Paul Franklin - Pick Blocking

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 16 Feb 2013 11:15 am

Nice shot of some Franklin picking. http://youtu.be/KeXtTVN4X-Y?t=4m1

Larry Bressington · Post by **Larry Bressington** » 16 Feb 2013 11:28 am

Nice!

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 16 Feb 2013 12:26 pm

One of my all time favorite steel guitar solos.

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 16 Feb 2013 2:31 pm

Paul is always outstanding !

W. Van Horn · Post by **W. Van Horn** » 16 Feb 2013 3:56 pm

So clean!

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 16 Feb 2013 7:34 pm

While it's mostly pick blocking, it looks to me like there's some additional"secondary" blocking from the right hand pinky, and the left hand thumb.

Larry Bressington · Post by **Larry Bressington** » 17 Feb 2013 7:13 pm

How does 'Pick Blocking' work? You pick with your thumb forward and you pick with your fingers backwards, is he muting with his picks at that speed doing 'Double Duty'?

Smoking playing PF.

Dean Parks · Post by **Dean Parks** » 18 Feb 2013 10:01 am

This shows up as a "private video" on my computer. Has it changed?

Peter den Hartogh · Post by **Peter den Hartogh** » 18 Feb 2013 11:09 am

Same here.

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 18 Feb 2013 12:03 pm

Yep, Private..

Gary Lee Gimble · Post by **Gary Lee Gimble** » 18 Feb 2013 12:54 pm

Link posted below of said solo, at the end of the clip...until it gets deleted again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeXtTVN4X-Y

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 18 Feb 2013 7:38 pm

One of the greatest rock anthems, and Paul totally nails it! Thanks for that link.

Did you catch how Richard Bennett was digging Paul? I knew Richard in LA when he first came out from Tucson, and he was a steel player in those days playing a Fender 400. So I'd bet he's one of the hippest producers as far as steel savvy goes in NVille.

Dave Magram · Post by **Dave Magram** » 19 Feb 2013 2:14 am

Larry Bressington wrote:How does 'Pick Blocking' work? You pick with your thumb forward and you pick with your fingers backwards, is he muting with his picks at that speed doing 'Double Duty'?

Larry, I'm no Paul Franklin, but "pick-blocking" is much more than simply blocking with the picks.

The way it works was best described by a buddy of mine that was trying to show me how to do it: "You block the strings with your picks, your fingertips, your left-hand, whatever. If you could reach in there with your elbow to block, you do that."

Here are the basics:
1. If you are striking the same string again, the second strike "blocks" the previous note. Most of us do this already, and Paul is doing a lot of this on the video.

The tricky part comes when you are moving up to strike a higher string or down to strike a lower string:

2. If your thumb has just struck string 8 (for example), and is moving up to strike string 7, then you can use the side of your thumb to block string 8, as your thumb comes down to strike string 7. This is why most pick-blockers favor thumbpicks with a small blade-- to get their thumb right down on top of the strings easily.

3. If you have just picked string 3 with your index finger, and you're moving down to play string 4, you can block string 3 with the tip of your index finger as your pick strikes string 4. Same is true for your middle finger.
It's pretty hard to see this, but it looks like one of the closeups of Paul's right hand shows this being done, when he dips his fingerpick deep between the strings around 4:45.

4. An alternative for blocking middle-finger picked notes is to use your ring finger. Notice how Paul trails his ring finger after his middle finger around 4:34.

5. If none of the above will work, you block a previously struck string with your fingerpicks or thumbpick-- true pickblocking. But as you point out, this "double duty" means that one of your fingers is out of the picking action while it is blocking.

6. You can also use your left thumb to block thumb-picked notes, or move the tip of the bar towards you to block higher strings like 1 and 2 with your left hand middle finger. Notice Paul dragging the bar off the 1st and 2nd strings around 5:05. You can also lift the bar to block a note-- I'm not sure, but I think I saw Paul do that right around 5:03.

It sounds simple, but it is quite challenging to do well. The precision required is very tricky. It took me about six months to learn to do it well enough to use it onstage.

The best material I found was a videotape (now a DVD)from Joe Wright who really deconstructs pick-blocking and breaks it down into small basic steps with lots of closeups of his hands. Joe also gives some excellent exercises and drills to practice.

Paul Franklin's instructional material was out of print at the time, so I have no comments on it one way or the other, although I've heard it is very good.

I hope this is helpful.

- Dave

Keith Currie · Post by **Keith Currie** » 19 Feb 2013 8:58 am

Larry
Try to get Pauls Cd on pick blocking, Paul explains it very well and it is not as hard as it sounds. It will improve your speed right away.

