In this video, I’ll present each picking pattern and describe it’s origins. From there, you’ll get a remarkable example of what the choosing pattern noises like and who has continued to use and innovate on the initial pattern.
Also in this video, I’m including Halland Guitars in Livingston, Montana. This is an exceptional contractor who is making some seriously crafted acoustic guitars. Last but not least, I wish to feature an Acoustic Tuesday audience who is integrating the spirit of heavy metal music with the noise of acoustic guitar.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right into the 5 selecting patterns that altered acoustic guitar forever!
Choosing Pattern # 5: The Carter Scratch
While the Carter scratch is typically associated with Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family, it actually came from with Lesley Riddle. Using the thumb to mainly play melodies, the Carter scratch was innovative in its day.
Instead of being mainly a rhythm instrument, the Carter scratch permitted the guitar in folk and country music to end up being a tune instrument. Other names for the Carter scratch consist of the ‘thumb brush’ technique, the ‘Carter lick,’ and also the ‘church lick.’
Choosing Pattern # 4: Travis Selecting
Stemming from the Carteeer scratch, Travis picking gets its name from Merle Travis. You see, Merle Travis used an alternating thumb strategy to drive the bass while the rest of his choosing hand played a syncopated tune gets used the greater strings.
What’s intriguing is that Travis didn’t always invent Travis selecting as we know it today. He often referred to his design of playing as “thumb selecting”, possibly because the only pick he utilized when playing was a banjo thumb choice, or “Muhlenberg picking”, after his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, where he discovered this approach to playing from Mose Rager and Ike Everly.
Picking Pattern # 3: Flatpicking
So, this particular discussion focuses on not simply utilizing a choice but utilizing a choice to play fiddle tunes on guitar. While we can’t tie this style of playing to one particular player, some of the early adopters of this flatpicking design include George Shuffler, Alton Delmore, Johnny Bond, Don Reno, and Bill Napier.
Prior to these gamers, the lead guitar was sparsely utilized– when it was utilized, it was a novelty instead of being the norm that it is today.
From these early gamers, we have artists like Riley Puckett, Clarence White, Doc Watson, Tony Rice, therefore many others who made bluegrass and nation guitar the huge success that it is today. Those artists have now handed the torch to more youthful artists like Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle.
Picking Pattern # 2: Crosspicking
Consider crosspicking as integrating the momentum of the banjo with the melodic qualities of flatpicking. It has a harp-like texture that can be concurrently delicate and effective.
George Shuffler is credited with developing the crosspicking method as a method to “fill-in” noise while playing with the Stanley Brothers. Due to the fact that he was playing in the “lean” years of bluegrass, the touring groups didn’t use big bands with mandolin, banjo, drums, or bass. As a result, George created a distinct style to cover the Stanley Brothers in between singing expressions.
Selecting Pattern # 1: Percussive Fingerstyle
While simultaneously a method to guitar and a choosing pattern, percussive fingerstyle actually changed the method acoustic guitarists approach the instrument.
Moving beyond the standard restrictions of simply playing fretting and plucking the strings, percussive fingerstyle uses the body of the guitar, harmonics, alternate tunings, tapping, and more to produce a wide variety of tones, sounds, and textures.
We can trace a great deal of percussive fingerstyle methods back to Michael Hedges who really transformed this style.
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