[Pitar]

To the finger pickers here who use a thumb pick.

I was messing around this morning harkening back through the tunes and years they represented to me and remembered when I finger picked without a thumb pick. I used mostly flesh back then. I remember could not abide the classical guitar sound played with flesh alone so I didn't take to the instrument.

fast forward -

When I began using finger nails on steel strings the sound projected so much more that I soon couldn't abide steel string playing if my nails were messed up. But, I did not play with a thumb pick then. I gave one a half hearted go but gave up before I really tried to make it work. The base notes from the thumb were not as articulated as they were from my fingers.

fast forward again -

One day someone sent me a Fred Kelly Speed Pick (Little Brother) so I thought one good turn deserves another and made an honest attempt to use it. Well, within a week I was not only playing naturally with it I ordered more from Kelly and didn't want to play without one.

fast forward to now -

I developed the use of the thumb pick for strumming, single string runs (lead work) as well as patterned finger picking. My fingers and thumb together are now much more orchestrated across the strings than they ever were. And, because I see the importance of my nails as a part of the guitar itself (tone generating) I've moved to classical guitar where they give the projection from that instrument that I could not ever get before. And, it has a better warmth and fundamental than can be obtained from the metallic sounding steel strings. This is what got me harkening back. What if I'd tried the thumb pick much sooner?