The newbie acoustic blues guitarist is faced with several choices when deciding to learn how to pick the blues in the old style.
One of these basic choices is whether to use bare fingers or wear a thumb pick and one or more finger picks.
They both have pros and cons, and some of the pros of not wearing them are obvious, such as the fact that bare fingers get sore!Other pros and cons are not so obvious and don’t become apparent until we try them out.
One basic difference is that bare fingers make a softer sound, while picks act as a natural amplifier and the sound is harder to the ear.
The video starts with a short performance of my version of “Guitar Rag”, written by Merle Travis and later made famous by Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel.
It’s a classic example of so-called ‘Travis picking’, in that the bass strings are damped with the palm of the picking hand and make a ‘bum-chick’ sound instead of making a clear, ringing sound. Moving in to a close up shot (1 m 33s) we can see how the damping tehcnique works, once again with “Guitar Rag” and then with a short section of “Deep River Blues”, by Doc Watson, another fine Travis style finger picker.
At 5m 6s I use the thumb pick to try and simulate the big thumb work of Bill Bill Broonzy, using the thumb pick to brush across two or three bass strings in one stroke.
When the strings are damped with the palm of the picking hand, a driving ‘thrum’ sound is produced, typical of Big Bill’s swinging chicago blues style.
“How Long Blues” by Leroy Carr is a fine example of a blues in A that lends iself readily to being played with finger picks (5m 36s).
In this short performance, we can see how various techniques are used to add power and drive to this song.
For example, I might stumble across two bass notes instead of hitting just one cleanly, or ‘throw’ the thumb down onto a bass string producing a percussive sound.
The finger pick can be used to delicately pick individual strings, or brush several strings on the up stroke, creating a fuller sound. All of these techniques make the sound more interesting and exciting for the listener.
Finally, it’s probably best not to limit ourselves musically in any way, choosing to wear picks or not depending on the song we are playing.
Picks can make a great swinging sound and I tend to use them for Broonzy songs, and also the Gospel type picking of Reverend Gray Davis. More complex ragtime songs in the style of Blind Blake, for example, are better suited to bare finger picking.
Of course, many master acoustic guitarists use a plastic thumb pick and bare finger.
The bottom line is this – whatever works and is comfortable for you is the way to go.
Best Guitar Picks (10 years ago)
Well i always find bit hard to play acoustic guitar i don’t know why?BY seeing this video and following what you said ,now i feel lil better on this guitar.