#16
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Doerr Trinity 12 Fret 00 (Lutz/Maple) Edwinson Zephyr 13 Fret 00 (Adi/Coco) Froggy Bottom H-12 (Adi/EIR) Kostal 12 Fret OMC (German Spruce/Koa) Rainsong APSE 12 Fret (Carbon Fiber) Taylor 812ce-N 12 fret (Sitka/EIR Nylon) |
#17
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As for how long Travis style took me. A long time. My first song with a melody, Blowin in the Wind, took me 3 months just to get it down in a rough manner. It took me a good 6+ months to improve my rhythm with fingerstyle to the point it sounded good. And probably another 6+ months to fix bad habits and use proper technique (still ongoing). No regrets though. I freaking love fingerstyle. And if it's any help, I found that learning to play a scale over alternating bass helped free my right hand up a bit more. For example, playing G and D for the alternating bass on the 6th and 4th strings, then walking up and down from the open G on the 3rd string, like so: Code:
-----------0-2-3-2-0----------- -----0-1-3-----------3-1-0----- -0-2-----------------------2-0- -----0-------0-------0-------0- ------------------------------- -3-------3-------3-------3----- Last edited by s0cks; 05-23-2017 at 08:31 PM. |
#18
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Atkins version of The Entertainer is quite advanced Travis picking - at leas it requires a solid handle on the technique to play most of it. (So maybe it depends what you mean by "sort of..." ) "Blackbird" is a kind of lazier version of the technique. John Lennon mastered it better (Dear Prudence, Julia). Quote:
I'd call it a straightahead example of conventional alternating bass [AB] technique. (It's not what I'd call "Travis style", because I see that as a particular kind of AB playing with damped bass, the bouncy country rhythm as used typically by Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel. This is the gentler "folky" style, no damping, common in folk song accompaniment. I don't hear any syncopation to speak of in it (as I'd define the term). That is, the thumb bass is right on the beat all the way - and it's syncopated thumb strokes that can be tricky. Some of the melody notes are syncopated, but that's natural once you have the basics of the technique down. (see below) Anyway. assuming you are new to this kind of AB - despite your claim about The Entertainer - here's some starter exercises (in case you need them): Code:
|-----------------| |-----------------| |---0---0---0---0-| |-----------------| |-----------------| |-3---3---3---3---| T i T i T i T i 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & Ex.2 could be where you alternate thumb from 6 to 4. Take this real slow to sart with, just keep those 8ths even. Code:
|-----------------| |-----------------| |---0---0---0---0-| |-----0-------0---| |-----------------| |-3-------3-------| T i T i T i T i Code:
|-----------------| |-------0-------0-| |---0-------0-----| |-----------------| |-----------------| |-3---3---3---3---| T i T m T i T m Code:
|---------------3-| |-----------0-----| |-------0---------| |-----0-------0---| |-----------------| |-3-------3-------| T - T i T m T r The top G would be syncopated, but that only means the note sustains across the bar. You don't need to play it any differently, to put any special accent on it. It just comes between thumb strokes 4 and 1. If you can play this, you've got it cracked. Experiment with changing the order of the top 3 strings. And finally try a pattern with a pinch stroke (this can throw some people): Code:
|-3---------------| |-----------0-----| |-------0---------| |-----0-------0---| |-----------------| |-3-------3-------| r T - T i T m T -
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. |
#19
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Nice review JonPR, thanks.
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"Militantly left-handed." Lefty Acoustics Martin 00-15M Taylor 320e Baritone Cheap Righty Classical (played upside down ala Elizabeth Cotten) |
#20
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When I started playing back in the mid-70s, "Travis Picking" was pretty much what everyone did.
All my musician friends were old "folkies" from the tail end of the folk-revival period, and played Peter, Paul, and Mary stuff and Dylan and Bob Gibson and Dave Van Ronk and all those guys. So I had plenty of exposure... I can't recall how long it took me to get that intitial pattern down, maybe a few months. But I do recall that one day it just "clicked" and I could do it reliably. Didn't take too long before I was adding the little embellishments that make it more interesting, the bass runs to connect chords, the hammers and pulls, the little changes in the pattern. |
#21
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Just to add to what JonPR since he mentioned syncopation. This seems a good spot to emphasize how helpful it can be to count while learning this.
