@DarrellW Bare thumb was technique I was doing before exploring thumb pick - that is where my fingerstyle foundation comes from. You can check it below.
But right now… I am using thumb pick over 5-6 weeks and playing without it feels really weird.
And of course Freight Train performed by Tommy Emanuel or Joe Robinson “requires” pick, so disballance between base and melody is completely my fault. But I take it like those guys playing years… and I am using thumbpick few weeks. I hope it will get better over time. I am pretty sure there still will be songs where is better to use thumbpick and where bare thumb, but in future I would love to use it as hybrid, so I can learn flatpick and strumm a little too.
Oh that looks hard Michal - great work! I’m just thinking that making the thumb do its own thing must be a bit like trying to operate the left and right hands independently when playing the keyboard - something I never quite mastered!
@twistor59 Thank you.
I got keyboard at home and it is waiting for its time. It is just about training… similar like some people can do that thing “you knock with hand on your hand and at the same time rubbing circle your belly”. Just multitasking.
Really nice job, you’re fingerstyle is definitely coming along.
Regarding this:
How are the nails on your picking hand? If they are long enough to pluck the strings, the treble notes will sound out quite a bit louder. If not, the fleshy part of your fingertips will find it hard to compete with the thumb pick, which produces a lot of volume (even with palm muting).
In the last year or so, I’ve been keeping the nails of my right-hand index, middle and ring fingers medium length. Requires a bit of maintenance (trimming and filing), but it certainly helps with the volume.
An alternative would be metal finger picks, but many people find those very awkward.
Honestly… I dont grow them any long, but maybe keeping them just on two fingers sounds like a good idea. I am gonna try it.
Finger picks seeems like “too much” for me. Even that thumb pick is something extra, but I just wanna be able to play without anything or just thumbpick, gonna take it by me all the time… even when there will be no oportunity I wont like to be unable to play, because I dont have them.
I tried them once from AliExpress and feel was like from Harry Potter when they spelled rollers on that spider.
Yes, the finger picks are hard to get used to. My first teacher had us using them and I got on with them for a while, but eventually I abandoned them. Unless you really need the volume (performing, say, without any amplification), they are just too much of a hassle.
@jjw I am mainly home player and couch enjoyer with guitar. Thats why I am looking for smaller alternative to my guitar which I talk about in different post - I got in my eye now Furch Pioneer, but I need more demos on YouTube. Its still empty.
I am definitely gonna try to grow my nails and I will see… also I can notice base sound difference when I am using Black Mountain thumbpick or Dunlop one. There is so much what can affect final sound.
Congratulations, Michal! That was very well done! You’re advancing quickly!
I found it strange that this was a recommendation for a first fingerpicking song - also by Tommy Emmanuel - because I think I could do other things earlier than to hold that G7 and do melody stuff with the pinky while still having all notes ringing out fine but I’ll take a look at your version, maybe it’s slightly easier.
And yes, I feel the same! Great things are possible, it just takes time and patience!
I always delay using picks. I am lazy on one hand and on the other I fear one day I’ll have no pick and struggle to do the things I only trained with a pick.
Very nice, Michal. Well done. Great thumbpicking and timing. Fingerstyle is the direction I hope to be able to do in time. Will just have to see if I can do this
@domi7 I think they recommend it because it can teach you so many and it can be really good introduce to thumbpick alternating… at least I am thinking about that like this.
For me… the first fingerstyle song I learned was Anouk Lost… the song with I graduated in Grade 1 with hammer on. Pretty overkill. But Anouk Lost seems like one of the best fingerstyle to go for so you can feel you are playing something real.
@pkboo3 Thank you very much. Wishing you luck on your fingerstyle journey.
@DarrellW That is one of the best music samples I ever heard, he really knows how to place microphone and how to record it. Sounds wonderfull, I hope Pioneer sounds same and even better because of that booster soundhole - if I can remember correct this is feature great for the player itself, because guitar is talking directly also to you and not only to crowd.
@CATMAN62 Thank you. I really recommend to you following Joes instructions, because it is really how it can be done.
Very well done. Pleasure to listen to you play this. You inspire me to take it up as well. I am working on Blackbird now. Have you learned that Beatles song?
@kreh I hope I am not gonna look dumb, but you are replying to DavidP… guess it was for me.
Anyway… here is… the ANSWER.
Thanks for such a great message that it inspired you? Man… that is awesome to hear!
I did not continue learning that Beatles song… in that time I was still looking for myself what to do and I was in first stages of Paul Davids fingerstyle foundations.
Great start…keep working. Also, I always struggle to play well when I hit record…even songs I know cold, I mess up lyrics…forget something. Just need to get used to the pressure. It has helped me to record often, even though I don’t save many.
