Bob-Dubery
Hybrid picking is a right (picking/strumming) hand style that combines the flat pick with finger picking. Finger picking (very simply) uses the thumb to provide the bass notes on strings 4 to 6, and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers are allocated to strings 3,2 and 1 respectively. With hybrid picking we hold the pick between thumb and forefinger, and we make use of the 2nd and 3rd fingers.
Note that although this seems superficially similar to finger picking there are some significant differences.
1) We are using a pick instead of a thumb in the bass register. This gives better definition and more volume and thus a different balance between bass and treble registers.
2) Because we are using a pick we can use alternating up and down strokes. The thumb can only make down strokes. Thus we have more speed available to us.
3) We can switch over to strumming or flat picking very easily. Sure we could strum with the thumb, but we get better definition and accuracy with the pick.
In short, hybrid picking combines many of the strengths of both finger picking and flat picking and overcomes some of the shortcomings. It helps us do things that we could not easily do with either technique alone.
I have started experimenting with hybrid picking. There are some songs that I play or want to play that can benefit from this approach. I thought it might be fun to set out some simple examples and exercises for developing this technique.
In this case we are going to apply it to the Pink Floyd song "Brain Damage". I mostly play solo, so in this case hybrid picking allows me to have the well known arpeggio for the verses but to switch to strumming with the plectrum and thus have more power to underpin the strong chorus.
In the explantions that follow I am going to spend rather more time on the verse than the chorus - because the chorus is strummed and thus there is less to discuss. I am also going to err on the side of detail and possibly over simplifying.
The arrangement that I have come up with is in standard tuning.
I will illustrate the chords used with diagrams like this...
EADGBE
------
xx0232
D
The numbers indicate the fret at which you finger each string. A zero means the string is played open (IE is sounded but not fretted) and an "x" indicates that string should not be played. The diagram above represents a simple D major chord.
I will split the lesson up into several posts. This will hopefully make it easier for me to focus on each step within the lesson, and may help you in the same way ?
Please feel free to skip one or more steps. However I would recommend that you at least skim through each step just to be sure that you know what is covered.
I recommend that you do not concern yourself with speed. Put the emphasis on steadiness and accuracy. In my experience speed comes with practice, and it is easier to build up speed than to start fast and then accquire regularity. Because the verses will use a pattern that originated in rural blues steadiness, especially in the bass register is important and your audience will notice any irregularities in your rhythm - even if your audience is just you. ?
Bob-Dubery
As I said, I am going to err on the side of over simplifying. We are going to be playing in 4/4 time. So we can count each bar as 4 1/4 notes: "ONE, two, three, four. ONE, two, three, four" etc. etc.
We are going to start off with the bass register, and in order to explain the picking pattern I am going to confine us to the D chord for the time being. This is the first chord in the verse, and the picking pattern remains constant throughout the verse.
Hold the pick between thumb and forefinger and alternate between the 4th and 3rd strings. As you count 1,2,3,4 you should play the 4th string on the 1 and the 3 and 3rd string on the 2 and the 4.
So (with string numbers on the vertical axis and the count on the horizontal)
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1
2
3 2 2 2 2 2 2
4 0 0 0 0 0 0
5
6
Concentrate on maintaining a steady rhythm and on having those notes exactlty on the one, the two and so on.
This is song is not fast enough to necessitate it, but try to use down strokes on the one and the three and up strokes on the two and the four. So your pick will move down to the 3rd string and then back up to the 4th.
Bob-Dubery
The next step is to work in another note on the one beat. We add the 3rd of that D chord (F#). Obviously we play this note with a finger, not the pick.
Use the 4th finger for all notes on the 6th string.
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 etc
1 2 2 2
2
3 2 2 2 2 2 2
4 0 0 0 0 0 0
5
6
Again practice this with the emphasis on accuracy and steady timing. Speed will come later (and will come naturally).
Bob-Dubery
Until now we have worked with the 4 1/4 notes that make up the bar ("One two three four" etc). Before we can complete our picking pattern we need to subdivide the bar further into 1/8 notes. To count the bar now
1) Slow down your count of "One two three four"
2) Now add an "and" after each number: "ONE and two and three and four and ONE and..." etc.
The "one" still marks the start of a new bar, but we have now divided the bar into more, shorter notes. If you are counting aloud or in your head whilst playing the simple pattern we have so far, what you play should remain the same, but we now have an "and" in between each note.
So our tab would now look like this...
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & etc
1 2 2 2
2
3 2 2 2 2 2 2
4 0 0 0 0 0 0
5
6
But what is played should sound the same - maybe just a little slower if you need to count slower to get the "ands" in.
Again, concentrate on steadiness and accuracy. You can always build up your speed, and you will.
Bob-Dubery
Now we are going to complete our pattern. We will add some notes on those "ands". You should use the third finger on the first string and the 2nd finger on the first string. Resist any temptation to have the pick do any more than keep that regular pattern going on the 4th and 3rd strings.
