Hey Webfeet, I gotta say, you got some great improv skills going on there. Some really nice melodic variations happening. You gotta work on the right hand to get better tone, but hey - we're all a work in progress. I'm a pretty experienced player and I'm getting some inspiration from your playing. Thanks for the post, dude!
I'm a fan of Carl Miner and his technique. He does something similar to your style. But two things I've noticed that might help you some more... 1) play closer to the bridge to get more volume and clarity. 2) try placing your thumb and index together so that they are pointing in opposite directions, then place the pick in between them. I believe you are holding the pick so that it leads off the end of your index. that works just fine for strumming, but can be clumsy when you want speed.
dear webb heres a suggestion... take off the light nickle strings probably 11's and load up a set of bronze 13's then just practice tremloing each string that will increase you right hand technique! its harder to develope right hand speed on light strings
Actually, D'addario makes a hybrid set that works well, I find. They're the EJ19 Bluegrass strings. The high E and B strings are light while the remainder of the strings are medium (0.12-0.56.) Of all the strings I've tried, these are my favorite as I still get great volume but the light (for D'addario) strings make it easier to play longer by not killing my left fingertips.
dear joc... i have listened again to your posting if your strings arent flimsy your pick must be because there is so much rubbery sound from your guitar try the dr sunbeam 13"s ans a 88 mil tortex pick,, good luck..
Sorry but I have to laugh. My guitar sounds great and that's according to lots of folks I know who frequently pull out their vintage Martins. The problem is the upload process for videos. Some programs work better than others at compressing video files. On my computer, the file is clear as a bell (even with the camera no closer than 6'); once it gets compressed and uploaded, the sound gets muffled and garbled. I could make it clearer but the upload time gets ridiculous due to the file sizes.
Sounds good. You asked for comments and suggestions, so i have a suggestion.
Change your right hand technique. I'd get your wrist up off of the guitar top. Try picking with your hand floating. If you have to lightly brush your pinky at first as a reference that's ok, but not preferred. Pick with an economical twisting motion of your forearm and wrist.
yeah i am working on it,(wrist smashed against top)along with way i hold pick,and keeping my hand straighter from wrist to elbow, in cherokee 2 i tried these, and still got alot to go but old habits are hard to break,thanks
I've listened to this again and I'm not even sure you're in the right key for the song. Go to the video Josh Williams, Andy Falco, Chris Eldridge - Cherokee Shuffle. Listen only to the first guy playing, Josh Williams. Yes, I know he's hauling a** but just listen to the song as his first time through is pretty much spot on to the way the song was written. Good luck and keep plugging away.
I am in key of G , no capo, and hes in Key of A with capo, those guys, Josh ,Chris, and Andy are awesome.Think it was an older video by Andy that inspired me to learn it.lol still learning thanks and keep pickin
Josh is a great guitarist. Andy is very good but he tries too much improvising with songs to the point that they become unfamiliar. If you watch that video again, Andy even loses his timing for a second or two the first time through because he tried to do too much. Chris Eldridge is pretty weak, in my opinion. He needs to focus on playing cleanly as he mutes way too many notes. That video is proof of that.
It may not be "preferred" to anchor the little finger when playing a lead break but since multiple national championship winners Steve Kaufman, Roy Curry, and Cody Kilby do it as well as such prominent guitarists as Tony Rice, Bryan Sutton, Kenny Smith, and legends Doc Watson and Norman Blake, I'd say it's probably not a bad idea. The only top-notch guitarist I know of who doesn't anchor his right hand at all is David Grier.
The most important thing for him is to get his wrist off the top.
I could list a lot who float too.. but..
I learned my technique from a jazz player and i know a lot of the bluegrass/acoustic players do anchor a pinky. The reason i use a floating or light anchor/drag is because it gives you the most unhindered motion.
There are a lot of players who i think could play with their elbows and sound good lol because of their talent, but for us mere mortals i recomend using the most efficient.
