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Post by Cams on Mar 8, 2015 13:11:34 GMT
Having been a member of this here forum for all of two days and browsed around, it seems that most members are fingerstyle players. While I am also that, I like to flatpick too. The first time I ever heard a garage jam in Atlanta, I was blown away. The tune was Whiskey before Breakfast and I was utterly dumbstruck that I had never heard anything like this before! I worked my way through Steve Kaufman's Parking Lot Pickers Vol. 1 and learned all 20 beginner versions at a slow pace and the most amazing thing that I found through woodshedding that was that my muscle memory for the CAGED keys in first position became ingrained. And not a scale in sight! I play bluegrass regularly with a band on the Isle of Arran where I live and have been getting frustrated with my lack of speed and fear of solos, so I signed up a few weeks ago to Bryan Sutton's lessons on Artist Works and have been working through the videos. While the site is somewhat lacking in features and functionality, the lessons themselves are first rate. Bryan Sutton is patient and explains things really well. So even as an intermediate/advanced player, I'm finding a lot of use in starting right from the beginning. There's also a feature where you can upload your own videos and have Bryan do a critique of your playing. I've did one just on my iPhone and it worked pretty well. I'm now waiting on a 30-pin to lightning adapter to see if I can hook my Alesis iO dock up to the iPhone and get some decent audio. So, all that to say that if anyone is looking at adding a new style or improving an old style of picking, I recommend Bryan Sutton's lessons wholeheartedly. And with that, I'm off to pick some toons with Bryan! artistworks.com/bryan-sutton
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delb0y
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Post by delb0y on Mar 8, 2015 18:46:16 GMT
Hi Cams
Another Bryan Sutton student here. I'm Derek_R on the site. I shall look you up.
I enjoy both finger-picking and flat-picking (and gypsy picking) which may be detrimental to my progress in any one of these genres, but then as I only really do it for fun it doesn't matter.
One of my favourite guitar players in any genre is David Grier - he's pretty much the reason I flatpick as well as fingerpick. I'm jealous of you getting to play in a regular bluegrass jam - I've not managed to track such a thing down round these parts.
I did a version of one of Steve K's PLP arrangements a while back (see below) - turns out my right hand technique is not ideal for flatpicking (according to Bryan) so that's where almost all my focus is at the moment. This focus is paying dividends - I'm getting a nicer tone, more power, more volume, and a little more speed. Trouble is on the finger-picking songs I have to revert to something different. Hey ho. Just recorded my latest VE (video exchange) this afternoon. It's full of mistakes - but I adopt the principle that if I wait for a perfect take then Bryan isn't seeing the real me.
Meanwhile, here's me doing Steve Kaufman's Ragtime Annie. This was a 40 day challenge - I pretty much focussed on nothing but this for 40 days and nights:
Cheers Derek
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Post by Cams on Mar 8, 2015 19:53:02 GMT
Great to meet you delb0y! That picking on Ragtime Annie is great. Thanks for posting it! I'll hook up with you on Bryan's school page. I haven't made friends over there yet; I've been the loner up till now! I did one VE and he commented that, being from Scotland, I should start working on Red Haired Boy. The interesting thing is that that's one of the tunes I do with the bluegrass band every week! Another we do is the PLP version of Under the Double Eagle. I love playing that one. I'm working on Whiskey Before Breakfast just now, as well as some breaks in songs, which is something I struggle with. The Bryan Sutton course is making me more confident with that and I'm getting better tone, as you said. I've been working on scales and am amazed at how much good it's doing my playing. I guess it's like diet and exercise, right. We all know it's good for us! When I was going to Kaufman Kamp in 2005 I worked on the 20 tunes in PLP Vol. 1 for a month solid and it would do me some good to go back to that.
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Post by Cams on Mar 8, 2015 21:10:32 GMT
Just took at look at the Kaufman book and listened to the instructions for Ragtime Annie. I have a couple of questions for you:
1. In this tune and many others, where the fourth fret is used, Steve moves us up into what he calls second position so that the third finger is playing fret 4. Bryan Sutton has us doing scales with four fingers, four frets. I'm guessing you're sticking to the Sutton method rather than the Kaufman method?
2. Did you record the backup track for this too? If not, whence did it come? It's a nice pace. I find the full versions of tracks on the PLP book to be too fast to be of much use for progressing.