If you are not used to finger picking then this step of the lesson may require some extra practice. Again place the emphasis on regularity and accuracy. Do not be afraid of having to slow down and/or count out loud. As you get comfortable with this pick you will find your speed will pick up naturally. Do not force that to happen, just let it happen.
So far we have the pick playing the root note (D) and the 5th (A) on the 4th and 3rd strings. We also have the 3rd note (F#) on the first string and on the one count. Now we are going to add another F# as well as the D note we have fingered on the 2nd string.
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & etc
1 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 3 3 3
3 2 2 2 2 2 2
4 0 0 0 0 0 0
5
6
OK... in the subsequent postings I will show the rest of the chords and we will start to get a whole song together. In the meantime groove this pattern. Once you have this going smoothly and regularly you have done most of the hard work as regards mastering my arrangement of this song.
Squonk
Good stuff Bob
Will definately give it a bash.
Good Song in Brain Damage as well, I have heard so many people get the picking wrong.
inflames
Great work, thanks Bob.
Bob-Dubery
Thanks for your kind remarks. Writing all of this up and proof-reading it has been an interesting exercise for me as well. Lessons aren't worth much if nobody can understand them, so I hope that people will point out where I can improve, where I have been wrong and even where I have been right ?
This is only a very basic introduction to this technique - a way to start getting pick and fingers to work together. Hybrid picking opens up a lot of possibilities. Like any technique there are degrees of mastery. Did you see the clips of Danny Gatton recently? There's a guy who has taken this technique a long way, and I think some of what he does cannot actually be done with just a pick or just fingers. Richard Thompson is another player who has really taken this technique and run a long way with it. He said he started doing this because he would practice when watching TV and he was too lazy to put the pick down (which I don't entirely believe). If you see him play in concert or on DVD you will notice that he's hybrid picking nearly all the time. This allows him to cover a lot of musical/sonic ground when performing solo (which accounts for the bulk of his live shows these days) which is my interest in this style. Not that I think I am likely to cause Mr Thompson many sleepless nights.
PeteM
Nice one Bob - you've put a lot of effort into this thread. :applause:
singemonkey
Great work Bob. I wish I'd known how this technique worked a long time ago. But until you get Travis Picking, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense (your lesson obviously teaches the Travis Picking at the same time).
The thumb-pick is really easy. But the versatility of hybrid picking makes it a better choice, I think.
Bob-Dubery
OK... now we are getting more familiar with that picking pattern we can start to look at the whole song.
Here are the chords we need for the verse.
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
------ ----- ------ ------ ------
xx0232 xx0001 xx0454 x02020 xx0212
D G7 E7 A7 D7
Note that the A7 is the only chord in the verse where we use the 5th string. All the others use strings 1 to 4 only. That A7 also requires us to change our picking pattern slightly so that we can use the root note on the 5th string.
One way to do this is to just shift everything by one string and play this...
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & etc
1
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
3 0 0 0
4 2 2 2 2 2 2
5 0 0 0 0 0 0
6
But what I think we should play is this...
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & etc
1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 2 2 2
3
4 2 2 2 2 2 2
5 0 0 0 0 0 0
6
This, as we will see, will keep the movement on the high register on the 1st and 2nd strings. I find this to be more pleasing in a subtle way. You may incline the other way, but at least give both a try.
You may decide to practice that chord by itself to get your hand used to playing our picking pattern using different strings. You may also want to practice alternating between the D and the A7 to get the transition from 4 & 3 to 5 & 4 and back working smoothly
For the chorus we will need these chords...
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
------ ------ ------
320003 x22200 x32010
G A C
For the little bridge between chorus and verse (this has the "aaah" vocals over it on the original recording)...
EADGBE EADGBE EADGBE
------ ------ ------
x24232 020100 x02020
Bm7 E7 A7
Bob-Dubery
Here comes the verse! Remember that apart from the moving of the bass line to the 4th and 5th strings for the A7 ONLY our pick stays the same all the way through. The rhythm should stay the same all the way through the verse.
NB! I am not going to reproduce the complete lyrics here, not step you through both verses. This is to keep things within the parameters of "fair use" and also to save space. I picked this song to work with because it is well known. If you are familiar with it you'll fill in the blanks easily enough ?
Open with as many bars of the D as you deem to be appropriate to set the mood and then..
D G7
The lunatic is on the grass
D G7
The lunatic...... grass
D E7
Remebering games..... daisy chains....
A7 D
Got to keep... ....on the path
D
The lunatic....
Etc.
The second time around we set up the transition into the chorus with the D7 chord...
A7 D D7
Every day the paper boy brings more
Two bars of the D then two of the D7.
Bob-Dubery
And now we are at an interesting point in the song because we are about to go into the chorus and now we must switch to strumming with the pick.
D7 G A
And if the dam bursts many years to soon
C G
And if there's no room on the hill
G A
And if your... ....too
C G
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
Bm7 E7 A7
Ahh ahh ahhh
D
The lunatic....
That A7 at the end of the bridge is our other point of transition in the song. When moving from verse to chorus we had to switch from picking to strumming on the D7. Now we have to find a transtion from strumming back to our pick so that we are picking on the very first beat of the D chord at the start of the verse.
