12 string guitar - fingerstyle technique?

[Nuggulux]

Classical technique, maybe not so much, but fingerpicked 12-string, most definitely. Here's one of the best around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYWvPf4C5wE

[donlyn]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

I play finger style with my nails on six string guitars, but on my twelve my thumbnail gets hung up on the octave bass strings and doesn’t activate this lower of the pairs. my solution is to use a pick only on my thumb, not on my other fingers. This way I can strike through the octave strings and activate the bass strings as wel.

Try cutting (or filing) the contact side of your thumb nail wicked close to the quick and then very, very slowly taper it away so as to meet the nail about 1/16" above the cetnter of your thumb nail, and curve slighty back again on the way back around. This way the thumb will quickly slide along the string until it picks the note(s) / courses. Nail heights can of course be cut as the user likes, but less is often more.

Don
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[Tricky Fish]

Thanks for everyone’s feedback. Lots for me to explore here.

I went to my local music store earlier today and tried playing a 12 string. It was the only 12 string in the shop; a yamaha worth about $1000 AUD. It had a good sound.

I’ve played nothing but classical and flamenco guitars for the last 7 or 8 years, all with 52mm nut width and using core classical technique.

The feel of the 12-string was a shock to my hands. My right hand could not get comfortable because of the narrow string spacing. I fumbled and could barely make a controlled sound.

The bottom line is that if i want to pick up 12-string fingerstyle guitar, i will need to completely re-engineer my technique. My classical technique doesn’t translate.

Perhaps a 12 string with 52mm (or wider!) string spacing would help.

[Craviola]

Chris Proctor has been previously mentioned, here is a breakdown of his 12 string guitar dvd.
Chris Proctor - Contemporary 12 String Guitar - DVD
Chris Proctor's exceptional lesson will bring your 12-string guitar playing to new levels, and will teach you challenging and beautiful instrumental solos. This course is jam-packed with instruction in the use of open tunings, bottleneck/slide techniques, harmonics and string muting, as well as invaluable advice on finger picks, tuning, stringing and setting up your instrument. Most 12-string players strike the octave and unison pairs of strings simultaneously. Chris shows you a revolutionary way of picking the twelve strings individually, using alternate thumb and finger picking within the pairs of octave and unison strings. Scales, fiddle tunes and other melodic passages can be played with flowing melody lines and shimmering, cascading tones, with a minimum of left-hand movement. Through exercises, insights and detailed instruction, Chris helps you realize the 12-string guitar's sonic power, and he enables you to play spectacular fingerstyle solos including: "Sailor's Hornpipe, Fisher's Hornpipe, Halfway, Bells of the Harbor, War Games, Over the Pass".

[Benjo]

Originally Posted by Tricky Fish

Thanks for everyone’s feedback. Lots for me to explore here.

I went to my local music store earlier today and tried playing a 12 string. It was the only 12 string in the shop; a yamaha worth about $1000 AUD. It had a good sound.

I’ve played nothing but classical and flamenco guitars for the last 7 or 8 years, all with 52mm nut width and using core classical technique.

The feel of the 12-string was a shock to my hands. My right hand could not get comfortable because of the narrow string spacing. I fumbled and could barely make a controlled sound.

The bottom line is that if i want to pick up 12-string fingerstyle guitar, i will need to completely re-engineer my technique. My classical technique doesn’t translate.

Perhaps a 12 string with 52mm (or wider!) string spacing would help.

I widen the spacing between the thicker wound strings and the thinner octave strings by a little bit when I string my guitars. At the lower pitches I play at I find it minimizes rattle and that it's easier for my fretting finger to cleanly fret both strings to avoid buzz8ng the octave string.

[JonPR]

I agree Leo Kottke is the name to go to for 12-string fingerstyle. (I wouldn't say it's "impossible" to play like him, but he did have an unusual right-hand technique.)

Bert Jansch also tried his hand at 12-string, on these two tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgfICMGTEW4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUL5nrkHvXI

The first one is in EADGBE, capo 3 or 4 (tuned somewhere between the two). The second is in DADGAD, capo 2.

I also investigated the possibility that a third track from that album was also 12-string. (It's hard to tell because he was pretty good at octaves on 6-string.) Here's my attempt (DADGAD):
https://youtu.be/1paxOLiSy-g?t=150

[jseth]

Originally Posted by mcduffnw

Try listening to Ralph Towner of the group Oregon, and his solo work also. He played about as close to classical technique on 12 string as anyone I can remember.

I think classical playing technique could be a wee bit hard to transfer over to 12 string playing due to how tight the string spacing is on a 12 string. It would be hard to work as quickly and quietly on a 12'er as compared to a classical guitar.


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

Ralph Towner... wonderful player/composer. Oregon is just a sonic treat, as are his solo recordings...

Of particular note would be the two records he did with Gary Burton on vibraphone... "Matchbook" and "Slide Show". Although Ralph's main instrument would be a Classical guitar, he plays his 12 string Guild with much the same technique.

His song, "Icarus", is a favorite of mine, and has been since I first heard it in 1971 or so... at the time, I described that song as being "the soundtrack of dreams", and I'd still say the same!