Assistance with Palm Muting and boom chick

[emannguild]

Hi to All,

Back to the guitar after almost 8 years of not playing...I am just noting why the hell I abondoned my Acoustic Electric Guild GAD-40CE for so much...but anyhow on to some advise please on fingerpicking.

I am using a thumb pick and while i figure that my thumb independence is quite on track, I still have trouble when hitting the g string in that most of the time i palm mute it as well...when then I stay attentive not to palm mute the string I finish off not muting the d string as well...I do not know if it is the angle of my palm or the way I am closing and shaping my fingers that is not making me achieve this quite well...

I tried to watch videos on youtube and see either the palm angled diagonally to the strings or else almost a palm parallel to the strings...

Any idea what should I try, what works best and how can I experiment to finally get the correct boom chick going...during xmas got me the guitarpro software and I am very eager to try some exercises on fingerpicking...but dearly want to have a correct technique from the beginning rather then having mistakes which will remain with me...

Any advise appreciated on how you started...how it went and what you practiced and how it finally came altogether.

Regards,

[srick]

Emann - try this: open it up a bit and place the thumb pick past the knuckle. I was watching a video of Rev. Gary Davis (who had really long fingers) and saw that’s how he wore a thumbpick. It did the trick for me in that it kept my thumb stiff and improved the angle for muting.

Happy Traum has a really good video entitled, “Conquer the Challenge Of the Steady Thumb” which I can recommend. Honestly, it has taken me a long time to get to the point I am at... I would give myself a grade of ‘B’... still a ways to go.

Best,

Rick

[emannguild]

Hi srick..tks to reply.

I wear the thumb pick generally past the knuckle towards the nail...is that ok you think?..also when you say open it up you mean to open the palm of the hand pls.

tks.

[srick]

Originally Posted by emannguild

Hi srick..tks to reply.

I wear the thumb pick generally past the knuckle towards the nail...is that ok you think?..also when you say open it up you mean to open the palm of the hand pls.

tks.

Actually, open up the size of the band so that you can slide it past your knuckle and closer to the palm. Very few folks wear a thumbpick this way, but it really helped me to keep better rhythm.

Rick