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Post by ocarolan on Mar 8, 2015 22:07:12 GMT
Loved that video delb0y - very nicely done. Cams, fingerstyle is certainly my main area of interest with guitar - my mandolin and octave mandolin see more plectrum action - but I'll occasionally have a bash at a flatpicked tune. Haven't a clue about what fingers are supposed to be used where, I just try to find what is easiest! These are my arrangements of Swedish Jig and Music for a Found Harmonium - two guitars, one accomp and one melody - recorded a few years ago just for fun via Zoom H2 and Cakewalk. app.box.com/shared/dbl7s0c96fI find this kind of playing difficult - need to work a lot at it, and then if I don't play the tunes for a week or so, I'm stuffed, and have to relearn. Keith
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Post by delb0y on Mar 8, 2015 22:09:08 GMT
Hi Cams
I don't consciously use the Bryan Sutton scale positions in preference to Steve Kaufman's positions, but I do try and use my fourth finger as much as possible. If, by using my fourth finger on the fourth fret, I can keep my hand in one position then that's what I'll try and do. But it probably varies according to the day of the week...
Yes, I did the backing track to that recording myself. Steve K's versions do tend to be a little quick! I've probably still got it somewhere if you want it.
Cheers Derek
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Post by michaelm on Mar 9, 2015 20:44:56 GMT
That video is fantastic delb0y, absolutely loved it I'd hesitate to call myself a flatpicker, though I play pretty much exclusively with a pick these days. Still working through a mix of Mel Bay and Leavitt stuff, can be a bit dull at times, though there are some gems in there. If I ever finish them, I might take a look at the Bryan Sutton site (can't go on endlessly re-starting different methods/schools!).
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Post by stringdriventhing on Mar 10, 2015 9:48:19 GMT
Nice flat picking delb0y. I've never really tried to do this kinda thing. When I play with a pick it's mainly strumming and a bit of lead. I actually think flatpicking tunes is one of the hardest things to do on the guitar. It requires a helluva lot of precision, which I generally lack
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Post by andyhowell on Mar 10, 2015 11:37:54 GMT
Flat picking completely defies me!
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Post by Andy P on Mar 11, 2015 9:22:40 GMT
delb0y I love that Derek. Very accurate playing. Tell me, what grade of flatpick do you find the easiest to use? In another life I used to play Irish traditional tunes on the tenor banjo but I found it impossible with the heavy picks used by e.g. Davey Johnstone. How they get the triplets in with that great lump of plastic has always baffled me.
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Post by Andy P on Mar 11, 2015 9:23:31 GMT
ocarolan Keith you really should play more flatpick tunes! Did you write those yourself?
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Post by ocarolan on Mar 11, 2015 9:29:24 GMT
Andy P, Thanks Andy but I didn't write them, only worked out what seemed like OK accomp. Swedish Jig is by Arthur Darley (who?!) and Harmonuium is by Simon Jeffes (Penguin Cafe Orchestra). Love both of these tunes, esp Swedish, but I'm a lot happier ffwith a plectrum on mandolin - even though I can't play fast or do decent triplets! And, like you, I can't get on with thick picks on any instrument! Keith
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Post by Cams on Mar 11, 2015 10:33:11 GMT
I use a heavy Red Bear pick, style C, and have done for quite a number of years.
I'm having a ball going through the intermediate and advanced versions of Red Haired Boy from Steve Kaufman's Parking Lot Pickers book. It's extremely satisfying playing along with the recordings and getting through the tune, and, as I said before, it's really good for the muscle memory and getting scale patterns into your fingers without actually having to play scales. Moving up the neck is quite adventurous for me and it's about bloomin' time I started moving up nearer the dusty end!
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Post by stringdriventhing on Mar 11, 2015 11:20:49 GMT
I've got this DVD by Scott Nygaard, which I meant to try to learn some stuff from, but never got round to it.. Bluegrass Lead Guitar
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Post by stringdriventhing on Mar 11, 2015 11:24:07 GMT
These are my arrangements of Swedish Jig and Music for a Found Harmonium - two guitars, one accomp and one melody - recorded a few years ago just for fun via Zoom H2 and Cakewalk. Liked those tunes muchly Keith. We did Harmonium with our guitar club at a wee local folk festival a while back
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