Flatpicking Robert Johnson's Blues Style

[bluegrasssingingman]

Robert Johnson is garbage.

[RcUniverseGuy]

@bluegrasssingingman are you crazy? hows he garbage? nobody was playing even close to him at the time.. all rock and blues musicians of today owe a lot to him. and one of the greatest bands of all time led zeppelin wouldn't even exist without him....

[bluegrasssingingman]

@RcUniverseGuy No you are, Hes names Mr. Bill Monroe,Frank Wakefield, Earl Scruggs,Ralph Stanley,and the greatest flat picker of all time Mr. Tony Rice. You may owe a lot to him. Bluegrass doesn't have to owe him anything. Robert Johnson got taken selling his soul. He wasn't as good, as a ave. Bluegrass picker.

[bluegrasssingingman]

@RcUniverseGuy Heres names

[kickalion]

play with your fingers kids

[cninja87]

eric cla----

annd so wheres the rest of the vid?

[yngsaddle]

thanks some muck it was nice to be able to play little blues

[scrubbyP]

there are some really excellent lessons on YouTube, but I wish they would play it before they teach it. it makes it a lot easier to get a feel for the lesson.

great lesson though!

[nicolauh30]

u are a great teacher of guitar blues

[kaonator]

i like fingers more! (thats what she said)

[baileyslip]

WTF jd??

[bakedsushi]

I think its nice to try and fuze these two styles together, thats what creativity is but it does not sound too good. I have a great grandfather from Hazzard Co KY and his father told him how bluegrass even bacame mountain music. I thing theres a pBS documentry to check out. Bill Monroe even said, if the black folks from the area werent so friendly, bluegrass would have never been born from blues players trying to learn pickin.

[vanvespalo]

thank alot 

[shabs124]

424 cant play without a flatpick....dislike this, play like robert johnson did

[rancorx]

@shabs124 oh you subtle troll not quite subtle enough

[gibsongold1970]

its cool to use a pick.if you are playing hardrock/heavy metal fast leads.

but the blues should be played with all of your fingers.more effective and more

efficient.besides,finger picking is definetly more apt to playing "blues music".lol!

[hahaurmno]

whats the tuning?

[imkg09]

oh yeah and blues music is considered the devils music .

[juegas]

@imkg09 stop watching so much tv...selling his sould to the devil.

[imkg09]

man everyone sells there soul for music .. money is the devil in his purest form .. so anyone making serious money sells there soul to the devil ...

[theoverpopulated]

that guitars got a sweet sound man.

[SuperBeanson]

get a thumb pick- s'best way

[MassimoAlberto]

?? Too bad , not sound like Robert Johnson .

That stuff...

[krushnoi]

It's amusing hearing suburban white kids talking about the correct way to play 'authentic' blues. If they're playing fingerstyle they're most likely using a internal miked acoustic hybrid guitar because just using fingers on a regular acoustic has very little volume or dynamics unless you have huge callouses on your right hand just like the left- like the old bluesmen usually did. Then try picking up a sheet of paper with calloused fingertips on both hands- it's nearly impossible.

[BucksStudent]

@krushnoi Umm, both my hands have calluses on each fingertip. I have never used my nails, or any fancy condenser mic or pickup. I can pick up paper just fine. You have to practice, practice, practice; I can play as fast as Albert Lee does on electric, but on acoustic, and do it pretty loud. I played classical guitar the same way, and snobs always look down on it. I got better sound from a cheap Fender classical with my calluses than their fingernails ever did with their customs.

[olemunati]

@BucksStudent Hehe! Sounds like you are kickin ass! Me like the philosophy

[flatpickingirl]

Hmmm...click on the 'Eric Clapton's Acoustic Blues' box to the right >

He's playing the same style of blues - with a pick!...Gonna slam him for it? I don't think sooooo! Sounds pretty good to me!!

[dokokai]

@flatpickingirl It's actually a more crisp sound the way Clapton is playing it, due to the pick... even though he includes his other fingers. The flatpick style gives more of a muted sound to the strings. They don't ring as clean or clear as the pick. No matter who plays it. Listen a little more carefully and you will hear the difference.. as subtle as it may be sometimes.

