best way to play octaves on the A/G strings

[CarmenJuandeago]

i think the best way is to use index for the low note/ pinky for the octave, with your thumb wrapped around to mute the low E in a "rock guitar" position.... is this the standard method?

 

its a bit harder to do on fat necked guitars though

[golias]

I'm pretty confident that those are English words, but I don't understand your question at all.

[nickeroo]

Hmm. I personally hybrid pick all octaves. Thumb for bass note, third finger for octave note.

[benzem]

 

i think the best way is to use index for the low note/ pinky for the octave, with your thumb wrapped around to mute the low E in a "rock guitar" position.... is this the standard method? its a bit harder to do on fat necked guitars though

 

 

That's how I do it. I used to use my 3rd fngr for the octave but switched after I saw SRV and Wes Montgomery using the 4th finger. They both had huge hands but it was a matter of easier muting and the fact that you can switch to octaves on the 4th and 2nd strings, which is a three fret spread much quicker.

 

If you haven't seen Wes, check out U2b. He used octaves for soloing almost exclusively, and was amazingly fast at it.

[golias]

Oh, I think I've got it... You mean you want to play an open-5th "power chord" with whatever note you're playing on the A string as the root?

 

Most players do that with their ring finger two frets higher on the G string (and the D string for the 5th) and don't strum the E string, or you can mute it any of a dozen other ways.

 

If you can get your ring finger to lay across the D, G and B strings, you've got yourself one of the most commonly-used Major barre chords.

 

If you want to JUST play the octave of the note on the A string, you have to mute the D string with either a free finger or part of one of the two fingers you're using, or else finger-pick just those two strings, but there are very few situations where having the 5th in there would be an unwelcome sound.

[CarmenJuandeago]

 

That's how I do it. I used to use my 3rd fngr for the octave but switched after I saw SRV and Wes Montgomery using the 4th finger. They both had huge hands but it was a matter of easier muting and the fact that you can switch to octaves on the 4th and 2nd strings, which is a three fret spread much quicker. If you haven't seen Wes, check out U2b. He used octaves for soloing almost exclusively, and was amazingly fast at it.

 

 

 

yeah that was exactly my experience.... i used to use my index/3rd finger but i was hitting too many accidental strings so then i switched

 

except it came about differently lol i was trying to play stuff like cherub rock/woodstock improvisiation and noticed both hendrix/corgan did it the wes montgomery method with the 4th finger

 

granted both of them also have huge hands along with wes/srv

[Special J]

I've always used my index and ring finger for this, with my thumb in a somewhat neutral position. Just what feels natural to me.