It's All In The Fingers

[Tim]

Everybody has a playing style. If you got good style you may become a good player. With a good mixture of style and tone you may become a famous guitar player.

As mention in a previous post, I have learned a lot of good pointers on guitar playing. This includes book to read, scales to practice, amp settings, guitar set-ups, and other information to numerous to mention. Thanks guys!

I have purchased a nice guitar and amplifier. I bought me a few stomp pedals. I have been practicing my scales and chord progressions. I have been reading books, magazines and other instructional magazines. I also acquired a few jam along CDs to help increase my chord and riff skills. I even downloaded the tracks you members have posted on this forum. That is some great music guys.

I am now getting to the meat of this post. I understand that “tone” also comes from the fingers of the player. There are hammer-on, pull-offs, bends, slides and the list goes on. Is this the tone which comes from the fingers? Is it the actual technique performance that a player employs that produces the finger “tone”? I would guess it is also the strumming hand and how the strings are picked, pulled and muted. Finally, how does one work

[jpfeifer]

Hi Tim,

You are raising some very good points here.

Practicing all that stuff is good, but that on it's own won't make anyone a great player. There is a certain amount of extra something that comes from the player's personal touch that gives your guitar playing its own personality. This is what makes the guitar such an expressive instrument. There are so many ways to get sound out of your instrument. I think that each player brings something different to that aspect of playing. For example: some people play in a very l legato style using a lot of hammerons, pulloffs and not picking every single note, while other players tend to pick almost every note. Some people like to bend a lot of notes while other guys do a lot of slides instead. Each of these things gives your playing a certain amount of personality and you might use all of these techniques on different songs to get a sound that you like. However, these kinds of things come from your hands, not your equipment.

I think that the best way to approach this side of your playing is by watching other players that you like. Watch how they use their hands and listen for the different kinds of sounds they are getting. See if they are doing a lot of bending. Watch their right hand and see if they are picking every note, etc.

Also, give yourself some time to experiment with your guitar and try to emulate some of the sounds that you like. Try different ways of picking and see if you get a certain tone that inspires you. Also, try to use your pick in different ways. For example, I like to use the fat end of a Fender heavy pick because I like the tone better than I get with the pointy end. Try to work in some hammer-ons and pull-offs in some of the licks that you know and see if they sound better to your ears. Record yourself playing in different ways and see which sounds you like the best. This is how you will begin to develop your own style, by getting in touch with the sounds that you like to hear yourself. There aren't any right or wrong rules to it. It's really matter of your own personal taste.

When you listen to guys like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, etc. so much of their sound is coming from their hands. It's that extra bit of something that gives them such a great sound. It's also what makes them such expressive players.

-- Jim

[Tone2TheBone]

Tim,

Jim has elaborated on some great points. Just picture in your mind how LARGE Stevie's hands were. Watch his videos. See how his hand could wrap completely around the neck of the Stratocaster. His thumb could have touched the far side of the neck I'd bet! Now imagine those big hands laying hard into the piano wire guitar strings he had strung on his guitar, playing through a very loud and mostly cleaner than we think Fender Vibroverb or Dumble amp. His sound most definately came from those hands and how hard he hits the strings and how thick the tone was coming from this setup. It's a combination of all that along with Stevies own SOUL pumping into his guitar like a live wire coming at us at full voltage! He did this every night he played. He never "saved his best performance for the folks in Hollywood or New York"...he was always on. Even in foreign countries he played in. He gave his all and you can hear it and see it. THATS what it means when someone has an identifyable technique and sound.

Not long ago I emailed Robert and told him that even when he plays high gain stuff on his demo videos he still manages to sound like himself. Clean or dirty, if I closed my eyes I could easily tell that it was him playing. Its the WAY that he plays (along with his set up) but it's more about his picking style, his hands, how hard he plays or how soft, his PHRASING...all this. Reread Jim's post above about picking styles. I bet if we all hung around together in real life playing everyday for a period of time we could pick out who was who just by closing our eyes and listening to each of us play. Jim gave technical specifics on achieving tone and the various ways to do this. I'm inputting the human aspect of it...learn to hit that puppy HARD or soft when you feel it. Get your body into playing that guitar. Sit, stand, walk jump...your tone is gonna try to change in different positions but if you're genuine and really play from your heart and soul you'll come up with a tone of your very own and what a tone that will be Tim.

[SuperSwede]

Well said Tone! I totally agree with you...

[Katastrophe]

...and this discussion is one of the coolest things about this site. I love how players from different backgrounds, cultures, and playing levels can get together and talk about this stuff.

My guitar teacher told me once that guitar playing is like telling a story. The trick is to get what's in your head and heart out to your hands to tell the story. IMO, technical ability is not as important as putting everything you have into the playing!

Your style WILL evolve. As Tone so eloquently put it, phrasing, speed, pick attack are a part of it, but there is that intangible "SOUL" factor that's got to be there.

It's really cool to read these posts, Tim. As you play, your style will start to come out. You'll be practicing, and come up with something unique, that's all yours. It's an exciting time when that happens. Over time, your ear will develop where you discover what sounds good for a particular song.

[SuperSwede]

I think it it easier to look at music as another language. Even if we come from different parts of the world and speak different languages, we still can communicate with the one language that unite us all : Music.

[r_a_smith3530]

It is definitely all in the fingers. A given players style is determined by many things. It is determined by how hard your fretting hand frets each note, whether you give a slight pull or push to the string, across the fretboard, maybe by how you approach vibrato. It is determined by how you pick the strings, maybe with your bare fingers, with light, medium, or heavy picks, using celluloid, nylon, or even metal picks, or by either light or heavy raking. Your style will also be determined by your timing, because everyone does it just slightly different. The time that you get your finger on that fret, compared to the time that you pick that string; these are what make up your style.

Do you play in a flurry of notes, or do you play with the thrift of a BB King? Are you a heartless but technical wizard, or are you a physical klutz pouring every last bit of your soul into that instrument? Most of us are somewhere in between. That point is a part of your style.

Yes, there is so much that goes into what is YOUR style, and yes, it's all in the fingers. Hand Clapton a Squier Affinity Strat plugged into a Squier Champ amplifier and you'll be able to tell it's Clapton! "Blackie" is gone, but Clapton's style is still there.