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 19 Feb 2013 5:36 pm

Great video, I watch it from time to time. Pick blocking is where its at for me!

Larry Bressington · Post by **Larry Bressington** » 19 Feb 2013 5:39 pm

Thanks Dave for that very detailed explanation, i need to get a DVD keith. Thanks brothers.

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 19 Feb 2013 5:41 pm

Tom, he uses the tips of his ring and pinky finger to mute adjacent strings while picking. When ever he picks with his middle finger, all of the fingers behind lift up in unison with is and than come back down, each finger has its own string that it blocks as if those three fingers are attached.

Ulrich Sinn · Post by **Ulrich Sinn** » 19 Feb 2013 7:50 pm

Hi -

I understand how that works with forward/backwards rolls.

But how with scales/crosspicking.
E.g. 2 notes per string?

p-m-p-m
p-i-p-i

or

p-p-m-m/p-p-i-i

Thanks,

Uli

Keith Currie · Post by **Keith Currie** » 19 Feb 2013 7:56 pm

I dont think you cross pick when pick blocking. You move your hand as you go,but I dont explain it well
At least thats how I do it maybe not right though.
Doing two notes per string I would just put my pick on it to block.

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 21 Feb 2013 6:58 am

I don't block with my bar hand. Never have....The only time I would use it is to imitate a marimba sound in the studio but never for speed playing.......Every block in that clip is done with the picks.

In general, my remaining two fingers without picks follows every move my middle finger makes, as if the three fingers are webbed together, which is the secret to making this technique work cleanly across the fretboard. This keeps them out of the way. The position of the webbed unused fingers does aid in the blocking when a middle finger pick block is missed. Because they are always following and are resting on the strings in the area of the middle finger pick, those two non-picking fingers will block a missed middle finger block in really rapid scale runs.

To the beginning pick blockers,

If I followed what is being taught online about this technique I would be confused about how it is accomplished. Most youtube instructions on this subject are calling the non blocking techniques that everyone does as pick blocking......Not true. There is actually no blocking prior to the re-striking of the same string so now we have a lot of people saying they pick block when they actually do not.......There is no need to block a string when the plan is to re-strike it whether you palm block or pick block.......Yet many posters call this re-striking effect pick blocking.

Cross picking and pick blocking do not work well together. The type of finger picking we use matters.......Scales are easily accomplished using the three finger picking style so its a myth to believe using all three fingers means you can only play forward and backward rolls. The one downside to pick blocking is this.....Playing 4 and 5 note chords at a rapid pace is slightly more difficult when a player is using pick blocking as the sole means of blocking.

Paul

Ron Scott · Post by **Ron Scott** » 21 Feb 2013 5:03 pm

Thanks Paul....the video is done so as to show a lot of your style and makes for not moving the hand too far from the strings.....Hope to see you in Dallas too.Ron

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 21 Feb 2013 6:20 pm

Interesting stuff - thanks, Paul. Well, thanks to everone who has contributed but Paul in particular as he's the subject of the thread and he's been good enough to clear things up.

It almost seems as if 'pick blocking' is a misnomer when blocking is partly achieved with the fingertips.

I doubt I'd be able to change now from palm-blocking (another misnomer - it's more like 'heel of the hand-blocking'!) as the occasional attempts to incorporate it into my technique have resulted in frustration and lots of tension in my right hand.

I remain in awe of those who use it effectively and Paul in particular!!!

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 21 Feb 2013 8:01 pm

I think this is something you have to feel and not over analyze. I posted the video as I felt it expressed the feeling of pick blocking as well as the technique. It appeared as Paul was feeling the music, but I get that feeling from most all off his playing then and now. Connects for me.

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 22 Feb 2013 4:51 am

A very interesting post by Paul.

I regularly hear guys in the UK talking about pick blocking as the only true way to speed pick cleanly. Not true. Tommy White and Mike Smith don't extensively pick block, yet both can play blindingly fast and very cleanly. The same too with Buddy E.

Block whichever way works for you - there is no definitive right or wrong way.

I am always intrigued every time I watch Paul play at just how efficient and effective his right hand movement is. The master of clean playing.

Stuart Legg · Post by **Stuart Legg** » 22 Feb 2013 2:48 pm

How about having Paul play like that over any chord progression you choose and have notation for it. Can Do.
Here is Paul over an
/A,Amaj7/F#7/B7/Bm7/
/D/Bm7/E9,Bm7/E7/ x2
/D/E/F#m/F#m/
/D/E/F#m/C#/ x2
Repeat whole thing 3times and one bar ending

Audio not permitted