Hybrid Picking 101
A marriage of fingerpicking and flatpicking, hybrid picking offers elements of
both techniques, but replaces neither.
Photo 1 shows the basic hybrid picking
hand position, which involves attacking the strings using a flatpick plus middle
and ring fingers. Here, my pick is hitting the 5th string, and my middle and ring
fingers are plucking the 3rd and 2nd strings.
With a classical or jazz fingerstyle technique, your wrist is arched, your hand
is open, and your picking fingers are relaxed and extended. With hybrid picking,
however, your wrist is flat, your hand rides low, and your middle and ring fingers
are tightly curled as they engage the strings. It’s the flatpick that determines this
close-in hand position. Curled like this, your picking fingers pull up
on the strings, rather than stroking across them (as they would in more traditional
fingerpicking). This pulling creates a snappy, popping tone that’s at the heart
of country, rockabilly, and other twangy styles.
For a percussive effect, use the back edge of your picking hand to mute the
bass strings as you flatpick them (
Photo 2). Palm-muting also helps you prevent
unwanted open strings from ringing out as you dig into the notes you’re aiming
for. When muting, rest your hand lightly on the bridge, so you’ll be able to scoot
quickly and easily along the saddles as your lines move from bass to treble
strings and back again. Two more benefits: A light touch is better for your tendons
and allows your guitar to resonate more freely for maximum sustain.
Andy Ellis is a veteran
guitar journalist
and Senior Editor at
PG.
Based in Nashville, Andy
backs singer-songwriters
on the baritone guitar,
and also hosts The
Guitar Show, a weekly on-air and online
broadcast. For the schedule, links to the
stations’ streams, archived audio interviews
with inspiring players, and more,
visit
theguitarshow.com.