| As rock and roll continued to take over the world in | | | | standards were recorded with the guitar for the first |
| the nineteen seventies, the plectrum-wielding lead guitar | | | | time by Dan Crary. |
| player became fixed in the minds of music lovers. This | | | | Now to get onto more technical stuff, let us look at |
| style of guitar playing originated in the nineteen thirties | | | | what a flatpick is and how to use it. A flatpick is made |
| with jazz guitar players like Eddie Lang and Django | | | | of tortoiseshell, plastic or nylon. If you want to learn to |
| Reinhardt, and reached a wider audience through | | | | be a flatpicking guitar soloist, you will need to learn to |
| prominent guitarists like Charlie Christian, Les Paul and | | | | use a thick pick. If you are like most guitar players you |
| Hank Marvin. | | | | will be using a light to medium weight pick. For |
| It was inevitable that a generation of "lead guitarists" | | | | flatpicking solos you will have a much greater control |
| would be born from the rich musical tradition of | | | | over your playing by getting used to using a heavier |
| bluegrass. In fact there were already famous | | | | weight pick. The main advantage to flatpicking over |
| flatpickers in bluegrass music with names like George | | | | fingerpicking is tone. A steel string acoustic guitar |
| Shuffler, Don Reno, and Bill Napier. During the nineteen | | | | sounds much nicer using a flatpick compared to |
| sixties and nineteen seventies flatpicking guitar players | | | | fingerpicks, and using nails is totally out of the question. |
| like Clarence White, Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Larry | | | | You will also gain speed much quicker if you use a |
| Sparks, Charles Sawtelle, and Russ Barenberg rose to | | | | flatpick. Playing fast with right hand finger picking |
| prominence. | | | | techniques takes alot of intense practice. |
| To get some insight into the evolution of flatpicking | | | | One question you are going to be confronted with as |
| guitar playing, it might help to look at how Doc Watson, | | | | your flatpicking guitar technique develops is whether to |
| whose guitar playing career began in the nineteen | | | | play using your hand and forearm as one unit holding |
| fifties, contributed to the use of flatpicking guitar in | | | | alot of tension in your wrist, or to play with your wrist |
| bluegrass music. It was simply that the band he was | | | | relaxed. There are guitar players who swear by either |
| working with did not have a fiddle player and Doc was | | | | of these ways of playing and some who use both. |
| not able to become a good fiddle player himself. So | | | | Generally speaking the advantage of having a stiff |
| because he enjoyed fiddle tunes, he simply learnt how | | | | wrist is speed. A relaxed wrist does not take as |
| to play them on the guitar. | | | | readily to playing fast but many guitarists feel that it |
| Another astounding flatpicker is David Grier. The son | | | | gives then greater control. |
| of an accomplished banjo player, David was shown a | | | | The thing you need to do if you are thinking about |
| few chords by his father and allowed to develop his | | | | learning flatpicking is to widen your knowledge of the |
| love and talent for music naturally. As a result he | | | | genre by listening to a range of guitar players. Jesse |
| never learnt to read guitar tab or conventional music | | | | McReynolds, Clarence White and Tony Rice are a |
| notation. | | | | few flatpicker guitarists to look out for but I am sure |
| And where did the first bluegrass guitar album come | | | | you will find many more as you explore this wonderful |
| from? Dan Crary. Dan, if not the father of bluegrass | | | | musical genre yourself. |
| guitar, is at least one of its uncles. Many bluegrass | | | | |