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Nev talks fingers-only and hybrid picking.
WHEN I WAS learning to play the guitar, I’d often find myself with no plectrum, having lost it, broken it or whatever. So I’d cut up various bits of plastic, from washing-up bottles to old vinyl records, in order to make my own. Not exactly satisfactory.
So I learned to pick with my thumb and first finger, and found that I could do all sorts of things better than was possible with a pick. Stuff like crossing from the first string to the third, from the second to the fourth, and so on. I also worked out a form of chicken picking and, as Jeff Beck has said he does, held the thumb tight to the first finger and used the latter’s fingertip as a plectrum.
Listening to the records I was trying to copy, I realised other guitarists were playing electric guitar with more than one ‘digit’. Cream’s Crossroads, for instance -
I thought Clapton was playing the intro with fingers then somehow grabbing a pick to play the rest. Oh for YouTube back in 1968!
It was not until I saw a local group (with the astonishing guitarist Ian Pearce) playing Albert Lee’s song Country Boy, that I discovered hybrid picking.
But, I suppose because I’d discovered my own way of doing things, I didn’t get into pick and fingers playing for ages. It wasn’t until I joined Marty Wilde’s band when I suddenly had to perform certain songs that were played hybrid style, or with thumbpick and fingers (a whole different ball game), that I quickly had to adapt my style. Unless you’re a Beck or a Knopfler and have built a whole personal style and repertoire around fingers-only playing, hybrid is a fantastic technique to have in your armoury. Not only can you do that string crossing thing, but you can pluck out three or four-note chords, arpeggiate with ease, and instantly switch to alternate or other forms of plectrum playing. And while hybrid is often viewed as a ‘country’ thing, you’ll find monster players using it in almost every musical genre imaginable.
This issue Stuart Ryan has created a fantastic hybrid picking feature with a load of exercises (many of which are great licks in themselves), plus three full pieces in various styles. Some of it is pretty challenging, but a lot of it is perfectly accessible. I hope you enjoy it, and I’ll see you next month.