Beginner question:2 or 3 fingers on right hand for this lick

Chris Graig · From: Washington, USA

Hello, beginner question here regarding which right hand fingers to use for following lick.

I'm going through the DeWitt Scott "Deluxe Pedal Steel Guitar Method" book and pretty early on in the book there's a "speed" (speed in quotes as it's fast for me but likely slow for most of you Very Happy

) picking part of a song where he recommends only using the thumb and middle finger on the right hand. I don't understand why it's recommended to use only two fingers on right hand here instead of just using Thumb/index/middle. I'm guessing there's a really good reason so I'm forcing myself to learn it this way but I just can't play it as fast with two fingers as I can with the three and getting frustrated. With the two fingers I end up using my index finger to block any way so I'm stumped and feel like there's a ton of wasted motion with the 2 finger approach versus 3. The 3 fingers seems more efficient. Why is this method of using two fingers for a "speed" part being taught this way so early on? Must be important yes? Should I force myself to get comfortable with this style?

Here is the lick, hopefully I got the picture embedded correctly.

Thanks so much for your guidance in advance!

~Chris

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I've been playing for 12 years and it still puzzles me.
I accept that T and 2 are the dominant digits, but why not use 1 when it's that obvious?
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Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

I use a blue Herco thumb and three National finger picks, a holdover from acoustic guitar days. If you choose to go that route it will help immensely down the road if you develop your thumb-and-one or thumb-and-two speed-picking discipline early, otherwise you will eventually and inevitably tie your fingers in knots when trying to keep up with your ears. I have personally found that thumb-and-one - i.e. alternating thumb and index finger works best for me, although many pickers prefer a thumb and middle finger pattern.

Conceptually it might seem that having four picks would make speed picking easier, but don't be like me and wait forty years before realizing it is an impediment to making rapid choices effectively. Thumb-finger-thumb-finger is the way to keep single notes flowing, save the extra picks for chord grips and passing double stops.

YMMV

Doug Taylor · From: Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA

I recommend going through Joe Wrights 32 moves which is free on both his site and Sierras site and Jeff Newmans Right Hand Aloha if you can find it, and see what works for your hands.

I have found I’m faster with T-2 than I am using 3 fingers but that may not be the case for you. Either way it takes lots of time at your instrument to figure it out!

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

Marty Broussard · From: Broussard, Louisiana, USA

Doug said it. Practice all the things he mentioned to find what works for you. Buddy once stated that it takes about 2 weeks of practicing a technique to see if it works for you. Those Joe Wright exercises will open your eyes.

Best of luck to you.
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"Technique is really the elimination of the unnecessary..it is a constant effort to avoid any personal impediment or obstacle to achieve the smooth flow of energy and intent" Yehudi Menuhin

Chris Graig · From: Washington, USA

Thanks all for the advice, I'll look into the resources suggested and also try different methods. I like the thumb/index/middle approach but my gut tells me to get comfortable with thumb/middle. It seems like he (DeWitt Scott) doubles down on the thumb/middle two finger approach on the next page where he has speed picking drills. They are all with just the two fingers, no mention of index. It seems strange/wasteful to me, but I'll give it a go.

Ron Funk · From: Ballwin, Missouri

I think Chris identified a typo in the Tab

Based on other examples in the booklet, what was intended to be shown was a thumb crossover for each picking phrase

Using only thumb & 2nd finger.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

2-T-2-2 makes no sense at all.

Stew Crookes · From: Paris, France

J Fletcher · From: London,Ont,Canada

In the example in question , wouldn't T T 2 T T 2 be a good way to pick the phrase ? If you played it T 2 T T 2 T , you would have to move your thumb back to string 8 from string 5 to play the 6th note in the sequence .

Chris Graig · From: Washington, USA

Yeah I’m finding the moving thumb from string 8 to string 5 strange to do here to be honest. That’s a lot of real estate between picks haha. I’ll keep practicing it, hopefully this is sound technique worth getting comfortable with.

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

I use what's listed as 'Alternative 1' in the original post.

It's just a straight, 3-finger forward roll.

Newbies working on chops and mechanics could begin that journey by drilling on forward rolls.

Fancy it up by starting on different fingers and rolling from there.

Then do all that, but with backward rolls (ie, that descend in pitch).

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