear]

I would normally just strum that chord with my thumb or index finger. But then, I sort of just "taught myself" finger picking, so I stray pretty far from the "classical" style.

 

Sure uh course strumming it'll work fine. Even strict classical doesn't omit strumming. I was getting at plucking the whole chord simultaneously - wish i knew the term for that; you get this pianistic burst of color that just doesn't happen any other way. And of course doing this with any five note voicing is going to require all the fingers no matter what the genre.

[BeowulfKingsley]

There's a crazy book called Hybrid Guitar Picking by Gustavo Assis-Brasil that goes over the top on this subject...I still chunk through some of it from time to time. He uses the pinky as well. Interesting book, although I was expecting more country-like examples, and his exercises are kind of King Crimson-y. Cool though, and it sure gets your whole hand working.

[Mark Wein]

i'll use the pinky if i am comping chords, but if I am playing more of a chickin' picking thing I just use my middle and ring finger....