I've been going back and forth between the plectrum and finger strumming / picking hybrid. I'm just finding my coordination with just using fingers just works for me. Anybody else? I know you should do both, but I just want to really develop a good finger strum. Thoughts?
Hi Justin, Welcome to CGO!
I actually learned to play (many years ago) without a pick (plectrum) and was fine with that until a couple of years ago. I was in a Guitar Center and one of those guys who likes to go into GC just to try out all the guitars (I actually do this, too, LOL) watched me playing and said, "You really should learn how to play with a pick."
So, I did. And it took me a long time to get the hang of it because I was so used to just strumming with my thumb and index finger. Many bad habits were ingrained for years and years. But I'm glad that I did learn how to use a pick because I don't think I could learn these flat-picking songs without it. At least it wouldn't sound the way it should anyway. I don't think I could even play a lot of these songs without a pick now.
You might say, well I can play just fine without a pick, in fact I'm more comfortable playing without one. But a lot of these really fast flat picking songs just go faster when you're using a pick. I've tried both ways and I've decided that a pick is the way to go.
For sure there are songs where you might just want a thumb pick or no pick at all, and finger picking is a whole other genre of music really, in my opinion.
Well, that's my two cents on this topic. 😀
I currently practice both finger style and flat picking. Getting good with a pick is essential if you want to grow as a player. I have
a Blue chip CT55 pick and it is my favorite pick I've ever owned.
It all really depends on your long term goals and the type of player you want to become. I practice 2 hours a day and 30 minutes of that is finger style; the rest is flat picking because that is where I really want to excel.
I use my CT 55 most often also. There’s some songs, like Guy Clark, John Prine, just have to be finger picked
Hi Justin. I'm kinda in that same category. Mostly because I love instrumental style finger picking with the bass/melody lines. But I also like using the flat pick if the song calls for it. I haven't had much luck with a thumb style pick but may one day.
I personally think developing the "Carter Scratch" style rhythm where thumbing the bass line and frailing with the index finger is great technique and sounds really good too. Check out the vid below for a good example. Courtney Andrews does a fantastic job with this as does many others.
We can thank Miss Maybelle Carter for this one..
I practice mostly with a pick but I spend some time every week on hybrid and some time on fingerstyle. It's all good , just takes practice.
@rg agree on the Blue Chip, I didn’t think a pick could make that much of a difference
I liked that. Looks like fun
