Is there any good reason to learn to hybrid picking?
Yes, it sounds great. If you flatpick only, you are limited in that you usually cannot play on seperate stings, say the A string and B string at the same time(string skipping). If you fingerpick only, you may not be able to play super fast. So learning to use a flatpick and picking with other fingers gives you the best of both worlds. So that is a big advantage.
But hybrid picking has it's own distinctive sound that is great. Check out this old video of AC/DCs Shoot to Thrill. Listen to the distinct difference in style starting at 3:24. This is Malcolm & Angus Young using hybrid picking to play chords as opposed to simply strumming or flatpicking. So while hybrid picking is usually associated with styles like Country, it can be used effectively in Rock too.
Another Rock player who used hybrid picking often was Jimmy Page. Hybrid picking simply gives you another weapon in your arsenal. :twisted:
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Wes covered it. great job.
I use a flatpick and my middle finger almost all the time. I have seen players use a thumb pick
and one finger pick (Merle Travis). the nice thing about hybrid picking is that it is so personal.
you make the choice of what you need to get what you want to here.
as Wes said, it is another thing for the arsenal.
Awsome guys thanks :D
I hybrid pick all the time. I even remember when I learned what it was. I learned it for Stairway to Heaven. I too use mostly my middle finger in conjunction with the pick but sometimes will use my ring finger as well.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
It comes in handy. I don't do it all the time.
Sometimes I just squirrel the pick in my hand & finger pick or use it for slide (mostly).
Then it's great to be able to pull it out at will..