Here's JonPR's pattern skipping the & between 1 and 2 and "syncopating" the high G. [CODE] |---------------3-| |-----------0-----| |-------0---------| |-----0-------0---| |-----------------| |-3-------3-------| T - T i T m T r 1 - 2& 3 & 4 & There's that 2(thumb)&(index) I mentioned earlier. And JonPR's pinch pattern where the high G is not syncopated. [CODE] |-3---------------| |-----------0-----| |-------0---------| |-----0-------0---| |-----------------| |-3-------3-------| r T - T i T m T - 1 - 2 &3 & 4 There's some research somewhere about hearing yourself count out loud that says there's a very strong tie between the language centers in the brain and the rhythm centers. I don't know, all I know is it seems to make it easy to pick up any new patterns or create one on the fly that fits the rhythm.
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"Militantly left-handed." Lefty Acoustics Martin 00-15M Taylor 320e Baritone Cheap Righty Classical (played upside down ala Elizabeth Cotten) Last edited by SunnyDee; 05-24-2017 at 07:13 AM. |
#22
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I did that when I was first learning, too. I loved picking so much, I wanted to practice patterns even when a guitar wasn't available.
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1967 Aria Classical 1974 Guild D50 2009 Kenny Hill New World Player Classical 2009 Hoffman SJ 2011 Hoffman SJ 12 https://paulashley.weebly.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/PaulAshley https://www.reverbnation.com/paulashley |
#23
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The pieces you've picked (sic) to learn are fairly advanced. I think most of us who learned back in the 60's started with tunes more associated with the alternating bass of Elizabeth Cottens "Freight Train" and John Hurts "Spike Drivers Blues". I'd recommend them highly as study pieces: John Hurt https://youtu.be/pongz6Vwnkg Libba Cotten https://youtu.be/43-UUeCa6Jw Edit: For more fun, check out John Jackson https://youtu.be/hQImeX8QoAs
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Harmony Sovereign H-1203 "You're making the wrong mistakes." ...T. Monk Theory is the post mortem of Music. Last edited by Wyllys; 05-24-2017 at 07:56 AM. |
#24
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Question for all of you finger-style converts. Did you go completely over to the dark side or do you still play with a pick?
I've been playing since Christmas and just recently, after seeing Toby Walker play, decided to learn. I practice every day for 2 hours or more with half or less being finger-style. I work on a few different things including Toby Walker's beginner program. |
#25
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#26
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"Militantly left-handed." Lefty Acoustics Martin 00-15M Taylor 320e Baritone Cheap Righty Classical (played upside down ala Elizabeth Cotten) |
#27
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I had to put it down pretty much cold turkey in order to get some basic fingerstyle under my belt. I'm only 4 months or so into finger style, at this point I'm probably only using a pick about 10 per cent of the time. There are situations where a pick works better for me: 1. Playing with others. I'm bare flesh only finger style and don't yet have enough oomph on the treble notes to be heard well in an un-amplified group setting. 2. Singing. Haven't yet figured out how to sing along to finger style! 3. Some songs just work better strummed. Sister Golden Hair comes to mind. I'm not sure it is an either/or thing. Vince Gill does both pretty well :-)
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Bob https://on.soundcloud.com/ZaWP https://youtube.com/channel/UCqodryotxsHRaT5OfYy8Bdg |
#28
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JonPR. I'm new to fingerstyle and I understand your examples even though I can't play them all yet but what do you mean by syncopated? ?..
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#29
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#30
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Although I started out way back when with Travis picking, I became interested in bluegrass guitar early on and started to learn to flatpick almost at the same time.
Currently, I've been spending most all my time playing fingerstyle jazz (chord melody) on nylon-string guitars, but I still keep my flatpicking chops up. I'll dig out the steel string and run through a few 'grass tunes or fiddle tunes a couple of times a week. |