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Topic: Pick blocking ? |
Jason Putnam
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 9:51 am |
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If you have a run of notes at a fast pace going up the strings 9 8 7 6 4 2 etc. how do you pick block? I understand if you are playing something on the same three strings but if you have to change strings rapidly what do you do? Thanks for any help.
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1967 Emmons Bolt On, 1995 Mullen PRP 3x5,Nashville 112, JOYO Digital Delay, Goodrich Volume Pedal, Livesteel Strings |
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 1:11 pm
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| I use what I think is called cross picking...bring the thumb over top of last finger and keep the fingers moving. Youve got to practise that thumb cross over technique until its smooth and clean. |
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Jeff Scott Brown
From:
O'Fallon Missouri, USA
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 2:21 pm
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| Tom Gorr wrote: |
| ...bring the thumb over top of last finger and keep the fingers moving. |
Can you elaborate on what that means?
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GFI Ultra S10 Keyless
Peavey Nashville 112
Goodrich L120, BJS, Peterson StroboPlus HD |
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 2:40 pm
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The best i can do is apply a piano playing analogy.
Pretend you are playing the major scale on piano. Thumb..index...middle...tuck thumb under for f note.index on g'..middle on a...ring on b. Pinky on high c.
Adapted for steel..the notes are strings...with one change...
thumb. Index...middle
(Instead of tucking thumb like on piano...bring it over top..crossing over past middle finger...while pick on middle finger down blocking on string. You can lift index to help thumb position.)
thumb. Index. Middle.
Many pick blockers use four picks because the ring finger isnt tucked hard like a palm blocker.. and having four reduces the frequency of crossovers.
if you come from piano...pickblocking is 90 percent like playing piano...well...say 60..but still very natural. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 2:56 pm
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What Tom said. Of course, there is also the option of "tracking" the bar (moving the bar, and playing each string with just the tip of the bar). The muting is then done with the left hand, and a finger behind the bar does the muting, or blocking. 
Each player uses what works best for him/her. |
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John Scanlon
From:
Jackson, Mississippi, USA
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 7:48 pm
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| Jeff Scott Brown wrote: |
| Tom Gorr wrote: |
| ...bring the thumb over top of last finger and keep the fingers moving. |
Can you elaborate on what that means? |
The best material out there on this technique is Mickey Adams's videos. I think Mickey would agree though that the run we're discussing here is prob. best executed with a mixture of both palm and pick blocking, including "pick blocking" with the back/bottom of the thumb on lower strings once you cross over to the higher ones.
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Click here for the Index to Mickey Adams's YouTube video lessons
Insert impressive gear list here. |
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Gary Cooper
From:
Atmore, Alabama
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 10:16 pm pick blocking
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Tom, excellent analogy.
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GFI Ultra SD-10; Nashville 112; Hilton pedal, George L Cables; Pearse bar; Live Stings;Walker seat by Billy Knowles. |
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Tom Gorr
From:
Three Hills, Alberta
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Posted 5 Jan 2015 10:35 pm
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| Thanks...not at steel guitar when posting today...I think john s is correct that if you want the middle finger string to be sustaining as you cross over then you can block that string with side of thumb as you strike thumb string. |
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Bill C. Buntin
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Posted 6 Jan 2015 2:55 am
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That piano scale description is an excellent analogy. It would seem a very natural way to block.
What Donny mentioned is what Maurice Anderson taught me when I first started. That technique of bar tracking added to what I would call instinctive pick blocking, which I think just comes naturally over time as you begin to pick up speed,
The only way I've ever heard pick blocking described almost sounds impossible to do, but if you think about it, most any of us that use pick blocking, I think do this as second nature. But it is pick a note, then stop the note by quickly putting the pick back down then you are on to the next string with another finger or the thumb.
When I first heard it described that way, I thought it was impossible, because it sounds ridiculous, but over time, I found out I was already doing it. It nearly is an instinctive technique that develops out of necessity. |
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steve takacs
From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
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Posted 21 Jan 2015 11:37 pm Bill Buntin please check your Private Message Inbox
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Hi, Bill Buntin,
Please check your Private Message Inbox. stevet |
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steve takacs
From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
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Posted 21 Jan 2015 11:43 pm Bill Buntin please check your Private Message Inbox
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Hi, Bill Buntin,
Please check your Private Message Inbox. stevet |
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Quentin Hickey
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 22 Jan 2015 6:11 am
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When you are doing a long run like that up the strings you are usually using pedals. The use of pedals gives you a small amount of time to change hand positions.
