Dropping the Pick

[Ehvam]

Sorry to ask so many questions today, but i am at, what i feel, is an important crossroads in my music. This is the crux of it. Over the years i've becomed more and more into fingerstyle guitar. Playing lots of Hedges/Bensusan etc. But i am also a long time and avid electric player still. So over the years i've found myself practicing two regimens- one for acoustic fingerstyle and the having to practice an equal amount of time to keep up my picking technique. To add to the problem i also play electric with lots of tapping, slap & poppping, harmonics etc. on the elctric. I find myself having to practice an inordinate amount of time to be able to do the same thing on acoustic with just my fingers then on electric with a pick.
So is it time to drop the pick?
What are the limitations i will face?
I worry about tone and speed if i drop the pick on electric, but i envision a freer, more expressive style that may open new doors for me. No more grabbing the pick for a part, then dropping it for the next then picking it up again- what a hassle. I also feel that if all my time is spent playing pickless i will progress faster instead of having to do the same excercises with and without the pick.
What do you guys think?
What are the pitfalls?
Please, help me look ahead at the pros/cons, its very important to me.
Thanks

[Padawan]

hm...maybe you could develop a good hybrid picking technique :rolleyes:
If you play mainly classical guitar and fingerstyle I would drop the pick, but I'm sure that you need it if you also want to play some heavy thash metal stuff...

[Ehvam]

Thats why i think i could drop it. I dont really play metal type stuff- only when it goes the TOOL route, i guess. I'm also not a speed demon type of guy- though i do like being quick when the situation calls for it. My worry is speed, but i've been experimenting and i can goes pretty quick without the pick. I think i'm gonna give it whirl by practicing it in addittion to picking, and if i see potential, then i'll drop the pick. After watching the Stemple video, he goes about as fast as i'll ever need to without a pick. Only problem is now i've got something else to work on! Damn! I'm trying to simplify.

[forgottenking2]

I have developed a hybrid picking technique with some success (I am still working on it, I am not as quick with it as with just fingers... bloody pinkie!!!) I can play both finger style type things and flat picking stuff without having to drop the pick. It has worked for me, so maybe you should give it a shot.

[smallbusrider]

Rik Emmett alternates between the pick and fingerstyle nicely...Just remember, there may be a time where you want to use a pick, you just do not know it yet....me personally i do a little unorthodox fingerstyle. Mostly I use hybrid.

[Oceano]

Hi there, it seems that you just need to decide what you want to play. Seems easy, but it isn't, many of us get stuck between practicing what we think we "should" practice, and playing what we realy love to play.

In a way I am a bit similar to you, but I have decided upon a direction. I also love to play fingerstyle on acoustic and electric and also play pick style for certain things. Both styles offer something unique. Some years ago I realized that if I wanted to do both, I was not going to be able to reach the virtuoso level in both of them. I wasn't going to pick like Paul gilbert and do the fingerstyle thing like Hedges at the same time because it takes a lifetime to master each one individualy. However, I could do both at a high level that would more than fit my musical needs. This is a key thing, once I decided on this, I just adjusted my practice accordingly.

For example, whenever I am learning a piece, line, or exercise, etc, I will play it with a pick for a while until I have it down, then I will play it fingerstyle or hybrid picking until I have it down, then I will slip on the slide and play it like that. This way I make the most out of one piece of music. Sure not every piece of music will fit both styles perfectly, but it is not too hard to adjust. Right now I am going through "A modern method for guitar", and I am doing what I stated above, therefore I am working on my reading, my picking, my fingerpicking and a little bit of slide all at the same rate.

As for speed, I am just as fast playing fingerstyle linear lines, than I am with the pick, but I play much more legato style if I am using my fingers, and will do more alternate picking if I use the pick. In fact, while going through Shawn Lane's book, I found that the vast majority of his licks adapt amazingly well to fingerstyle playing.

Just keep in mind that you need to decide what you love to play, what you want to play and take it from there. Once you do this, everything gets more clear and you will get more focused.

[Ehvam]

Great post, man. You are absolutely right. For so long now i have learned all the things I "should" learn. And maybe thats the right thing at first. But after a while you find those things arent necessarily the tools you need for what you want, and then its time to develope what you feel is important to your playing. Superfast picking is a great example- i'm pretty quick cause i pra ctice it alot- but i never write or play stuff thats like that. My band actually has to beg me to solo fast like that. I'd rather go more for the emotion. Yet i spend alot of time practicing it. So now i'm not gonna practice it as much anymore and focus on what i need to get were i want to be. BTW i have been prcticing the "stemple" way of picking and its working pretty good. I'll always need a pick at times, but i'll be glad when i can go a whole set and not miss one!

[(((0)))]

No need to drop the pick, just play w/ your fingers, theres no restirctions unless you can do ph's w/o a pic. everythings fine