[flatpickingirl]

Thanks Brad, for taking the time to demonstrate a different approach to this style of blues. Don't pay any mind to those rude people out there. Obviously, these boys' mothers forgot to teach them manners. I love to play both ways. Sometimes it comes in handy to use a pick, especially if you're leading into the R.J. style from a previous tune and don't have the opportunity to discard the pick without disrupting flow of the transition. Personally I think this way is tougher than using the thumb.

[Januariow]

good excer. - but this ain't johnson man, sorry

[Hoopermazing]

My hand is cramping up just from watching this nonsense.

[axe187187]

this guy sucks! just learn to use your fingers like a real bluesman. douche

[huangshulang80]

Nice vid.

[p3p76]

if ur finger picking with a pick it will limit u & u will sound like SHIT like this guy

[TheTokyoplastic]

@flatopguy , thanks for the info !

[IIIIIZsolt]

Great stuff - can always incorporate it to mix things up. Very helpful how you do the different camera angle!!! I'm gonna subscribe...

[tinpanalley67]

@flatopguy That's your problem.

[IAINoodle]

@flatopguy- simply get the fuck out then

[saltwaterbye]

YA CANT PLEASE EVERY ONE BRAD ...GOOD STUFF BUDDY...KEEP EM COMMING....

[eveDjakku]

blah, I stopped being lazy and I actually went into town and bought some new strings for my acoustic to try this, i found it hard on my electric guitar, not much room for my picking fingers heh

[DunDamage]

yaa i like finger pickin more then travis style

[xinghetianyuan]

good



[timetherton]

better without the pick



[stanleygregson]

Just use a thumb pick as a flat pick a

Like chet atkins and you have the best of both worlds

[fdlevine]

stop bein so lazy and learn how to fingerpick Brad... it sounds all wrong using a flatpick. No way to fake it.

[ringbolt9]

great stuff!

[surfsoccerart]

this would be much better if he didnt sing......no offense

[scrumpymanjack]

Vamping or damping (dampening)? I thought vamping was a little phrase, not the muffling effect that he's describing. Still, he is the master so I guess he must be right. Can anyone clear this up, please? Would have like to give this clip stars but yt's redesign doesn't seem to let me. Where the f... are the red stars? How can you get an idea of whether a clip is worth watching without them? Makes me very angry.

[vamuseupload]

dampening = muffling

vamping = repeating a pattern or riff for a determinate or indeterminate amount of time.

It sounds like he's saying "vamping" but the way he describes it is like "staccato; or shortest note possible" which is fucking wrong of him.

[KINGSLIDEGUITAR]

watch Roy Rogers guitar teaching videos

he does delta with a slide and flatpick

I use a thumb pick and when I really get with it I change to a flat pick for speed

[WcWreckage]

id rather just use my fingers lol

[JShawtyKim]

@WcWreckage

Hence called "finger-style"

yeah, me too :O

[drrl981]

Man you are the BOSS ...oww!!!

[SuperOlds88]

greatest bluesman ever? hardly, what about the guys he learned from? like Hambone and Son, dont they get any credit?..to say he is the greatest is not fair. Hey Brad, you ever teach Billy Bob and Unknown any of this stuff?

[jdmtj5]

this is what robert gets for selling his soul. Damn, robert dont know if it was worth it.

[bluegrasssingingman]

@jdmtj5 RJ wasn't any better. RJ was a piece of untalented shit.

[cuckoo1937]

I love this song. The finest delta blues.

[Dc10x1e]

you shouldnt flatpick another mans blues do what i do play it with with your fingers

[13dolphins13]

Agreed. Robert Johnson was the greatest Bluesman ever. Robert didn't use a pick, mississippi delta blues is played with fingers only. This is sad. RJ turning in his grave. take care.

[jezx21]

he's probably screaming in agony in hell ....he did sell his soul to the devil after all

[13dolphins13]

sorry to say it'ss not true. Tommy Johnson around same time sold his soul possibly, NOT RJ.

[jezx21]

who wrote crossroad blues?

[13dolphins13]

Robert Johnson.

