| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Puluke |
Posted - 10/12/2011 : 2:31:22 PM
I've been picking with thumb and two fingers because it just feels more natural. Is there a benefit to using three fingers? I've tried it but immediately went back to two...it felt way too uncoordinated. I generally use index on the third string and middle on the first, with both fingers sharing the second. But sometimes it seems to flow better to alternate the fingers regardless of the string. What do you do? Did you ever change from two to three? Was it difficult? If you could start all over, would you do differently? |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| billy j |
Posted - 01/19/2012 : 4:09:06 PM
Depends on the tune. Majority of the time, thumb and index. But there are a few songs I need more. |
| bsheephead |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 7:40:31 PM
I used to use two fingers in addition to thumb and figure out which to use where in each phrase. Then a teacher of mine pointed out that if you just use three fingers for the top three strings you don't have to worry about it. Now that I'm used to it three fingers seems easier than two. I don't really see a downside to using three. . .
Bill Shepard
Berkeley |
| GuitarVlog |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 5:42:52 PM
PIMA for me. That's what I'm used to.
The pinky gets to pluck sometimes but it takes work to make it sound as full as the other fingers. The nail edge short. It frequently gets used for 4-finger strums but that's not something you typically find in ki ho'alu. |
| darcius1 |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 5:23:05 PM
quote:
Originally posted by TerryLiberty
Darcius:
Me too. PIMA, kinda like the classical folks. It's what I learned. I think Keola plays this way.
Regards and welcome aboard!
Thanks Terry! Good to be here. Nice community. |
| TerryLiberty |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 10:52:09 AM
Darcius:
Me too. PIMA, kinda like the classical folks. It's what I learned. I think Keola plays this way.
Regards and welcome aboard! |
| darcius1 |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 09:43:12 AM
Fairly new to this, but working with thumb, index, middle and fourth. I think it will pay off in the end. |
| TerryLiberty |
Posted - 11/29/2011 : 10:39:28 AM
Cyril:
Jeez! Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. My playing has been described as "all thumbs".
Terry
Olympia, WA |
| cyril |
Posted - 11/26/2011 : 09:50:37 AM
I pick with two fingers(middle and index) and one thumb. |
| ongchua |
Posted - 11/08/2011 : 3:34:35 PM
Thumb, index, middle and ring.
I've occasionally used the pinky to pluck but not for any slack-key pieces that I've learned to date. |
| Trev |
Posted - 11/07/2011 : 12:43:43 AM
I find the subject of how people play in different ways and different techniques to be endlessly fascinating.
In most guitar music that involved fingerpicking, it depends how many notes you need to play at the one time. For the majority of styles, the majority of the time, there’s only one or two notes sounding at once, I was surprised to realise. In slack key it’s very unusual to have more than two notes at once.
So it’s entirely possible to play very intricate sounding music with thumb and one finger. However, it means those two digits have got to move around an awful lot more, and it’s more effort. People who learn to do things a certain way tend to then stick with it, because that’s the normal way for them.
There’s an acoustic guitarist in the UK called Gordon Giltrap. He’s been creating intricate guitar music since the 70s, and for the most part he uses a flat pick and his little finger. It’s very strange to watch.
I started with thumb and one finger. Now I use all of them. How come, I wonder? There must have been something that I wanted to play that I wasn’t good enough to play with one finger so I had to start bringing in the others.
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| Iakonu |
Posted - 11/04/2011 : 06:40:29 AM
quote:
Originally posted by sirduke58
I didn't change the songs I had known or added more notes. I played it the same but it seemed to take much less effort to play. Sharing the load between the index & middle fingers lessened the feeling of rushing to play the necessary notes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN5QKYeK3bE
Playing that with thumb, index & middle made it possible to clown around on this video.
Well done! Your playing of Slack Key Hula got me thinking about how many fingers Gabby used. As best I can tell he used the thumb and index fingers only. It seems like Sonny, Ray and Gabby all played using only the thumb and index finger - is this perhaps the way the slack key was taught before exposure to more complex finger picking styles? Just thinking out-loud on this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Xir0eEDV4&feature=related |
| sirduke58 |
Posted - 11/03/2011 : 6:18:14 PM
I didn't change the songs I had known or added more notes. I played it the same but it seemed to take much less effort to play. Sharing the load between the index & middle fingers lessened the feeling of rushing to play the necessary notes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN5QKYeK3bE
Playing that with thumb, index & middle made it possible to clown around on this video.
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| Iakonu |
Posted - 11/03/2011 : 12:31:10 PM
quote:
Originally posted by sirduke58
Within 2 weeks I was pretty comfortable using my thumb, index & middle fingers.
Did you find that you were playing more notes in the songs you traditionally played or did it bring a smoothness to the same notes you played with 2 fingers? Or was it something completely different? |
| sirduke58 |
Posted - 11/03/2011 : 11:09:48 AM
For about 25 years I used only the thumb & index & managed to do quite well. In 2000 I ran into my first formal kumu Kale Bannister a haumana of Auntie Alice Namakelua. He told me that in ki ho'alu or any other genre of music if you hit a plateau, 99% of the time it will because of your playing technique. He suggested incorporating more fingers on my plucking hand. Within 2 weeks I was pretty comfortable using my thumb, index & middle fingers. Most times I use this combination but on occasion I'll use my ring finger for pieces like Ozzie's "Ku'u Kika Kahiko"...........BUT......Raymond Kane, Sonny Chillingworth, Ledward (Most times) like to use only the thumb & index fingers.......Here's a youngster TP member Zack Onaga who favors only the index & thumb..............
http://www.youtube.com/user/slackkey808#p/a/u/2/6UnHyNRGUQk |
| Lawrence |
Posted - 11/03/2011 : 10:11:59 AM
quote:
I use just one finger 'cuz my nostrils aren't very big. please please noone expand too far on this joke ; )
You are already expanding on it, so to speak, maybe not past the first joint though, read some earlier posts in the thread 
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