I initially found the 2nd transition more difficult - possibly because it's taking the intensity down instead of turning it up. With some practice you will find out your way to make those transitions and they will get smooth.
Bob-Dubery
Another useful exercise comes at the end of the 2nd chorus. You have the sequence Bm7 to E7 to A7 to D. Now you can "fade out" on that D, gradually lowering your volume down to just about nothing. A nice ending to the song and a good exercise in controlling your hybrid picking ?
As I said, I have not spent nearly as much time on the chorus as I did on the verse. I have presented it very simplistically, there is room for embellishment and there is one that I'm sure that you will want to make. That is the transition from the A chord to the C chord. One way to spice this up (and sound a lot more like the original recording) is to throw in a passing G chord on the last beat of the bar immediately before the A.
You could also do a little run from the A note on the 5th string to the C note. The B will become a passing note and is on that 4 count - or that's the way that I play it.
You could even make a little more use of your newly learned skill and throw in a little piece of hybrid picking starting from the 3 count, and finishing with the C chord on the first beat of the next bar.
3 & 4 & 1
1 0
2 1
3 0 0 0
4 2
5 0 2 3
6
So a quick switch from strumming to hybrid picking and back again.
The other part of the chorus that is crying out for a little bit of colour and variation is here...
C G G
You shout and noone seems to hear And if the band you're in
We spend a lot of time on that G, and the vocal stops in between the lines and leaves a little vacuum to fill. You could use hammers and pulls on the 5th and 4th strings at the 2nd fret. Or you could throw in the C note on the 2nd string as a passing 4th (or 11th) note.
I sometimes play a little sequence like this.
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1
1 3 3 5 3 3 3
2 0 1 3 1 0 0
3 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 0 2 4 2 0 0
5 2 0 0 0 0 2
6 3 3 5 3 3 3
The chords falling on the off-beats also helps to keep things interesting.
There are lots of options here. You will, I'm sure, think of something that I haven't. I would suggest finding TWO fills there and using one on each chorus. This will add even more colour.
Have fun.
And remember... concentrate on a regular beat and on accuracy and the speed will sort itself out ?
Here endeth the lesson.
Bob-Dubery
Squonk wrote:
Good Song in Brain Damage as well, I have heard so many people get the picking wrong.
I am not claiming to have the picking "right" as in "same as the original". Some time ago I started fooling around with hybrid picking, played a sort of rural blues fingerstyle thing around a D chord and thought "that sounds like Brain Damage" and worked the rest out.
I think it's close, but I make no guarantees ?
Riaan-Combrink
I missed this yesterday :-[
Excellent, Bob. Thanks - know what I'll be doing on Sunday ?
Karma'ed...
Bob-Dubery
Thanks for the kind words Riaan.
What I've laid out here is a low level introduction to hybrid picking.
If you think about travis picking and the like, with or without a thumb pick, then you have the thumb working in one direction and the fingers in another. This is natural, the human hand has a thumb that opposes the fingers.
With hyrbid picking we end up with the index finger working with the thumb and the 2nd and 3rd fingers continuing to work in the opposite direction. This feels quite odd, and I think that one of the hurdles to overcome with using this style is just to get the hand accustomed to working in this way. Hopefully this exercise gets us to this point. That's what I'm aiming for - for myself and for anybody else giving this a try.
This is by no means the limit of what you can do with hyrbrid picking.
evolucian
Nice lesson bob... hybrid picking is a very cool technique allowing you to do things not "normally" possible with a pick alone. I say "normally" cos you do get freaks out there.
How about exploring this technique further and doing a rustic blues lesson for the followers?
Bob-Dubery
evolucian wrote:
Nice lesson bob... hybrid picking is a very cool technique allowing you to do things not "normally" possible with a pick alone. I say "normally" cos you do get freaks out there.
How about exploring this technique further and doing a rustic blues lesson for the followers?
Thanks for the kind remarks.
This is a fairly rudimentary exercise in hybrid picking. As I said elsewhere, I think one of the problems with this style is that it feels unnatural. So hopefully this exercise allows us to conquer that feeling and end up with a recognisable piece.
I'm not a teacher nor a very advanced player, and I rely waaaay to much on my ear and not enough on theory. So putting something like this together is an interesting challenge for me. That's a long winded way of saying "don't hold your breath."
I also don't know how much any given person out there knows about finger picking and especially using the thumb on alternate strings in the bass. I could put together some tabs for Elisabeth Cotten's "Freight Train", though if people don't know that it gets much harder to teach it in this way because how do they know if they're right or wrong? That's a good piece for learning some country-ish/blues-ish fingerpicking.
But like I said, don't hold your breath ?
As far as country blues goes, the picking pattern used is a sort of rudimentary pattern that one would find in that genre. If you relearned it with the thumb doing the plectrum part you'd be on your way. Use the thumb instead of the plectrum and then "assign" the now free index finger to the 3rd string. Hot diggetty dawg!