[LirioFernandez]

Amazing lesson. This guy has a talent for teaching. I want to take lessons from him. Thanks for posting so awesome!!!

[thenamesfrancisco]

GREAT lesson

[southrules]

Two words: sham poo.

Thanks for the lesson though, bud

[lobitoldkx1]

no entendi una mierda

[blackspaniard15]

just play sum damn blues already bro!! hehe

[Oerti2]

Stop talking and show us some sweet guitar, bitch!

[PaulGreenleaf]

Neat stuff, but it's so far from Robert Johnson it's not funny. Go back to country.

[tylermark86]

Robert Johnson used a thumb pick.

[josipml5]

he did not! Johnson like everyone else back then played with bare fingers

[solasta]

You may wish to take a look at one of the two known photographs of Johnson. In one of them he is clearly wearing a thumb pick. The thumping rhythm sound he gets through the bass strings also confirms that.

[twainname]

He even said in the beginning that he used his bare fingers and thumb. Plus common history also says Robert Johnson used his bare fingers and thumb.

[solasta]

Complete nonsense Captross.

He used a thumbpick - but perhaps not all the time. Definitely not a flatpick. You can even see the thumbpick on his photo.

[ZiaK9]

Thumb plectrum FO SHO

[shadow75413]

The first few words of the vid:

"Robert Johnson didn't use flat pick; he used his thumb and his fingers to create the music that he played, and the licks and the phrases. But we're flatpickers, so what we're trying to do is incorporate his style with our style"

So, you where right then, he didn't use a pick.

[jamesjonesrocket]

I didn't think robert johnson used a pick?!

[indulgethebeast]

Is he in Open E or standard?

[wblakews]

SWEET

[captross07]

Robert Johnson DID use a pick! He used a "hybrid" method of picking: held a pick with his thumb and forefinger and finger picked with his middle and ring finger.

[blindmellonchittlen]

what has he composed?

[LucaSbaBabetto]

Robert Johnson didn't use picks! :)

[Jackmoxx]

Yea and thats why the guy said that in the first 10 seconds of this video. :D

[artstar193]

Brad Davis is one of the finest pickers to ever touch a guitar. Incredible musician: he's a great composer, singer, guitarist, mandolin player and teacher.

More than that, he's a terrific person. More people should know about Brad: he's one of the best musicians working today!

[hannibalsloat]

Take your tongue out of brads ass lol

[Paulsworks]

Well, you've given us the keys to the highway. Is that a standard tuning are you using? That would sound soooo good on a Duolian.

[paintitpurdy]

buy a thumb pick?????i grew my finger nails out on picking hand..

[Ranfitpunx75]

you can use thumb pick.......but most blues guys have adapted a hybrid picking method like this dude! I usually use a hybrid method mixed in with my regular playing too.....its all preference....a thumb pick is really nice for jazzier or more melodic passages!

[konanian]

What pickup system is he using?

[davidcarr90]

I lol'd at "We're flatpickers"

[ex0ja]

What is the advantage of flatpicking over thumb + fingernails? Faster plucking of single strings and easier strumming?

[digitaldown]

one thing about the flatpick: you don't have to worry about breaking your nail. hate it when i break a thumbnail. make's me play like crap for few days. but some guys don't use the thumbnail just the meat. i'd say you generally get more speed out of a flatpick. unless your name is mark knopfler. most of these old blues songs don't require so much speed. save the speed for bluegrass.

[BucksStudent]

Flesh on your right hand will develop calluses just like your left (That is if you're picking right handed), so once that is developed, the skin it self allows for great speed. Derek Trucks utilizes his flesh and a pick, in a hybrid fashion, as does Richard Thompson. (Richard Thompson is where Mark got a lot of those Sultan and Lady Writer licks, by the way).

[digitaldown]

didn't know that. cool.

[tinpanalley67]

@davidcarr90 means: We're narrow-minded bluegrass shredders suffering from arthritis, so we can't move our fingers and we gotta use a flimsy piece of plastic to play RJ's songs in strange arrangements. Just some generic blues basics fo BGrass shredders.

[luxlucis777]

Very cool, informative vid. Thanks.

