anybody play electric guitar w/o a pick?

[birv2]

I'm looking into switching it up. I've used several types and weights of picks and am now considering doing the "hubert thing".

Anybody tried this? Any advice? I'm a little concerned with losing speed (what little I have!). Or do you gain or keep speed by using thumb and other fingers?

Bob

[Robert****]

I do use my fingers quite often. I just alter my style a bit and play slower. The tone becomes so dynamic when you use your fingers instead of a pick.

[Spudman***]

I do this from time to time but mostly around the house. It does change how you approach a few things but that's OK because then you become more self stylized.

I suggest the next time you play with others just don't use a pic and see what happens.

[Jampy]

I tend to play 90% finger style, I am self taught so it is a bit sloppy at times, but I enjoy the flexibility it provides me in my limited playing range.

It is fun to mix it up a bit, so give it a shot.

Growing your thumb nail long (to the tip of your thumb) will actually start to sound like a pick.

Looks sexy to

[Blaze]

I use thumb & fingers quite often too, you can make much more variations on your guit . like country stuff, blues , name it ..

It makes your sound quite different by a different attack ..It s also find for the jazz comping stuff ,i love it ..You can also find a way to hold your pick in beetwen fingers while youre plain in that style , then if you need speed , you grab the pick ..

Look at mr. Clutch_ master playin mostly with his fingers ..

s cuse my bad english , im Frogie from Quebec..



Blazes:

[R_of_G]

I do use my fingers quite often. I just alter my style a bit and play slower. The tone becomes so dynamic when you use your fingers instead of a pick.

i find the same thing happens when i play without a pick [which is about 25% of the time].

[ZMAN]

One of the things that happens fortunately when you age is that your hair and nails grow at a rapid rate. My nails are as hard as any Fender Medium. I use them all the time and I find that there is much more speed by using 5 fingers compared to one pick. A prime example is Derek Trucks. Man that guy can play and it is all fingers. I really think you can be way more expressive with the fingers, and finger nails, than any pick.

[monkfish1979]

It's something I see as a different technique entirely, and like anything else in music, it's totally discretionary. There are some awesome rhythmic techniques that I find translate really well onto electric guitar, Rasgueado being one of my faves (can really spice up some of your RG lines). Slap guitar is also pretty cool - I think Raul Midon uses it quite alot. Jeff Beck's hybrid picking is also immense, even if he does look like Zelda from the Terrahawks....

Nails are also totally optional - I tend to cut mine off entirely if I'm playing loads of fingerstyle on a steel strung guitar, as the treble strings have a nasty habit of cutting a really annoying groove into them and that just p***es me off.

Experiment with it and you'll find out what works best with the way you play.

[hubberjub***]

I play with a pick between my thumb and index and use the rest of my fingers for picking simultaneously. I'm not a very fast picker so this technique helps me fake speed and still get the pick attack that isn't possible (to me) with nails.

[Blaze]

My woman made me tried a product she uses to get her nails grow fast & hard and it works really good..

It s call :
(Vaseline) ''healthy hand & nail conditioning''

Gee ! my nails are hard just like titanium..
Makes your nails grow pretty fast too, as long as you spread some evereday..

You can find it at your drugstore..

For those interested .

Cheers

Blazes

[Childbride]

yeah, for at least one of my lesson songs, i have to. and i like to play that way acoustically, when i don't have flat-picking to do.

i have always had long nails. when i decided to play guitar, i cut half off. i still have them on my right hand.

for long strong nails, get dairy and take vitamins. trust me.

they come in handy.

[ZMAN]

Does it come in Pink with little sparkles?

[birv2]

Thanks for all the replies, and especially for that Jeff Beck clip, Blazes. Man, what a musician.

And speaking of playing without a pick, how about this guy?

[Kazz]

Derek Trucks is amazing...

[marnold***]

This guy has done just fine without a pick:


I was listening to some of his stuff more closely recently. I never really realized what a banjo-like quality his playing has to it. Part of it is from his picking technique, another part is from the hollow bridge-middle quack tone.

Since my hand injury, I can really only play with my thumb and pinky on my right hand. I can do some interesting hybrid double-stops but no real fingerstyle.

[birv2]

And there's Mark Knopfler with one of the great guitar solos of all time, with no pick:

[birv2]

And another one! Albert King and Gary Moore. Albert plays a few notes with those fingers, as opposed to Moore and his gazillion notes a second. Albert wins.

[Katastrophe]

Here's one, where he "palms" the pick and plays with the fingers. Listen to how those notes pop. I really dig this tune by Joe Bonamassa.


I like playing bluesy stuff without a pick. I have no technique at all, but it's fun.

[Spudman***]

Here's one, where he "palms" the pick and plays with the fingers. Listen to how those notes pop. I really dig this tune by Joe Bonamassa.

That smokes!