It is quite amazing how
unique we are as guitarists. If
10 players were to play the same
instrument with the identical
setup, each would sound very
different from the others. This
is due to the different ways we
touch our instrument.
I want to delve into this
subject a bit this month
because of some recent personal
experiences that opened
my ears (and eyes). Specifically,
I’ve been reminded how dramatically
the tonal landscape
changes when you attack the
strings with only bare flesh and
nails. For starters, your sound
is a bit darker when you strike
the strings with flesh instead of
plastic. And when fingers wander,
they have a tendency to
direct you to new discoveries.
If you try playing sans pick,
you’ll soon find that your fingers
become one with a guitar
after only a few hours—they
don’t require much time to
acclimate to their new surroundings.
What happens next
is really cool. It’s as if you have
to play without a pick to experience
all the little things that
make a huge imprint on your
sounds and styles.
We can use Jeff Beck as a
prime example of this concept.
I believe Beck totally dropped
his pick and started using a fingerstyle
technique somewhere
around ’83 or ’84. (You can
do your own detective work by
scoping out the many YouTube
videos that feature Beck over
the years.) This one shift in
coaxing sounds from his strings
put Beck miles ahead of the
game, tonally and otherwise.
Playing fingerstyle is most
definitely a huge factor in the
number of sounds he’s able to
coax from his instrument.
If you watch and listen
closely to Beck, you’ll notice
how he can shift the timbre
of each note or phrase. One
key is to keep an eye on his
pickup switch (again, there are
plenty of examples to study on
YouTube). Often, he’ll keep it
stationary (perhaps on the neck
pickup), yet a note will sound
mellow one moment and cut
sharply the next. He uses his
fingertips as an equalizer by
striking the string at different
points to create a range of
tones. Within a split second,
he’ll move from decidedly gorgeous
tones to sounds chockfull
of attitude.
If you watch and listen closely to Beck, you’ll
notice how he can shift the timbre of each
note or phrase . . . He uses his fingertips as
an equalizer by striking the string at different
points to create a range of tones.
Of course, this also applies to
acoustic guitar. Several years ago
I had a houseguest, and it wasn’t
long before he asked to play one
of my guitars. I handed him my
nice little Martin 000-16, but
something went awry from the
first chord he struck. Can you
imagine an acoustic guitar naturally
distorting due to someone
playing it too hard? Yep, this
happens all the time. When you
touch an instrument the wrong
way, be prepared to hear about
it instantly.
In this case, the Martin
began to choke and sound
harsh and muffled as I listened
from across the coffee table. I
immediately grabbed it from
my guest and played it for
him the way I knew it liked to
be touched. The sound went
from a clattering noise to a
glorious, full-spectrum tone.
The difference was profound,
to put it mildly.
What happened was that I’d
simply applied the principle of
least effort. Sometimes playing
hard can sound downright
awful. You must locate the
kinetic sweet spot on a good
instrument before it will reveal
its full sonic potential. Part of
the mystery and fun of playing
a good instrument is finding
the touch required to awaken
its true voice. But there’s a
catch: You have to find this
sweet spot by yourself—which
is not a bad thing. It’s merely
part of the process of making
music. Once you get the
proper feeling in your picking
hand, it will all kick in. Believe
me, the rewards are massive.
Lately, I’ve noticed that
many of my favorite players
seem to like the direct
approach of using bare fingers
on thee strings. Daniel Lanois
is another wonderful example
of this—a great producer and
greater musician, quite frankly.
Lanois pulls out unique and
exciting tones from his Les Paul
and pedal steel. His new band,
Black Dub, is truly amazing, so
be sure to check them out.
One last thought: I’ve discovered
that playing au natural
actually improves the way I
play when I use a pick—which
is often. That was another
aspect of the fingerstyle journey
that took me by surprise.
The moral of this story?
Getting into the rawer down
’n’ dirty basics can yield some
beyond-cool sounds. So dig in
and find out for yourself.
Dean Farley is chief
designer of Snake Oil
Brand Strings, and his
ideas have had a significant
influence on contemporary
string design. He is also
known as a great source of
guitar, amp, and gear lore. For more information,
visit
snakeoilstrings.com.