Anyone use their index finger as the primary

[John Fauver]

Was curious to see if any one out there uses their thumb and index finger, as opposed to the thumb and middle finger, as the dominant picking fingers? Most of the educational material, and most players, seem to use the middle finger.

I used my index finger learning lap steel and it comes more naturally for me. I have learned from the Newman videos and other sources to use my middle finger and I notice a slight difference in tone, a little more punch with the middle, but single note playing and speed picking seems cleaner and easier with my index.

Has anyone further down the road been at this crossroad? Is one path the eternal tone, the other total destruction?...or am I all alone on this?

Thank you in advance for any insight provided.

[David Nugent]

Being a long time Scruggs style banjo player, when developing my speed picking technique it seemed quite natural to use both my index and middle fingers. Some licks appeared to come easily while others required more thought and different finger patterns needed to be attempted before the licks felt natural and flowed easily..One example off hand is Bruce Bouton's steel solo in Ricky Skaggs version of 'Country Boy'. Several different patterns were experimented with before I was finally able to play the licks comfortably and up to speed..In my opinion, whatever gets the job done successfully for you is the correct way. One EXCELLENT player that I observed uses a flat pick and his middle and ring fingers.

[Richard Sinkler]

I started using my index finger as the primary before I found out about a lot of players using the middle finger. So, I switched to using both equally. It's easier for me to cross over with my thumb using my middle finger. But due to having trigger finger in my middle finger, I'm finding me favoring the index finger. But even with trigger finger, I find I still pick faster with the middle finger.

[Fred Treece]

Another index finger picker here. It's the lead finger for rolls, why not for regular crossover? Tucking the index under never made sense to me for guitar, so T-I came naturally on steel. I practice T-M crossover, but it is sloppy and not a high priority during practice time.

[John McClung]

Index vs middle varies from player to player. Jernigan does all his speed picking with Thumbe-index, reserving his middle finger for chromatic strings generally. But Doug also expertly hits two or three strings in a row with his thumb, something I've so far not managed to learn how to do.

[Billy Carr]

I started years ago (71-72') using index finger for speed pickin'. It's a hard habit to break trying to use middle finger instead of index. Banjo rolls are not a problem w/middle finger though.

[Fred Treece]

But Doug also expertly hits two or three strings in a row with his thumb, something I've so far not managed to learn how to do.

Only going forward on adjacent strings though, right?

Reserving the middle finger for chromatics is something I have been working on recently. Scale runs work better that way when transitioning from the lower strings, involving forward and backward rolls of sorts.

[Ian Worley]

When I was first trying to figure this crazy machine out I had a kind of flat-handed "crab" grip on my right hand. I am a bass player and not knowing any better this felt natural to me, but Paul Sutherland showed me that using the middle finger as primary keeps your hand rotated up and in the correct position for relaxed palm blocking, and helps keep your elbow tucked in and shoulder relaxed. It felt awkward at first but I soon discovered the wisdom of his advice. There are plenty of exceptions, but I believe this is the underlying reason that this technique evolved over the years with so many great players.

[Tony Glassman]

I almost exclusively use thumb + index. Unfortunately, I know that the thumb + middle finger makes more sense anatomically, but I'm too old of a dog to learn new tricks.

[Kevin Fix]

Thumb and Middle finger here. Feels more natural to me. 35 years now.

[B. Greg Jones]

Tom Brumley used his index finger for just about everything fast or slow.

[John Fauver]

Great info folks. I appreciate the insights. Thank you!

[John Polstra]

Norman Evans posted this video in a different thread recently. It has good right-hand views of some amazing playing by Mike "Cookie" Jones using thumb-index almost exclusively.

https://youtu.be/PepSao2lmEA

John

[Fred Treece]

Norman Evans posted this video in a different thread recently. It has good right-hand views of some amazing playing by Mike "Cookie" Jones using thumb-index almost exclusively.

https://youtu.be/PepSao2lmEA

Wow. That open string stuff was pretty cool too. And a good example of how both necks can work on the same tune.

[Henry Matthews]

I guess it is what works best for you. I use middle finger 90% of the time. Russ Hicks amd Cookie Jones use their index finger I think. Tommy W uses his middle finger ans does Jody Cameron. They all sound great so what ever fits the bill I guess.

[Bob Carlucci]

Decades ago I used my middle finger for high speed stuff, but somehow over the years I found I just naturally went more with thumb/index.. it simply is more natural for me.. I would not sweat it, either finger is fine.. use whats comfortable, and most efficient for you personally... bob

[John Goux]

There are some big name players that favor the index as opppsed to the middle. I think they would be considered pick blockers. The hand position is different, flatter than the Newman/Emmons palm blocking postion, which is better for the middle finger.
John