Any of you veteran fingerpickers use bare fingers/thumb....

[cb56]

...........no picks no nails?
also are there any well known players that use bare fingers that I could check out? I thought stefan Grossman but i saw a youtube video (early) where it looks like he's using a thumb pick.
The reason I ask is that this is the way I've started to learn fingerpicking and it seems like everyone says fingernails or at least a thumb pick is necessary.
The only guitar teacher in my town only teaches playing with a thumb pick and while she makes it sound great, I'm not sure it's for me. Seems real akward and the bass notes are way to loud IMO when I try it. Also I don't want to give up strumming with a flatpick. So should I stick with what works for meor start over (seemingly from scratch) and learn the thumbpick?

[mmmaak]

I believe Laurence Juber does. It takes some time to build up your picking-hand callouses to the point where they can produce good tone.

There are lots of songs that may not sound as good with bare flesh, but I suppose the same can be said for nails/thumbpick. Similarly for technique, some things are just impossible with a thumbpick and vice versa. It really depends on what you intend to play. I am a short nail/thumpick user myself :)

[Sage97]

Before I started hanging out here at the AGF, I thought fingerstyle meant bare flesh.

[Dr. Overtones]

I follow Segovia's method of using a combination of flesh and nail. It works for me, and I don't stand out too much in high school as "the guy with long nails". I went through that last year - stuck up rich kids and people with long nails on one hand don't mix.:D

[mmmaak]

Before I started hanging out here at the AGF, I thought fingerstyle meant bare flesh.
As opposed to "fingernailstyle"? :D:D:D

[ljguitar]

...........no picks no nails?
also are there any well known players that use bare fingers that I could check out?
...The reason I ask is that this is the way I've started to learn fingerpicking and it seems like everyone says fingernails or at least a thumb pick is necessary.
...So should I stick with what works for meor start over (seemingly from scratch) and learn the thumbpick?
Hi cb...
I play with all flesh an no nails - except for a little deliberate nail for accent now and then.

Laurence Juber is an all-flesh player.

I have 2 songs I use a thumb pick on, but not wanting to change my thumb technique, I grind my own thumb picks down so they barely stick below the edge of the pick (see pictures)...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1240/1312889118_4d2f917ef5.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1311/1312007143_c9d42b7f62.jpg

These work for me when I need the articulation for Travis picking and muted thumb picking.

I think becoming more versatileas a player is a great way to learn, and a process that has no seeming end...

I'd suggest you do what if comfortable with you till you want to grow some more - - - and then instead of starting over, add another layer to your technique. If you can play with and without a thumb pick (2 layers) then you are just a bit more versitile.

You sure don't need to limit yourself to only one technique and unless you are on your death bed, you have the rest of you life to explore - so go have fun learning to play well all kinds of ways...

Hope this helps...

[lpa53]

I use only flesh and natural-length nails, too. I can see some songs I'd like to have a crisper bass on and would like to try the ground-down thumb pick mentioned by Larry.

[cb56]

Thanks for posting everybody. Sounds like I need to just keep trying different things till it clicks. I admit that somethings that I play sound improved with a thumbpick but others don't.
I think grinding down the pick looks like a good idea. She actually gave me two picks both were slickpicks. One is a medium that looks like it has been shortened and the other is a heavy that hasn't. I liked the sound of the heavy pick better (less clickey) so I'll probably figure out how to file it down.

[mmmaak]

While most other thumbpicks are far too long (in my opinion) and need to be filed down as Larry mentioned, I find that the Fred Kelly Slick Picks are almost perfect in terms of blade length, shape and bevel (that's why I have a bag of 20+ X-Heavy delrins! :wild:). A sufficiently long blade is necessary if you want to treat the thumb as a "fifth finger", rather than just have it play the occasional bass line/drone.

