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Music Information |
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Reasons to Ditch Your Guitar Pick
Lately, I haven't been using my guitar pick all that much. I got this tab book of some good ol' Gatemouth Brown finger picking blues. I've been enjoying myself so much trying to get this fingerpick thang goin'." I'm starting to understand the arpeggio-phrasing technique a lot more. Gatemouth Brown is a legend and a true musician. He plays acoustic / electric guitar in all genres. He can also play the fiddle like nobody's business. He is also a drummer, harp player, and banjo playing fool. So, let's cover some of the techniques I've found to be very effective in my playing. Using these techniques can add color to your performance. Think of it as a small toolbox of tricks you can pull out to add character to your songs and live set. Effective pick-hand technique provides the kind tone and textures that can give a personal touch to an old classic or to provide a step off point for other creative musical endeavors. Try Different Styles and Genre Play the root notes with your thumb. The down-strums with the tips of your fingernails, and upstrokes with just you finger tips. Get yourself a metronome and play to different speeds, Do some stagger strumming. Strum to the off beats. Download or find music that you might not jam to. Try a calypso feel. Do some cowboy songs and "Yes" hammer-on those top bass strings and get into some alternate picking, etc. Try a walking bass line while playing the three higher strings open. These are just ideas to opening your mind! Turn Your Acoustic into a Percussion Instrument Bang on it like a hand drum. Strike or tap the strings with the inside surface of your fingers as if you swatting a fly. Now? don't bang on it to hard. I don't want to be blamed for someone's guit-box being damaged. Let your fingers kind of bounce off and away from the strings for them to ring-out. Experiment with different taps all up and down the fret board and back side of the neck too! Use the top of the guitar as a drum. I've seen duos with one person playing the guitar and the other person playing the percussions on the back of the guitar laid flat across the their lap. Remember to use the different parts of the hand to include knuckles, fingers -rings, etc. Slap and Pop Technique Bass players use this technique for rhythmic power. Use the outside of your thumb joint to attack the strings. If you experiment with this approach, try getting bell like tones out of those bass strings. Put Some Snap into Your Playing Use your index finger to snap those high strings when playing lead solos. Try yanking lightly on each string, releasing it against the fret board with a bright snap. Give those strings a real pinch when needed too (Don't be shy...). This is good for rock and blues flavored solos. Use Muting and Volume in Your Playing Slap and pop with some funk. Use your thumb and middle finger playing octave notes. Kinda like a cat claw approach. Don't forget to use the heel of your pick hand to mute and use as a volume control for the strings. Rest the heel of your hand lightly on the saddle. Now practice strumming and muting the strings while the heel lightly lays across the strings. Next, mute the strings with your chord-hand by lightly touching the string while strumming your guitar with your nails on your finger-tips. Kinda like playing percussions on the strings. I call it chickin'- scratchin' those strings. "Again, I hope I've sparked some imagination for playing without a pick. These ideas will help you develop your own style too!" Scott Thomas
MORE RESOURCES: Continuing the Music - BCTV bctv.org Stephen Bishop reflects on his life in music in 'On and Off,' an autobiography with a dramatic twist The San Diego Union-Tribune Review | This 'Music Man' wins us over in sign language The Washington Post News Briefs: Winners of Art in the Village; Music Institute raises $750,000 at annual benefit - The Record The Record North Shore Final Fantasy VII Remake Music Disc Locations: The Power of Music & where to get all Music Discs RPG Site MusicWorks celebrates 20 years of creating music to help and heal The Delaware County Daily Times Ermonela Jaho, an Albanian Soprano, ‘Can Sing Your Music’ The New York Times Afrobeats new music weekly roundup Vanguard Celebrate the Music of Woodstock with Gary Burtnik's Summer of Love Concert at The Ridgefield Playhouse This Month Broadway World Fiesta Noche del Rio music revue celebrates 65 years in San Antonio KSAT San Antonio Stephen Kessler | ‘Music is the healing force of the universe’ Santa Cruz Sentinel Black residents chosen to manage music venue Charlotte Observer Column: Hirschman to direct second music tech camp The Sheridan Press Beyoncé and Drake are making this the summer of house music — and we are here for it - New York Post Andrew Pincus, classical music critic who covered Bernstein and Ozawa, takes his final bow Berkshire Eagle Loud music, strobe lights and Michael Myers: An inside look at Cincinnati's Squat Fest The Cincinnati Enquirer NPR's favorite music of June, from salty joy to heart-wrenching slow jams : All Songs Considered NPR Microsoft Is Preserving Music On Glass Slides Under A Mountain In Norway For A Post-Doomsday World Metal Injection Kacey Musgraves, Big Sean, and More: Step Inside the Music Rooms of 6 Famous Musicians | Architectural Digest Architectural Digest Richard Taruskin, Vigorously Polemical Musicologist, Dies at 77 The New York Times Downtown Mount Clemens to present more free live music this summer The Macomb Daily Manteo's annual 4th of July Celebration promises games, live music, contests, and much more! OBXToday.com THIS WEEK IN THE ARTS | Fireworks, live music, comedy night and more Manhattan Mercury A Look Back at Robin Thicke's Thrilling Music Career - A Look Back at Robin Thicke's Thrilling Music Career Talent Recap Crash Test Dummies joins Pleasantville Music Festival lineup News 12 Brooklyn Chosen Few Picnic Celebrates 30th Anniversary With 14 Hours Of House Music In Jackson Park Saturday Block Club Chicago The Best Experimental Music on Bandcamp: June 2022 bandcamp.com 'Grover's Corner' dedicated with memories and music behind Town Hall in Great Barrington Berkshire Eagle Letter | Upcoming Civic music events will require masks Santa Cruz Sentinel Ray Chew bringing Black music elements to Macy's July 4 show New York Daily News Dennis Cahill, Irish traditional music great from Chicago, dead at 68 Chicago Sun-Times Born to Dance — Catherine Knight: Multi-Media Artist 'Visual music' Terre Haute Tribune Star Review: ‘The Mutes’ Gives Voice to Musical Outsiders The New York Times Frank Zappa Estate Sold to Universal Music Group Ultimate Classic Rock Many activities and road closures as Newburgh puts on music festival Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW) 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now The New York Times Randolph College group researching how children engage with multimedia music Lynchburg News and Advance Usher Celebrates Black Music Month in New Tiny Desk Concert: 'This Is Black Magic Right Here' PEOPLE 10 Best Movies & Shows To Feature Eminem's Music Screen Rant Manhattan band Crosswind to be inducted into Kansas Music Hall of Fame Manhattan Mercury The Country Music Hall Of Fame's Upcoming “Western Edge” Exhibit Explores Los Angeles' Influence On Country Music Whiskey Riff ICYMI: Wyclef Jean and Amazon Music Announces 25th Anniversary Livestream Honoring 'The Carnival' The Source Magazine Jack White Vows Not to Mess With Prince's Music Ultimate Classic Rock School of Music, Theatre, and Dance Ithaca College The 200 Greatest Rap Albums of All Time Rolling Stone The music lives on Apple Is Old Music Killing New Music? The Atlantic Pop Music's Nostalgia Obsession The Atlantic The Best Music of 2021 The New Yorker Jack Antonoff’s Gift for Pop-Music Collaboration The New Yorker Jorge Drexler’s Music Connects Genres, Generations and Continents The New York Times Ambient Music Isn’t a Backdrop. It’s an Invitation to Suspend Time. The New York Times Spotify Takes Down Neil Young's Music After His Joe Rogan Ultimatum - WSJ The Wall Street Journal Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher dies aged 60 The Guardian Apple Music Apple |
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