[budd686]

Wonderful

[johntrik]

That Merrill guitar ,is a killer man!!!!!!!!

[thailow117]

good jedi!

nice work, you helped me a great deal, thx for uploading and sharing

[FreddoX1]

I haven't used this style. I've always played with my thumb and middle finger while the index finger was free. This has made my skin on the thumb really thick, and the sound from the guitar is a bit muted but I like it.

Gonna learn this and see how it plays out :P

[Hoopskidoodle]

Grow that thumbnail out... or get some Korean chick to put on acrylic tips on your right hand.

[Milesu2b]

rofl

[OfficialArmonist]

Why would you do that lol the fingernails just get in the way I trim my fingernails down to the skin.

[Hoopermazing]

You're smoking crack.

There is nothing better than fingernails on strings, be they nylon or steel.

[Hoopermazing]

Oh well, you're some kind of obsessive compulsive oddball.

The vast majority fingerstylists, to include 100% of classical guitarists, employ varying degrees of finger tip and fingernail.

[Hoopermazing]

You're a nut.

Classical guitarists with clipped fingernails. That's a good one, stupid.

[Hoopermazing]

I'd say the same thing to your face, followed by spitting in your eye. Kick rocks, pussy.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent thats not right at all, no legit classical guitarist keeps his nails short. name one.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent maybe its because you say stupid shit. i did my own research. NO ONE does it.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent im not flaming, (nice spelling btw) im defending the truth from people like you who just talk out of their asses for no reason

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent hey Bucks, did you remove your last post because you realized you were knocking my grammar and then you said BARE in mind (not bear in mind) and finger nails instead of "fingernails" hahahahahahahaha idiot.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent i mean i have a degree in classical guitar, that at least gives me enough background to call you out when you start saying dumb stuff. I bet you that painting is from the renaissance because that was the last time people debated that point.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent ummm why? thats what you get when you graduate from a conservatory...

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent i mean the whole reason we got into this in the first place is because you presented yourself as someone who doesnt know a thing about classical guitar, nor did you know that you could get a degree in it. keeping the advice giving for the big boys.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent haha ya its obvious you find studying classical a waste of time. have fun hacking away.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent jack johnson is a genius and picasso had shaggy hair.

[wallsacc]

@BucksStudent more ignorance from you....jack johnson is married to the girl he started dating his first month of college and im not sure anyone here cares about your inability to get chicks....

[whatshendrix]

Lol...

[nickadactile]

wow thank you very much. most people wouldn't take the time to share what they know freely. THAT my friend is how we change the world to be a mo betta place ( via music). God Bless. Keep on keepin on.

[freddaxxxxx]

Is that an Aria guitar?

[Epiphonefan]

merill

[sanoe2lake]

great vid very helpful

[HillbillyJ]

This is great. Very useful stuff.

[XonValdise]

i found this really usefull. right on man.

[MidnightRambler444]

Both your talent, but perhaps more so, your teaching style, is really zen and true. You are unique.

[hoturtu87]

When you say Zen do you mean true to the flow of universal rightness?

[ryano442]

right on, thx bro. (gotta agree w/ mandaltby)

[shdance]

great lesson.

[mandaltby]

awesome I feel like we jsut jammed thanks man

[YouSpamTard]

This guy is very good I learn tons from him about picking. The thing about Johnson though that he does not address is the way Johnson played to different melodies at the same time. One of them being a rhythm sort that is structures and the other that laid on top of that almost out of time, rhythmically speaking. Almost nobody, or even nobody can do this. Clapton has tried with all his heart to do this Johnson thing and while sounds very good, falls quite short if you ask me.

[goomic]

What type of caliber strings uses?

[imperfectgomer]

Man, THANKS SO MUCH! This is exactly the kind of playing I am into. Great close ups and easy explanations

[elderfan]

you sound very good

how do you really know how he played though?

long time ago & no video of him right?

no disrespect

but why not play it the way he did?

[rockrman28]

it was commonplace for delta blues guitarists to just use their fingers. every bluesman should be able to to use all five fingers as well.

[dellanmetoud]

no disrespect

but why not play it the way you want?

and Brad will play it the way he wants,

This way you'll be busy helping yourself with your own criticism....