[TaylorGirl2008]

...........no picks no nails?
also are there any well known players that use bare fingers that I could check out? I thought stefan Grossman but i saw a youtube video (early) where it looks like he's using a thumb pick.
The reason I ask is that this is the way I've started to learn fingerpicking and it seems like everyone says fingernails or at least a thumb pick is necessary.
The only guitar teacher in my town only teaches playing with a thumb pick and while she makes it sound great, I'm not sure it's for me. Seems real akward and the bass notes are way to loud IMO when I try it. Also I don't want to give up strumming with a flatpick. So should I stick with what works for meor start over (seemingly from scratch) and learn the thumbpick?


I think I've heard/read that Tommy Emmanuel uses flesh rather than picks/nails. I'll see him next month so I'll know for sure then! I've tried but using my fingernails and the side of my thumb is what's working for me. I'm still very new to guitar and to fingerstyle and still learning lots...

[mmmaak]

I think I've heard/read that Tommy Emmanuel uses flesh rather than picks/nails. I'll see him next month so I'll know for sure then! I've tried but using my fingernails and the side of my thumb is what's working for me. I'm still very new to guitar and to fingerstyle and still learning lots...
He does, but also a thumbpick, if I'm not mistaken.

Of course, his fingertip callouses are probably harder than most other players' nails :p

[Sage97]

Hi cb...
I play with all flesh an no nails - except for a little deliberate nail for accent now and then....

Thats how I do it too.

Mmaak, I guess that makes me an occasional fingernailstyle player.

[drone]

Jorma Kaukonen and Bob Weir both use a regular pick between the thumb and forefinger to pick the most fundamental part of the melody, while using the middle/ring/little fingers to do the rest of the job (sorry about the gauche musical/guitar vocab!).

I learned fingerstyle when I was a teenager by listening to Hot Tuna and blues records and not using any picks at all. It was voodoo at first! I find fingerpicks too awkward and I still don't use them.

There is some nice fingerpicking from Bob on the Blues for Allah LP ("Sage and Spirit"), also featured in "Weather Report Suite" from Wake of the Flood -- nothing fancy but very much his own style and imo pretty interesting. Just about anything Jorma does on an acoustic guitar is fingerpicked. Jorma learned from listening to old blues sides -- Blind Blake, Rev. Gary Davis, etc. So you might assume that those guys were using their bare fingers, at least I do.

Jorma or Bob might use fingerpicks nowadays, I'm not sure. At least in the not-so-sophisticated past they banged it out bare-fingered, with quite nice results. :)

[raptordigits]

I've played accoustic for 40 years. The best things that ever happened to me when I first started were

a) having a right handed guitar although I'm left handed and

b) having no access to any guitar info other than that of a book on classical guitar.

'b' was good because I used fingers exclusively the first couple of years...no pick, no thumb pick etc. One has so much more versatility with a thumb and 4 fingers than with a pick. Styles like Flamenco, Samba, etc. are relatively easy after a grounding in finger use

But...everyone should be able to use a pick. The trick from going from fingers to using a pick, slide, (or the reverse, pick to fingers) is to first practice them on a song you know inside out...so there is no need to think about chord changes, rhythm, words and so on. You can concentrate 100% on the right hand. My modest experience as a teacher is that too many players try new techniques on an unfamiliar song and this exaggerates the difficulty and thus frustration.

Nail or skin. Both are used ...the edge of the thumb nail...the back of the finger nails... even the knuckles. All create subtle sounds that one doesn't even think about after a while. They all start to act like a voice singing a song.

Now I have to dig out a pick and play my Strat.

[Fingerstylist]

I've been using bare flesh for months now but I'm having a hard time getting the volume I want. I'm seriously thinking about switching over to nails. Short ones, because I couldn't stand to have long nails.

[TBman]

I wouldn't call myself a veteran fingerstylist, but I play with bare thumb and fingers. I can't get used to the feel of the thumbpick so far. Something about my thumb turning blue, LOL. Last week I picked up a flatpick for the first time in a while. I may start doing some work with that because it was alot of fun making up my own bluegrass type of tunes when I was younger and now that I have a Martin dread I can't resist the pull of the plectrum (LOL). I'm still going to keep trying the thumbpick because I really like Tommy Emmanuel's boomchick style and I wouldn't mind be able to play some of his tunes in this style.

