Pattern picking with a pick?

[lowrider]

Is this something that people ordinarily do?

I'm playing ''Rosie'', by Tom Waits. Tom does it on piano, but it's just a pattern. I'm just doing a simple pattern in D with a swing;

D 4,1,3,2

G 6,2,4,3

Em 6,2,4,3

A7 5,2,3,1

and to me, it works.

I don't know a lot but I go with the theory that if it sounds good, it is good.

But is this something that people ordinarily do?

[Mr. Jelly]

I don't go by patterns but I do crosspick when I flatpick. I go by what feels natural for the song and chord I'm playing at the moment. Or accent the part of the chord I am playing that I think will sound best. Look into crosspicking and Carter picking. There is allot of overlap in picking styles.

[Brent Hutto]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Is this something that people ordinarily do?

I'm playing ''Rosie'', by Tom Waits. Tom does it on piano, but it's just a pattern. I'm just doing a simple pattern in D with a awing;

D 4,1,3,2

G 6,2,4,3

Em 6,2,4,3

A7 5,2,3,1

and to me, it works.

I don't know a lot but I go with the theory that if it sounds good, it is good.

But is this something that people ordinarily do?

That looks pretty doable on a slow-mid tempo tune. Are you going to be playing while you sing? Probably takes a good bit of practice to be totally precise with the string skipping while you're paying attention to the singing.

[davidbeinct]

Is there any reason you don’t want to do those patterns with thumb and fingers? Those are some dead simple Travis patterns and I think it would be easier to play them that way.

[lowrider]

Yes, this is while I sing and it's going pretty well. Right now I sometimes miss the bass sting and get the next one down physically, like miss E but get A. And on this song it's just a simple pattern but I can hear other patterns that would work in songs.

To me, it sounds like beginner finger picking patterns and I can see myself expanding it. I like the way it sounds on ''Rosie''. I'm also doing ''Old Shoes and Picture Postcards and I like the way I'm doing the break with strumming and walk downs but I can hear a pattern in the break when Tom does it.

I sing Old Shoes better because it's in G. I struggle to sing in D but I like the way the guitar sounds for Rosie in D, so I'll have to keep struggling.

[lowrider]

Originally Posted by davidbeinct

Is there any reason you don’t want to do those patterns with thumb and fingers? Those are some dead simple Travis patterns and I think it would be easier to play them that way.

It's actually pretty easy to do with a pick and I think I get better sound, more volume, more direct. Right now I play at home, but during normal times I play with different jam groups all the time. I find that the finger pickers just don't get enough volume unless they use thumb and finger picks.

[mr. beaumont]

People do it all the time, totally fine way of playing.