Use a thumb pick?

[NateFreezy]

As I've started getting in to fingerstyle, I'm very curious as to what approaches other people are using, and they are obviously quite varied.

At the moment I'm just playing steel string, using bare fingers with no nails. I've noticed that some of the fingerstylists I've been watching lately always use a thumb pick (though there are many others that don't).

How many people here use a flesh vs. a thumbpick? Which do people prefer?

I guess ideally it'd be great to be proficient at both. Not having used a thumb pick before, it would certainly be an investment in time and practice to learn to use one, and I'm asking myself if it would be worth it.

Cheers!

[Cue Zephyr]

I go three ways here...

For playing most fingerstyle, mostly Andy McKee, I use my bare thumb, which now has some callouses formed on it.

For playing a song like I have been learning by Don Ross, I use a metal ProPik thumb pick with a plastic tip. This one is excelllent for a pronounced bass.

For picking as well as strumming I use my Fred Kelly medium Slick Pick. It is not as stiff or loud as the ProPik.

I will use both thumb picks for thumb pick techniques which is the up-pick that cannot be (at least easily) executed without a thumb pick.

I do not use flesh for the fingers, nails that have nail hardener applied to them. Most techniques I use nowadays kill the nails if I don't do so. Nails are also required for most of the techniques - like rasgueado and playing harmonics.

Good luck.

[NateFreezy]

Are using nails with steel string common? I know for classical it's more the rule, but had always thought with steel string more people use flesh...

[lw216316]

Many of the FAMOUS finger style players use a thumb pick...
for example Chet Atkins.

I use a thumb pick because it just felt right to me from the beginning.
It brings out a strong bass in my music - something I like.

I play a lot of solo finger style instrumentals.

Recently I learned to play an alternating bass style (a.k.a. Travis Picking)
- when I play that way I like to play WITHOUT a thumb pick so the
bass does not overwhelm the melody.

- Larry

[oldhippiegal]

I just ordered a dozen thumbpicks to try them out, having been wondering as you do what the diff is. The more I'm into blues, the more I want that distinct sound in the bass. My nails aren't strong enough to use, certainly.

[M19]

I started using a thumb pick when I began playing fingerstyle on my 12 string, but still using bare thumb on the six string. Lately, though, I have been digging my thumb too far between the strings and buzzing the lower open on my thumbnail, so I am on my way to converting to all thumb pick use.

I buy National plastic ones, then file the tip a bit rounder, and also rough up the picking surface to give a little softer sound.

My biggest issue is the occasional projectile pick when I catch the loop on a string.

[Cue Zephyr]

Haha, I was trying to record an early cover of a song I'm learning and the thumb pick caught on the string twice.

[shawlie]

Long time ago, I used a thumbpick and liked it - nice "crisp" bass it gives. I try it once in a while again, but find it really hard not to play too hard. Getting used to hitting the strings right isn't so difficult, it seems, but getting the volume right is hard (for me, anyway).

I like to let my thumbnail grow a little bit. I mostly use more the side of my thumb to play (and have a callous there) but you can use a little more nail if it is a bit longer (which adds a little crispness to the bass, too, maybe).

[hats]

For finger style I use a plastic pick shaped to be rounded with a cigarette lighter. No finger picks. My finger style is for my own entertainment and not for public consumption. I tend to utilize a relentless bass on acompanying vocals, and am very active with the thumb. I move up to the highter strings with the thumb for playing the melody components, often to the second string. I do not find difficulty balancing volume of the thumb with its pick and the fingers without picks on the melody component. I just back off the thumb and work the fingers a little harder.

[darkvalley1]

I learned to play fingerstyle with bare thumb and fingers. After a while I decided to try a thumb pick and initially found it very difficult to play with but after a few hours practice i could alternate between the two as desired. Just started trying to learn slide last night from a DVD and as advised by tutor (Bob Brozman) am using fingerpicks. Took about an hour to get the hang of them. it may take longer to get very comfortable with them, but I could play tunes I was very familiar with quite quickly.
So I would suggest trying all and any combination and see what you prefer, as it is not difficult to switch between them.

[Hack Amatuer]

I first learned on the thumpick travis/atkins style and used to muffle the base strings. The dreadnaughts seem to need that, the OM's OOO's I don't know, I haven't used it on my OM body, only my thumb. I quit using them for several reasons, one being that even though I used to warm them in water to fit, they seem to get uncomfortable after awhile. Another reason is that sometimes people just hand me their guitar and expect me to play but if I don't happen to have a pick in my pocket, it would throw me and my thumb would miss a few beats, ha ha. or hit the right string at the wrong time, Yikes! I hated that!

[dijomaja]

Things I've noticed in general:

If you want a more percussive sound with a "dedicated" bass line or if you muffle the bass in Travis/Atkins style the thumbpick is almost a necessity.

If you play a style in which the bass line is one "voice" among several (like James Taylor, et al.) you'll probably get a better balance with fingertips or nails.

As noted above, the instrument makes a difference, too. I often use a thumbpick on my Grand Concert but with a dreadnought the bass line can overpower the melody.

[oldhippiegal]

I got my picks four days ago and it's interesting using them. I can see the value of filing the thing to suit me--out of the bag, the ones I have are too long, certainly. And the first fifteen minutes I was using it, I thought, "oh, I'll never get this." (Why do I say such silly things, even in private?) but by the end of the day it felt like part of my own hand. I think I like them and so far I haven't injured any passing strangers with a flying one. When I palm mute the basic shuffle in the blues while singing, I rather like the crisper percussive sound I get with the thumb pick.

[tbeltrans]

Years ago, I used a full set of fingerpicks and thumbpick. I was really into the earlier music of Kottke, Fahey, and others in that genre. Then in the early 80s, Kottke started talking about having serious problems with his hands and he drastically changed his playing style. He got rid of the fingerpicks, citing them as part of his problem, and I think he also ditched the thumbpick. I did too, as I started listening to a broader range of fingerstyle players, such as Earl Klugh and David Qualey on nylon string.

It took some real effort over a period of a couple of months to learn to play without finger/thumb picks AND to break the habit of "planting" my pinky on the guitar top so that I could use a more classically oriented approach. For me, that turned out to be the right thing to do in the long run.

I believe we each need to find our own approach to this kind of stuff. Some people will be able to easily switch between using and not using thumb and/or finger picks. I can't. For me, it seems to be one way or the other. There is a lot of good projection and clarity that comes from using finger and thumb picks, so they certainly have merit. But for me, I want that control that comes from fingers directly on the strings. Each person must find their own "voice" in these issues, and there is certainly no one right or wrong way to do it. The "right" way is the the way that best suits what you need to do to get the music out.

Tony