[mmmaak]

I wouldn't call myself a veteran fingerstylist, but I play with bare thumb and fingers. I can't get used to the feel of the thumbpick so far. Something about my thumb turning blue, LOL.
Me thinks you need this:

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/PK6-HL-DELRIN.htm

PK6-HL-DELRIN .. large thumb hole, heavy gauge, delrin

http://elderly.com/images/accessories/PK/PK6-HL-DELRIN_sm_.jpg

[TBman]

Me thinks you need this:

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/PK6-HL-DELRIN.htm

PK6-HL-DELRIN .. large thumb hole, heavy gauge, delrin

http://elderly.com/images/accessories/PK/PK6-HL-DELRIN_sm_.jpg

Oooh, thanks mmmaak. I'll see if I can find it in the stores by me.

[Brian W.]

I play with very short nails—mostly flesh. I find that it requires a little more control. I have to be more precise and keep the fingers close to the strings; similar to the home position on a keyboard. Having the fingers “rest” on the strings is kind of like feeling your way around a dark room. It gives you a point of reference, a connection that you can feel. Whereas with long nails, I’m more likely to keep an air gap and touch down less often. That connection is great for cutting off notes. For example, a harmonic that you choose to let ring until conflicting bass note comes along. Let's see, thumb muting, rest strokes, tone, are few things to consider...

Once the nails are trimmed down, you’re committed for awhile! Although, one practice session and I think you’ll find that you adapt fairly quickly.

[cb56]

Hey thanks for posting everybody. Alot of good info here and of course I'm still as confused as ever. I feel like I have made some decent progress in the 5 months I've been practicing every day on my guitar. So I'll probably stick with strumming with a plectrum and using bare fingers and thumb for fingerstyle. After I gain some "chops" maybe I can try some different things like a thumbpick.

[ScottAllyn]

I've been giving bare fingers (no nails) and thumbpick a try for the last few months and I'm just not sure... On some days, I really like the tone I'm getting, but on others, my treble notes all sound muted and dull. It probably has to do with the amount of moisture in my calluses, which seems to vary wildly from day to day.

Today, my picking hand fingertips are a bit on the hydrated side of the "scale" and it's one of those days where most of my treble notes sound good to my ears, but there's the occasional dull/muted note:

http://www.scottallyn.com/music/farewell.mp3

I might try some alcohol on the calluses when they seem to be producing the softer/duller notes to see if I can dry them out a little bit and get some more "zing" out of them.

[mmmaak]

I might try some alcohol on the calluses....
Maybe you should try some alcohol, period :D:D:D

[ScottAllyn]

Maybe you should try some alcohol, period :D:D:D

Been trying that for years - it's not helping! But maybe if I dip my fingers into the glass.... :D

[random works]

I have been all flesh for about 3 weeks now, having gone back and forth over the years. I am drawn to the sound, I especially like the treble and mid notes, they don't jump out in your face as much as with fingernails, but have more profound authority, I guess an understated sound that is appreciated more as you get used to it.

I really like the overall evenness of sound and the way I don't get a honker
( note struck too hard with a nail) that stands out. You do have to dig in a little more for volume, but the volume is different. I think bare flesh is tops for thumping, chugging stuff with some hard fingerpicking, and just deeply sweet notes: not sparkling, but clear ( sounds like an ad for a soft drink).

I have tougher skin on my non fretting fingertips, but no pads.They were a little sore the first 3 or 4 days, but I can play as hard and long as I want now and they don't bother me.

nails or not? both are great!

[CrawfordCentury]

I feel more in line with my instrument and the piece I'm playing if there's nothing between me and the strings.

Good advice on here about the topic. I've thought about giving a thumbpick another try. But I'm getting old and resistent to change.