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Chucking or use a pick?
- Thread starter Julius
- Start date
It makes switching between different techniques and combining them much more easy though....
It does. I've seen a few players that seem able to tuck a pick away somewhere in the hand such that it can be deployed in a moment yet doesn't interfere wtih fingerstyle. No idea how that works - I've never seen it at sufficiently close proximity to know what's going on and I've never found a way for myself that doesn't slowly get my hand tied up in knots. Even after 40 years it remains more like a closely-guarded secret sleight of hand card trick that I've never been privy to. I sometimes use a thumb-pick but that interferes with fingerstyle hand position and muting so can't be 'worn' all the time. So with that, 'Chucking' has a useful purpose that get's me close enough for most of my purposes...
... but I can appreciate why it may not work for everyone
... but I can appreciate why it may not work for everyone
I can see that if you were good at moving from pick to chucking while keeping the pick in your hand and back it would be beneficial.
In reference to me and my playing. I've found it's either or with the pick. Trying to move it to my hand means that I have to pick it up off the floor when I want to switch back.
And if I understand chucking as using your finger as a pick, I've got no skills at that. When I've tried it I thought the sound was muddy. So I'm either pick or fingers, that works for me.
...
Trying to move it to my hand means that I have to pick it up off the floor when I want to switch back.
...
We should start a club!!
You don't need a pick at all when Chucking, that's the whole idea. It's pick imitation with fingers only.
As you can see in the video.
You don't need a pick at all when Chucking, that's the whole idea. It's pick imitation with fingers only.
Yes, I got that. I was referring to a couple comments about Bernard Edwards being able to move the pick somewhere in his hand and chuck, then bring the pick back out. Great skill if you have it, but that's not me.
I use the back of my index, middle and ring fingernails. Because I keep my nails short the fingertips end up curled in and pointing back at me, which is the only way for them to make reliable and controllable contact with the strings.
FullumMusic
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I've heard Chucking used to mean two similar but distinct things:
1- Just using your index finger (Or specifically your index finger's nail as the pick and using your thumb to support the finger like you're holding a pick without the pick.)
2- #1, but specifically always moving your hand back and forth at 8th or 16th notes, where every subdivision is either played or muted/ghosted, but constant back and forth is always happening.
I do definition #1 because i'm hopeless when it comes to actually holding a pick. I either drop the pick within the first measure, or i squeeze so hard in an attempt to not drop it, my hand cramps up. Also, being a fingerstyle player since i first learned at 11 years old, a pick is a weird thing in between my finger and the string and i feel disconnected to what i'm playing. Using just my fingernail is way easier for me and sounds enough like a pick to me.
I don't really do #2 unless absolutely necessary for the song because the resulting bassline is very not my style. I'm not a fan of filling in all the space with notes and percussive hits. I like space.
1- Just using your index finger (Or specifically your index finger's nail as the pick and using your thumb to support the finger like you're holding a pick without the pick.)
2- #1, but specifically always moving your hand back and forth at 8th or 16th notes, where every subdivision is either played or muted/ghosted, but constant back and forth is always happening.
I do definition #1 because i'm hopeless when it comes to actually holding a pick. I either drop the pick within the first measure, or i squeeze so hard in an attempt to not drop it, my hand cramps up. Also, being a fingerstyle player since i first learned at 11 years old, a pick is a weird thing in between my finger and the string and i feel disconnected to what i'm playing. Using just my fingernail is way easier for me and sounds enough like a pick to me.
I don't really do #2 unless absolutely necessary for the song because the resulting bassline is very not my style. I'm not a fan of filling in all the space with notes and percussive hits. I like space.
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I've tried this a few times when I didn't have a pick handy. I've never tried it enough to make it a habit.
I can see how it'd be handy part of a toolbox, though.
I can see how it'd be handy part of a toolbox, though.
To me fingers directly on the strings feels more immediate than a pick. So not having an extra ‘tool’ (a pick) needed is a big plus for me. The sound of chucking vs pick is a bit different and it takes some practice (also because of the different muting) but you can get in the ballpark. I even use chucking and use my middle finger along in the same way as guitar players do when hybrid picking. Like in the second groove in my video (in post #41 at 0:44).
In my coming (third) slap book I spend a whole chapter on chucking. Although strictly speaking it’s not a slapping technique it has a lot of similarities with double thumbing, that’s why I included it.