I agree with you there. Putting the wrist/lower forearm on the top, bridge, etc. is never a good thing. It slows you down and dampens the sound, not a good combination. The thing is that jazz technique and bluegrass technique is different largely due to the fact that bluegrass is most often acoustic and with a lot of pick depth while jazz is played with mini picks and choked up at that. If you want more volume with jazz, you just turn the volume knob.
In response to just all posts above, I believe anchoring of fingers is not at all common, and not a very good idea. A much more common practice is to play with a half-open hand with pinky and ring fingertips touching the top, and brushing across it, and possibly lifting from it when playing on the bottom strings. My impression is that most of the cats mentioned above play that way, as do/did Tal Farlow
and Herb Ellis, to name just two jazz players. It's relaxed and relatively easy to learn.
The thing is that we're not talking about jazz. "Cherokee Shuffle" is an old fiddle tune that is a mountain music classic played on acoustic instruments so one has to work to get volume. When I say "anchor," I don't mean using a lot of pressure to keep one or two fingers in place. I mean lightly keeping the pinky down to give a point of reference, almost just a pivot point but only on lead breaks.
Both versions sound good but I prefer this one. I am a believer in bone saddles so hope I`m right in guessing this is bone. Never had any experience with tusq, however. Do know that bone gives a deeper more sustained tone than normal plastic saddles. Will be interesting to find out which is which? BTW, what guitar?
i can play a simple version of this on the cello. i'll post it soon :)
bassmastah13 1 year ago
Hell, I like it period! Nice job!
ozark1951 2 years ago
Hey Webfeet, I gotta say, you got some great improv skills going on there. Some really nice melodic variations happening. You gotta work on the right hand to get better tone, but hey - we're all a work in progress. I'm a pretty experienced player and I'm getting some inspiration from your playing. Thanks for the post, dude!
a46474647 2 years ago
I like the variety in it. Good work.
saullouis 2 years ago
thanks, im not good but i enjoy pickin, thank you
webbfeet65 2 years ago
Cool man! I've been working on this tune for about 3 days now.
pretourious 2 years ago
I'm a fan of Carl Miner and his technique. He does something similar to your style. But two things I've noticed that might help you some more... 1) play closer to the bridge to get more volume and clarity. 2) try placing your thumb and index together so that they are pointing in opposite directions, then place the pick in between them. I believe you are holding the pick so that it leads off the end of your index. that works just fine for strumming, but can be clumsy when you want speed.
OrinWalker 3 years ago
dear webb heres a suggestion... take off the light nickle strings probably 11's and load up a set of bronze 13's then just practice tremloing each string that will increase you right hand technique! its harder to develope right hand speed on light strings
steeltone 3 years ago
Actually, D'addario makes a hybrid set that works well, I find. They're the EJ19 Bluegrass strings. The high E and B strings are light while the remainder of the strings are medium (0.12-0.56.) Of all the strings I've tried, these are my favorite as I still get great volume but the light (for D'addario) strings make it easier to play longer by not killing my left fingertips.
jocwalk 3 years ago
dear joc... i have listened again to your posting if your strings arent flimsy your pick must be because there is so much rubbery sound from your guitar try the dr sunbeam 13"s ans a 88 mil tortex pick,, good luck..
steeltone 3 years ago
Sorry but I have to laugh. My guitar sounds great and that's according to lots of folks I know who frequently pull out their vintage Martins. The problem is the upload process for videos. Some programs work better than others at compressing video files. On my computer, the file is clear as a bell (even with the camera no closer than 6'); once it gets compressed and uploaded, the sound gets muffled and garbled. I could make it clearer but the upload time gets ridiculous due to the file sizes.
jocwalk 3 years ago
yeah your right the guitar sounds great good luck
steeltone 3 years ago
Even the way you are doing it you are doing pretty well, so i'd say with a more economical technique you'd get a lot smoother with less effort.
Good luck
Len
lkb3rd 4 years ago
Sounds good. You asked for comments and suggestions, so i have a suggestion.
