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Post new topic Playing a 4 note chord - rake all 4 strings?
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Author Topic:  Playing a 4 note chord - rake all 4 strings?
David DeLoach


From:
Tennessee, USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 5:44 am    
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If you are using a thumb pick and 2 fingerpicks and have to play a 4 note chord on 4 consecutive strings...

x-5-5-5-5-x

Do you rake all 4 strings with the thumb pick, or rake the 2 bass strings with the thumb pick and play the 2 treble strings with the 2 fingerpicks?
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Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 6:17 am    
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Option 2, or option 3 would be to just use the pickless ring finger for a tighter sound. Option can be to sound the lowest note with the thumb and forcefully snap the two fingers to include the next to lowest.

Option 1 is fine when the chord can be strummed or arpeggiated.
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Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 6:29 am    
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For 4-string chords, I usually rake the lower three strings with the thumb and pick the upper string with the middle finger at the same time.
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Bill Hatcher

 

From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 6:38 am    
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I use 4 picks on 4 fingers. Why waste two fingers?

Put on a pick on your ring finger and welcome to a brave new world...Winking
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Brian Evans

 

From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 7:53 am    
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Three finger picks, or a fingernail, to pop out a chord. I am quite accustomed to the thumb/three finger thing from hybrid picking on guitar. But there are no rules, a sweep might be best in the circumstance.
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Phillip Vaught


From:
Dallas,Texas, USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 8:31 am    
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i like option 2
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Bill McCloskey

 

Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 8:41 am    
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I have been playing with 3 fingerpicks and a thumb pick for years since I play eharp, Most of my chords are four note chords.
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Dom Franco


From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 9:08 am    
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I have always played with 3 fingerpicks and a thumbpick...
4 notes no problem
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Allan Revich


From:
Victoria, BC
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2021 11:56 am    
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I’m happy enough playing with a flat pick, so for me it’s always one string at a time or raking. But if you’re playing with thumb and finger picks I think the answer to the question is more about context then about what’s “best”. If the song asks for rhythm strumming, like a fast rock or blues, then raking all 4 strings with the thumbpick would seem to make the most sense. Otherwise, you can choose whatever combination of thumb and fingers sounds best to your ears.
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Nic Neufeld


From:
Kansas City, Missouri
Post  Posted 18 Jun 2021 4:26 am    
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I like arpeggios and sweeps especially for looser Hawaiian sounds. For tighter swing stuff where you may need to pop out the chord a bit more quickly/rhythmically, option 2 is what I've been taught, but it takes practice. I have a hard time properly controlling a thumb sweep while also playing the top two notes with index/middle. Just will take time and practice to clean up, I'm sure...
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Garry Vanderlinde


From:
CA
Post  Posted 18 Jun 2021 5:23 pm     Re: Playing a 4 note chord - rake all 4 strings?
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Quote:
... rake the 2 bass strings with the thumb pick and play the 2 treble strings with the 2 fingerpicks...

Thumb raking the two lower strings and middle, index finger picks on the higher two strings is the way Buddy Emmons taught us at Jeffran College back in the 1980's to get those big C6th chords. Lots of fun! Cool







p.s. Willie Nelson told me never to name drop.
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Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 19 Jun 2021 6:28 pm    
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Quote:
Thumb raking the two lower strings and middle, index finger picks on the higher two strings is the way Buddy Emmons taught us at Jeffran College back in the 1980's to get those big C6th chords. Lots of fun! Cool


Yep, I too did two days of C6 lessons with Buddy Emmons in Nashville in the early 80s. If raking was good enough for him, it's good enough me! Winking
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