Travis Picking

[dasein]

I have been working at getting better at Travis picking (ie. steady bass with independent chords/melodies on top).

It is a lot of fun, very different from what I've always played. But there are other reasons, too.

There are a whole range of high caliber players who were influenced by Chet Atkins (Danny Gatton, Scotty Anderson, Lenny Breau, etc.) or Mississippi John Hurt (John Fahey, Leo Kottke) or Rev. Gary Davis (Ry Cooder, etc), and they all have proficiency with this technique in one way or another.

Second, it's the closest thing guitarists have to ragtime or stride piano. And if you know the history of jazz piano players, many of the greats (Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Monk, even new guys like Jason Moran) had a lot of experience with that style.

I don't expect it to be The Magic Pill to Greatness (only 39.99!) But it is interesting that -- in the wake of EVH, Malmsteen, and the emphasis on shred in guitar literature -- this type of playing fell by the wayside, despite its importance in a wide variety of music.

[Infinite Ego]

I've incorporated a lot of into my own playing...though not in any stylistically pure form. Hybrid picking (pick + 1, 2, or 3 additional fingers) is one of the best ways to really take your playing out into new directions.

[dasein]

Yes, I don't think it's the in and of itself style that's important. It's keeping two independent ideas going that's the killer, it really works your hands and brain in uncomfortable ways.

Really, you're already doing two independent things already with a guitar -- the left and right hands are doing completely different things, unlike on a piano and sax. This just makes it worse.

[mirth]

I've been using hybrid picking pretty much all the time for the last 5 years or so, its really opened up my playing. I just actually ordered one of those bumblebee picks, I'm curious if it will work for me. Its basically a thumb pick with an adjustable jazz III pick attached. I use all four fingers for tapping too, so this would be ideal. Other thumb picks have never really worked for me. I also recently switched to the Benson picking technique and am not sure the angle of a thumb pick will work.

All this said, I'm not really sure how I'd play without my fingers, ha.

[Infinite Ego]

The bumblebee pick looks interesting. I couldn't use it, though, because of the odd way I hold the pick sometimes -- reverse partial Benson I've tried thumb picks before and they don't work for me. When I need to get the thumb in the action I just use no pick at all.

[dasein]

Apr 4, 2011 5:03:25 GMT -5 mirth said:

I've been using hybrid picking pretty much all the time for the last 5 years or so, its really opened up my playing. I just actually ordered one of those bumblebee picks, I'm curious if it will work for me. Its basically a thumb pick with an adjustable jazz III pick attached. I use all four fingers for tapping too, so this would be ideal. Other thumb picks have never really worked for me. I also recently switched to the Benson picking technique and am not sure the angle of a thumb pick will work.

All this said, I'm not really sure how I'd play without my fingers, ha.

That's funny...I've used thumbpicks exclusively for about 5 years, and Bumblebees for about 2-3 years now, and I just switched to the Benson picking technique a few months ago.

For whatever reason, I had no trouble switching over to thumb picks. I couldn't tell you why... maybe it's the way I pick (floating wrist, movement comes from the elbow and forearm rotation). But it's gotten to the point now where I really cannot play well with a regular flatpick.

The Bumblebees are great. It's very difficult, unless you have a bendy thumb, to get the pick perpendicular to the strings ala Benson.

But I've found that it's not necessary... as long as the pick is not completely perpendicular to the strings, it still works. You might not get the same tone as Benson, but who cares.

In my limited experience, the important part of Benson picking is to get that rest-stroke picking going. I struggled with whether to do it, because it went against everything I had read and been taught about picking (minimize the motion). But after working with it, I've become a convert.

You no longer have to rely on muscle memory to get some minutely small picking motion down, a motion that's easily disrupted by any number of factors (different guitars, a slightly different position, or just a bad day). Instead, the string below stops it for you. What you lose in economy of motion, you gain in confidence and relaxation, IMO.

With the Bumblebees, I've actually found it easier to play this way with the pick adjusted in the thumb-loop as far down as it will go. Again, counterintuitive since people will always tell you to use as little of the pick as possible, but the large pick catches on the string below it much more quickly. I've also found that the heavy Bumblebees are much better for this than the mediums... the mediums feel very flimsy to me.

Interestingly, the hardest thing to with these picks is simple strumming. You can't adjust how hard you hold it like a regular pick, so it takes a bit of practice not to strum too hard.

