The Steel Guitar Forum

I have been concentrating lately on improving my picking hand technique and an area worked on is picking fingers and order of fingers used. I have always mainly relied on thumb and middle finger most. I am trying to incorporate my index finger more on practice scale runs. It so far is a disaster. It is hard for me to change, even though I feel using the index finger more would improve my skills.

When I started steel guitar thumb and middle finger seemed to be the preferred way. Old habits are hard to break.

Interesting, I use my index/thumb a lot but have seen a lot of players primarily use their middle/thumb, including BE. I've been trying to use that combination more but find it awkward as you do with the index/thumb.

I wonder if there's any real advantage either way?

The middle finger is stronger and more mobile than the index, which might explain why many prefer it.

But everybody's hands are different shapes and this is an instrument with few rules

Ian Rae wrote:The middle finger is stronger and more mobile than the index, which might explain why many prefer it.

But everybody's hands are different shapes and this is an instrument with few rules

Very true. I also find when I use thumb and index, they bump into each other sometimes, but thumb and middle doesn't have that issue.

It might depend on your right hand shape. With the eagle claw method, it might not make much difference.

If you're using the peaked knuckle method ala Jeff Newman and Buddy Emmons, the middle finger is actually closer to the strings and easier to alternate with the thumb. I would say this method is like using the entire arm climbing the strings up and down as you play in the same fashion you move the bar back and forth on the selected strings.

The middle finger is stronger as mentioned and tends to give more body to the sound especially with the BE method.




Just my observations FWIW.

Jerry Overstreet wrote:It might depend on your right hand shape. With the eagle claw method, it might not make much difference.

If you're using the peaked knuckle method ala Jeff Newman and Buddy Emmons, the middle finger is actually closer to the strings and easier to alternate with the thumb. I would say this method is like using the entire arm climbing the strings up and down as you play in the same fashion you move the bar back and forth on the selected strings.

The middle finger is stronger as mentioned and tends to give more body to the sound especially with the BE method.




Just my observations FWIW.

Jerry, the peaked knuckle is exactly how I learned and play. At first I thought the index finger method would be more ergonomic, but I find my single note strings do not "sing" as they should when I use my index finger. On chords, I am fine, but single notes are a problem. I may be too far gone to change now.

i started with the middle/thumb technique as well. i started working on paul franklin's course which got me working on his permutations; basically all the picking combinations of middle, thumb and index. i still use a lot of middle thumb combinations for things because i feel it gives me the best tone, but more and more i'm playing things that rely on the three finger technique, and is kind of freeing me up a bit.

The proximity of the thumb to the index finger has some advantages. I'm still a Thumb-Midldle player for the most part, Newman's fault, but after watching Jernigan up close at a steel show, observed most of his single note picking was Thumb-Index, middle only for chords and chromatic string notes, I gave his way a try and now feel fairly comfortable with it, and it seems to make ascending cross-overs a bit easier. My 2¢.

John McClung wrote:The proximity of the thumb to the index finger has some advantages. I'm still a Thumb-Midldle player for the most part, Newman's fault, but after watching Jernigan up close at a steel show, observed most of his single note picking was Thumb-Index, middle only for chords and chromatic string notes, I gave his way a try and now feel fairly comfortable with it, and it seems to make ascending cross-overs a bit easier. My 2¢.

I think I'm manly a Thumb, Middle Finger picker, yet when I see videos of myself, I use that index finger more than I'm aware in real time.

Side note, I considered quitting steel back in the 70's because I could NOT get my right hand into the position Jeff said I needed to have to play. I was convinced that Jeff's way was the ONLY way, and think Jeff thought so too . The product of short stubby fingers I guess. The look of Buddy's right hand to me is a thing of beauty, but I just can't achieve that position. And NOW in my 60's and bone on bone arthritis at the base of both thumbs, just looking at the position of the thumb by Jeff or Buddy is painful to me.

Hmm.... never gave it a thought. When I started noodeling it was natural to me to use the thumb, middle... when I try the index it is weak. Use them all on full chords and just the middle and thumb for two notes

Sam

Paul Franklin uses the index finger and Tommy White uses the middle finger. I think it is a matter of how you learn.
The tone is truly in the hands though.