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Old 01-23-2022, 12:09 PM
RLetson RLetson is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 382
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1. Yeah, the thumb. As Pat Donohue put it, make it go back and forth.

2. Something I was told years after I managed to start doing it without realizing it's as crucial as #1: Either you pinch or you don't.

3. Thumb plus index or index and middle is less important than #2. You can follow Doc and Merle and Raymond Kane, but eventually you will probably wind up using as many fingers as you can get to reach a string on time. (It took me more than 40 years to get the ring finger to cooperate.)

4. Learn tunes you like. I know that some folks prefer exercises and etudes, but I learned to play by playing tunes I couldn't get out of my ears. Tab/instruction books helped, but the music is in your ears and fingers and gets there by repetition.

5. Don't be upset if you can't sound exactly like your heroes. Sixty years into this game and I still fudge the hard parts. In front of an audience.

6. (Optional) Consider some chord-melody arranging--it has a different-but-related set of challenges from alternating-thumb style.
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