[mirth]

Yeah, I'm kind of a partial Benson as I still like having the ability to palm mute, so I'm not sure if the bumblebee thing will work or not. I'd actually just be happy to be able to use all 4 fingers for tapping, even if the thumb never gets good at "picking" on its own.

[mirth]

I'll be curious if the bumblebee thing works, I hope so, that would really open things up for me.

Interesting you find the rest stroke the big thing to get out of it, (benson technique) I actually don't have the rest stroke in my version because of the angle I put my wrist to allow palm muting. I actually find the added wrist directional movement to be the big bonus. It always seemed to me that the wrist motion I used in traditional was very limited in speed, but I always had the ridiculously fast rotational motion that I couldn't control well. The "oscillitory" I think he called it, motion the Benson thing allows has really filled the gap, it's so freaking relaxed for me. I feel like the last couple months I've been doing more with my fretting hand to keep up, and really there is nothing I can't play picking wise now that isn't easy, in a way.

Oddly enough, I'm kind of going to opposite approach with the pick as you as well, as I'm really starting to choke up on it more, where it allows even less string grab. I also really like the snappy sound I get now when I pick. It forced me to lower the pickups in all my guitars, but I feel like I hear the guitar and wood more than before. I was kind of a light picker apparently in the past. Overall I really love what it's done for me. I'm still constantly amazed how relaxed it is.

[Infinite Ego]

lol

The Partial Benson and The Reverse Partial Benson

[mirth]

May 13, 2017 13:33:25 GMT -5 Infinite Ego said:

lol

The Partial Benson and The Reverse Partial Benson

I still use both, haha. Though I switch back and forth all the time with traditional grip.

[dasein]

Man, I haven't used those Bumblebee thumbpicks in ages. They still beat the standard Dunlop thumbpicks that you get at any guitar store, and maybe a hair better than the Herco flats, but they're still quite uncomfortable and unwieldy.

Sharktooth Crossover Pick is what I use now. Very comfortable, every other thumbpick now feels like crap in comparison. 100% adjustable -- you can set how much "give" it has very easily. Obviously you can't change it on the fly like you could with a standard flatpick, but it's still leaps and bounds better than most other thumbpicks.

And you can switch it out with any standard flatpick that you like. Might not work for those massive Wegen gypsy picks, but I've experimented with Stubbies and they worked great.

[mirth]

I love the way the sharktootg feels, but really don't like the pick material, also it seems to only work in a standard grip pick hold, but when I flip for the Benson style the material gets in the way.

I actually had a conversation with the maker a few years back, I should ask him to make one slightly different for me, ha.

I love the idea of a thumbpick, but haven't found the right one yet. I liked the sharktooth one the most, couldn't get into the bumblebee.

Actually I've fallen in love with standard Fender Heavy picks the last 6 months or so...I am always bummed when I just find a jazz pick around anymore.

[mirth]

I would still love to find a thumbpick that worked for me. Anything new on that front? Comfortable, but not too bulky (the sharktooth crossover is a little too large for my taste). Anyone ever try the Chris Broderick one? Not sure exactly what I would want now....hmm but I've been increasingly aware of the fact that a lot of the tapping I do is really some cool stuff to explore, it'd be nice to be even freer with it. Not to mention the options with finger picking.

[mirth]

Also.... I really need to learn some travis picking stuff. Any good resources?

[dasein]

Mark Hanson has two books:

"The Art of Contemporary Travis Picking" -- takes you from square one, drills the mechanics
"The Art of Solo Fingerpicking" -- picks up from the last one and by the end has you doing some fairly challenging pieces.

Once you have the basics down, you could move on to the artists you like.

Another book I really like is "Advanced Fingerpicking Guitar" by Ken Perlman. Wouldn't suggest it for beginners, as the very first pieces require you to have your Travis picking down solid. But it has a really wide repertoire: ragtime, blues, fiddle tunes, Celtic music, and some tough pieces from guys like Pierre Bensunan and the like.

Mississippi John Hurt is fun, not TOO difficult. Same with Chet Atkins.

Tommy Emmanuel is like a supercharged Chet -- his thumb (for the most part) sticks to quarter notes, but his arrangements are quite a bit more complex.

Rev. Gary Davis -- challenging, but attainable.

John Fahey -- depends on the piece. His bluesy/ragtime stuff is usually pretty straightforward, but with some weird tunings thrown in there.

Leo Kottke -- hard, HARD stuff. His thumb is absolutely nuts.