[elderfan]

dellanmetoud

those tuttle kids are amazing

1st time3 I saw them

[YouSpamTard]

elderfan, you are correct. Nobody knows what Johnson did. Nobody. All the great musicians wonder and try to figure it out, but nobody knows. All the study of him is in vain to a pretty much. Closest thing I have found, I'm kind of new to this deep root study of delta blues, is in this video. Do a utube for Son House - Death Letter. You can see in that video that he has that same sort of thing Johnson had, but he can not do it consistently through out the song as Johnson did.

[elderfan]

YST thanks for that son house video very nice slide work there too

[ltuomela]

i call that chicken pickin well explained brother....i would like to here ya get down one time

[rxsilver]

thanks man..

keep uploading more lessons..

show us how to play SIGNE by clapton.. =)

[snizzileenD]

hey man is that a Martin HD28V? Ifs so did you put an electric pickup on it? I see something in the sound hole. I just recently bought an HD28V and I wanna electrify it for gigs. Can you give a little input please?

[williestratton]

i think those are extrap picks on double sided tape under there

[kellnergram]

It is so not my kind of music, but I sure appreciate your taken the time to show it to us all. I'm gonna do what everyone should do - take some of what you showed and incorporate what I play. So, thanks very much!

[SirFightsalot]

yup love the comment finally someone that realizes that...and that doesn't say oh i dont like rock so any rock players suck..just an example

[roussos87]

thank you man.. you helped me very much..

[resoblues]

What is the pick you got there? Thanks

[DreadnaughtyIsMyName]

It's likely a Red Bear Trading Company Tortis Pick. You can order them from the Flatpick Magazine's store or elsewhere. I like them better then others, especially for tone. They are $20 each but pretty worth it!

[IIIIlllIIl]

what pickup is that ? sounds nice

[DreadnaughtyIsMyName]

it's an LR Baggs pickup combo of sorts. Possibly Double Barrel or I-Mix, Im not sure. Doesn't seem like it's being used here since there is no patch. Probably a microphone.

[DreadnaughtyIsMyName]

This a flatpicking tutorial for people who play with a flatpick and want to incorporate attainable elements of Johnson's style into there own. It's not supposed to sound exactly like Johnson obviously. It sounds generic because it is a tutorial and simple so people can understand it and modify it. Buy a Brad Davis Performace Dvd if you want unique virtuoso style. There are a million Robert Johnson Books/DVDs if you want to learn that style the way he did. That isn't the purpose of this.

[jessupar]

Im with Honza... it dosnt sound like anything robert would play. i find it easyer to play things like ramblin blues with no picks at all, or the occasional thumbpick. johnson didnt flatpick, thankfully. if you want generic blues, look up Jimmy Reed. (there is nothing wrong with him, but he's basically what this sounds like.)

[HonzaPokorny]

you make it sound too simple - to the point where it sounds nothing like johnson, can't help it sorry

it's easier to play with a thumb pick

plus you gotta play slide

[ElySrv]

excellent

[outabounz]

excellent very helpful you play so smooth you make it look vry easy but its not. gonna buy the dvd thanks.

[IrishLurcher]

Great job, keep up the good work. Those guys who are arguing over music tec terms miss the heart of the blues. Blues was never written down or subject to formal music laws that is why it is still so alive. Tech-heads can never live the music of the heart and soul. Cheers my friend.

[shadowmorman]

just because you have studied and understand the mechanics and specifics of music doesn't mean they miss anything. In fact, someone's love for music could easily cause them to search formal education while also searching it out informally. If it sounds good, it is good... lets just keep playin people...

[NossedEvo]

And here I been hangin round at the crossroads, waiting to sign up. Should have been hangin out with Brad. I think this is one of the very best posts on Youtube. Thanks so much!

[justy256]

Don't you mean "dampening" and not "vamping"?

ps thanks for the lesson!

[westvirginiawonder]

Naw he meant Vamping.

[KellyMullet]

Cool. Apparently I Vamp all the time and I didn't even know it.

Robert Johnson kicks ass.

[KrazyRobot]

no he means vamping