Change your right hand technique. I'd get your wrist up off of the guitar top. Try picking with your hand floating. If you have to lightly brush your pinky at first as a reference that's ok, but not preferred. Pick with an economical twisting motion of your forearm and wrist.
lkb3rd 4 years ago
yeah i am working on it,(wrist smashed against top)along with way i hold pick,and keeping my hand straighter from wrist to elbow, in cherokee 2 i tried these, and still got alot to go but old habits are hard to break,thanks
webbfeet65 4 years ago
I've listened to this again and I'm not even sure you're in the right key for the song. Go to the video Josh Williams, Andy Falco, Chris Eldridge - Cherokee Shuffle. Listen only to the first guy playing, Josh Williams. Yes, I know he's hauling a** but just listen to the song as his first time through is pretty much spot on to the way the song was written. Good luck and keep plugging away.
jocwalk 4 years ago
I am in key of G , no capo, and hes in Key of A with capo, those guys, Josh ,Chris, and Andy are awesome.Think it was an older video by Andy that inspired me to learn it.lol still learning thanks and keep pickin
webbfeet65 4 years ago
Josh is a great guitarist. Andy is very good but he tries too much improvising with songs to the point that they become unfamiliar. If you watch that video again, Andy even loses his timing for a second or two the first time through because he tried to do too much. Chris Eldridge is pretty weak, in my opinion. He needs to focus on playing cleanly as he mutes way too many notes. That video is proof of that.
jocwalk 4 years ago
It may not be "preferred" to anchor the little finger when playing a lead break but since multiple national championship winners Steve Kaufman, Roy Curry, and Cody Kilby do it as well as such prominent guitarists as Tony Rice, Bryan Sutton, Kenny Smith, and legends Doc Watson and Norman Blake, I'd say it's probably not a bad idea. The only top-notch guitarist I know of who doesn't anchor his right hand at all is David Grier.
jocwalk 4 years ago
The most important thing for him is to get his wrist off the top.
I could list a lot who float too.. but..
I learned my technique from a jazz player and i know a lot of the bluegrass/acoustic players do anchor a pinky. The reason i use a floating or light anchor/drag is because it gives you the most unhindered motion.
There are a lot of players who i think could play with their elbows and sound good lol because of their talent, but for us mere mortals i recomend using the most efficient.
lkb3rd 4 years ago
I agree with you there. Putting the wrist/lower forearm on the top, bridge, etc. is never a good thing. It slows you down and dampens the sound, not a good combination. The thing is that jazz technique and bluegrass technique is different largely due to the fact that bluegrass is most often acoustic and with a lot of pick depth while jazz is played with mini picks and choked up at that. If you want more volume with jazz, you just turn the volume knob.
jocwalk 4 years ago
In response to just all posts above, I believe anchoring of fingers is not at all common, and not a very good idea. A much more common practice is to play with a half-open hand with pinky and ring fingertips touching the top, and brushing across it, and possibly lifting from it when playing on the bottom strings. My impression is that most of the cats mentioned above play that way, as do/did Tal Farlow
and Herb Ellis, to name just two jazz players. It's relaxed and relatively easy to learn.
PeterHackman 3 years ago
The thing is that we're not talking about jazz. "Cherokee Shuffle" is an old fiddle tune that is a mountain music classic played on acoustic instruments so one has to work to get volume. When I say "anchor," I don't mean using a lot of pressure to keep one or two fingers in place. I mean lightly keeping the pinky down to give a point of reference, almost just a pivot point but only on lead breaks.
jocwalk 3 years ago
Both versions sound good but I prefer this one. I am a believer in bone saddles so hope I`m right in guessing this is bone. Never had any experience with tusq, however. Do know that bone gives a deeper more sustained tone than normal plastic saddles. Will be interesting to find out which is which? BTW, what guitar?
Tubee2TOO 4 years ago
done a niced joob of that
jameswp46 4 years ago
thanks james,I'll keep trying
webbfeet65 4 years ago