Easiest Song Of All Time?

[erikbojerik]

Yep....and the classical guys all play fingerstyle, a way-big difference.

[Sindlei]

i can't think of one reason that using 3 fingers to play a chord instead of two would create sloppiness, i think you need to review your technique.

[GregP]

I use 3 fingers. index, ring, little finger.

The index finger and ring finger are so locked together that there's no sloppiness possible, and I find I have actually more more solid control. When I use either just the ring or little finger to cover 2 strings, the finger itself wants to ... 'bend' (not in the direction of the knuckles like bending your fingers, but side-to side) a bit, which makes it trickier to lock down.

I don't really think one is better than the other, but I DO know that for me at least, using 3 fingers (and even downward pressure using fingertips instead of other parts of the finger) makes it much easier to get up to speed.

There are obvious exceptions, and I think some of it DOES come down to musical style.

Greg

[westhemann]

man..i had a great reply written out explaining why it is a valid style and why it is quieter on high gain metal and all that..and then the board went down...so i guess you will just have to stay unenlightened.

i will just rewite this...alex skolnick,dave mustaine,james hetfield,and kirk hammett...what do they all have in common?they are all acomplished musicians in metal,i have seen all of them in person,and they ALL play those simple little damn three string power chords the same way i do.

you see...unlike some people,i don't just grab something and "take a whack at it" or just "figger it out the best ah can"...i went through all this when i first started playing 14 years ago...when i first started learning those chords it was difficult for me to play them in any fashion(of course...i had just picked the instrument up),so instead of just listening to my cousin(who can't play worth a damn and does it like you think it should be done,because that's the way his acoustic playing mother told him),i watched "cliff em all",went to concerts,talked to good musicians who played what i wanted to play...and i learned.

so buddy...if you want to try and tell me to "review my technique",then you are way off base.i am very serious about everything i do and i spend an awful lot of my free time checking up on my technique and trying not to develop bad habits.

if you want to play whatever it is that you play that way,then go right ahead...but do not tell me how to play my style of metal...because i learned it from watching guys who really know what they are doing...and buddy,you are not one of them in my field of music.

i simply try to pass on the information...and i am not fool enough to try to tell a classical or acoustically trained guitarist how to fingerpick...get it?

[GregP]

I'm with you that you don't need to be told how to play, Wes. Your technique is not only commonly used, but also valid, and best of all-- it's what works for you and what you KNOW you can get results from. Using 3 fingers is still valid, too, though.

I simply -can't- use the 2-finger style for fast playing. My index and pinkie fingers have too much "give". They won't stay 'put' and precise. That problem vanishes when I switch to 3 fingers.

I'm not the best player in the world, but I know what works for me.

Greg

PS, I know the venom in your post wasn't directed at me.

[westhemann]

Using 3 fingers is still valid, too, though.

agreed.i am just quite sure it is in no way superior in metal.especially when my fingers are well enough trained that i can change fingerings any time i wish.

i could play the same song two times in a row using diffent fingerings for all the power chords each time with no stumbling whatsoever.i often do,just because.

and if there is a reason for it(panama intro example again),then you bet i have no problems doing it that way.(though that starts off with a ring finger barre and then the ring finger rolls up the clear the string next to it for the next chord)

My index and pinkie fingers have too much "give".

mine used to...you develop the rigidity with practice

oh ..by the way...no venom...just a bit of "curtness"

[GregP]

Crap, that's what I was afraid of.

The "P" word.

[inoulose]

first song i ever learned... come as you are by nirvana... absolute easiest... also in my time of dying by zeppelin is a good way to learn. Brain stew by greenday also

[erikbojerik]

You absolutely gotta do what works for you...in guitar playing at least, there's always at least two or three ways to do the same thing.

I listened to SRV for years before I ever saw him. Then I was astonished to see that he almost never uses his pinky when soloing, very Jimi-like. At the same time, on his jazzier stuff his pinky is all over the chording (but again...not the soloing). So....

[westhemann]

I listened to SRV for years before I ever saw him. Then I was astonished to see that he almost never uses his pinky when soloing, very Jimi-like. At the same time, on his jazzier stuff his pinky is all over the chording (but again...not the soloing). So....

yeah that really surprised me as well to see the way he plays...all of that stretching to avoid using his pinky to solo,and yet he uses it just fine for everything else...just wierd...but you can't argue with his results

[GregP]

I play without pinkie, but not consciously. I have very strange hand geometry. In most cases. I can literally reach further with my third finger than my pinkie. Now, I'm not saying SRV is that way, and I wish I wasn't that way.

People tell me to stretch and it'll get there, but then I show them my hand. It literally isn't shaped properly, and the pinkie is too small compared to normal ratios, so I LITERALLY can't reach as far with it. It's a bone structure thing, which no amount of stretching and practicing will fix.

Clapton also does not use pinkie for soloing. Jimi, SRV, and Clapton are three of my top heroes, so I feel that I'm in good company. On the other hand, I also acknowledge the power of being able to use a pinkie, but it'll never happen for me in certain situations.

Box patterns, though, where you don't need to stretch so much, pinkie comes very much in handy and I try to use it wherever possible, but because I -can't- use it for some things, my hand has gotten into the bad habit of not using the pinkie anyhow.

Chords, though, you don't really have a choice, so I'm not too surprised that SRV, Clapton, or Jimi use a pinkie for chords.

Greg