Fingerpicking vs. Flatpicking

[OliveCorduroy]

Hello All,

So I’m curious as to what people here enjoy more on the guitar…is it flatpicking and strumming and all that comes with that?…or is it fingerpicking and all that comes with that?…and why?

Thanks,
George

[Robin, Wales]

Ahh George,

It is more complex than that! You should also ask if folks sing with guitar or don't sing with guitar. And also offer a "both flatpick and fingerpick" category.

I would expect that there would be a strong correlation between singers and "flatpick" or "both". And a strong correlation between non singers and "fingerpick only".

[JonPR]

No contest for me: fingerpicking. Obviously I agree wuth Robin that it's "more complicated than that", but this is only about a preference. Of course I flatpick some of the time, but I enjoy fingerpicking a lot more, and find it more intuitive.

"Why" is basically because of how much I liked the sound when I first heard it (back in early 1966, when I'd only been playing a month or two). Immediately it made strumming seem boring. I mean, I'd started learning guitar because it was cool - even when only strummed! - but the sound of fingerpicking was just a whole new level, a whole new world. Wow, a guitar can do that too!! To begin with, it was the clean alternating bass of Donovan, Bert Jansch and so on. Then a few months later it was the ragtime/blues of Cliff Aungier, opening up the music of Big Bill Broonzy and Blind Blake. You don't come back from that...

Of course Robin is also right that it's dictated to a large degree by whether one sings or not. My favourite fingerpickers do tend to be singers too (because I'm at least as interested in songwriting as in guitar tecnique), but I'm no singer myself. Flatpicking a guitar when one is not singing - or when one is not playing in a bluegrass band! - has a very limited appeal...

[ifret]

I've been fingerpicking since about 1973. I'm NOT a singer, as they discussed above. I want to play a song's melody and have the full tones of fingerpicking.

[Mandobart]

I find it equally enjoyable to sing while finger picking and sing while flatpicking. As a mostly bluegrass player, I do more flatpicking. But when I play solo (as I've said before you can't really pull off solo bluegrass) I enjoy the fingerstyle arrangements more.

The key for me, as always, is variety.

[Mr. Jelly]

I love to flat pick, but it feels limited in a short period of time.

[brad4d8]

I voted for flatpicking because that's what I spend most time on, but I do quite a bit of fingerpicking as well. However, I generally only use fingers on nylon string guitar, not steel.

[nowgypsy]

It depends on the sound I am trying to produce. You can't get everything from one technique.

[Silly Moustache]

Can't vote.

I have dreads and a jumbo(Roy Smeck) they use medium gauge strings. I use plectrums on them.

I have smaller guitars, 0,and 00. They have light gauge strings. They are finger picking guitars.

I have a 000, with lights. I can both flatpick and finger pick it.

I enjoy playing them all.

[JackC1]

On the acoustic, I nearly always use a pick to strum and accompany myself. Even playing single notes or chord melody; I prefer a pick. The very few times I fingerpick it is when I don't have a pick handy.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by OliveCorduroy

Hello All,

So I’m curious as to what people here enjoy more on the guitar…is it flatpicking and strumming and all that comes with that?…or is it fingerpicking and all that comes with that?…and why?

Thanks,
George

Hi George
I play without picks, always (even electric when I'm playing backup and lead).

I pick, strum, play runs, parallel runs (double stops), and fingerstyle too.

My playing style would be like Derek Trucks without a slide.

I adopted this style of play because it's adaptable, and doesn't require me to shift tools. I don't think in terms of fingerstyle, flatpick. I also don't play bluegrass lead guitar.

[birkenweg42]

I am not a singer and mostly play solo. It's fingerpicking for me.

[Nymuso]

I do have some flat picks around here somewhere, but they’re only for playing Rock on my electric with a band. On acoustic it’s a different story. As a solo singer/guitarist I like to make as much happen on guitar as possible, and for me that means finger picking.

[Rick Jones]

I’ll flatpick, fingerpick and hybrid pick all in one song sometimes. They’re different sounds. I tuck the pick in my palm all the time, sometimes I’ll do a whole song with it there even though I don’t use it once… I actually find that tucking a pick forces me to utilise my third/ring finger on my picking hand more, for some reason.

[TBman]

I fingerpick (fingerstyle - what's the diff?). Years ago I played with a flatpick, but wanted more from the guitar so I started to play hybrid. When I restarted playing back in 2000ish I learned finger style.