When I am on the 6th string and engaging or disengaging the b pedal this gives me the time to change to either the upper or lower register. Just practice different combinations until you find a comfortable way to dk it because chances are what works for me may not work for you. All of the pro guys have their own u ique ways of doing it. Try each one of them until you find a favorite. Dont limit yourself to one technique |
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Dave Magram
From:
San Jose, California, USA
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Posted 23 Jan 2015 4:33 pm
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When I first tried to learn to pick-block (as performed by players such as Paul Franklin and Joe Wright), I soon realized that the term “pick-blocking†is a bit misleading; there is a lot more to it than simply blocking the strings with one’s fingerpicks.
It would be more accurate to call it “fingerpick plus fingertip plus bar-hand blockingâ€â€”but that term is a bit unwieldy, so let’s call it “Pickblocking Plusâ€.
The four key elements of “Pickblocking Plusâ€:
1. “Literal Pickblocking†(blocking with just the fingerpicks).
Examples:
- If you have just picked the 3rd string (for example) with your index finger, and you are going to pick it again, then the index fingerpick itself blocks the 3rd string when it comes down to strike it the second time. I’m sure that virtually all players already do this basic form of “literal pick-blockingâ€.
- If you have just picked a string with your index finger, and you are next going to pick a higher string with your index finger, you can block the still-ringing lower string with your other fingerpick or thumbpick. This will also work for picking first a higher, then a lower string. Many players probably already do this form of “literal pick-blocking†on slow or moderate tempo songs.
However, “literal pickblocking†isn’t fast enough to work well on many up-tempo songs—which is where a more advanced form of pickblocking is needed…
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2. “Pickblocking Plus†(blocking with fingerpicks plus fingertips).
Examples:
- On an up-tempo song, if you have just picked the 3rd string (for example) with your index finger, and you are next going to pick a lower (such as the 4th string) with your index finger, then you would block the still-ringing 3rd string with the fingertip of your index finger—as it comes down to pick the adjacent 4th string.
- On an up-tempo song, if you have just picked the 3rd string with your middle finger, and you are next going to pick a lower string (such as the 4th string) with your middle finger, you could block the still-ringing 3rd string with the fingertip of your middle finger OR the fingertip of your ring-finger.
This “fingertip blocking†is not quick and easy to learn to do (at least it wasn't for me). It requires careful adjustments of the blade angle of your fingerpicks to allow your fingertips to contact the strings, as well as developing extremely precise and economical picking motions.
Watch video close-ups of Paul Franklin or Joe Wright and note the precision of their finger movements.
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3. “Thumb-blocking Plus†(Thumbpick plus thumb-tip).
Examples:
- If you have just picked the 8th string (for example) with your thumb, and you are next going to pick a higher string (such as the 7th string) with your thumb, you can block the still-ringing 8th string with the side of your thumb-tip (the flesh of the thumb, not the thumbpick) as you bring your thumb down to strike the 7th string.
- If you are picking a lower string (such as the 9th string) after picking the 8th string, you can block the still-ringing 8th string with one of your fingerpicks.
Thumb-tip blocking on up-tempo tunes requires you to keep your thumb very close to the strings. To facilitate this, many pick-blockers use thumbpicks with very short blades and small pick-bands—such as the Herco Blue Thumbpicks or the Fred Kelly Speed Thumbpicks.
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4. Bar-hand blocking includes blocking with:
- The tip of the bar-hand middle finger
- The edge of the bar-hand thumb
- Lifting the back of the bar
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Joe thoroughly and patiently explains all of the above with very good close-ups and many exercises in his video on “pick blockingâ€, which I highly recommend. I believe that the current title of Joe’s video is “Palm/Pick Blocking Conceptsâ€, at: http://pedalsteel.com/ashop/index.php
I’m sure that Paul Franklin’s instructional material on how to pick block is very good too; it was unavailable years ago when I was trying to learn pick-blocking, so I bought Joe Wright's video.
-Dave |
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