Hybrid Picking

Hmmmm ... I never really thought about it. I just hold the pick as usual in the thumb and index finger and use the 3 dangling fingers to pick and pluck strings. I learned to do this way back in 1977 to play "Stairway To Heaven" and have been just doing it when it feels right ever since. Sorry, I know that wasn't any help to you.

Well if you know how to play fingerstyle that'll help because you'll have two of the three fingers you'll be using well trained, the right hand pinky was tough to train for me but with time it'll come.

I use it for jazz stuff where I can do more syncopated stuff with my fingers than with my pick, idk what else to use it for but its nice to have the technique, you can just stick a little into everything ( except punk rock O_O xD ).

I guess what TR said, I also do it when it feels right, or when I want to play a bit lower on volume without adjusting the guitar 2 much, its also a different sound pick vs fingers.

Thanks for the replies guys. I should have posted a little more info but it was late and I was tired.

I already do a little ad hoc hybrid picking for stuff when it absolutely has to be that way (e.g. descending thirds on the 1st and 3rd string for a blues turnaround) but it's pretty rough and I have no real method to what I'm doing and it's all real simple stuff. There are some players who really mix the pick and fingers as equals for the majority of their playing. I know a little bit of fingerstyle (a community college semester class) but I'm not really proficient.

I'm not sure how to split the strings up between the pick and fingers. Do you split them like you would for the thumb and fingers in fingerstyle?

I also found this book/cd that seems to cover what I'm thinking about. Has anybody here used it? Hybrid Picking for Guitar by Gustavo Assis Brasil

I'm not sure how to split the strings up between the pick and fingers. Do you split them like you would for the thumb and fingers in fingerstyle?

Yes and no.

When I'm playing accompaniment and chords and stuff I play the bass with the pick and the higher notes with my three other fingers, the good thing about using my pick for bass is that I can do alternate picking if I want to do anything faster or more complicated.

And maybe when I'm playing some kind of lead I'll mix it up by hitting the G string with the pick and the other two strings with my two fingers, I'f I'm doing that I could also use economy picking.

The advantage I find with Hybrid Picking is I can get the sound I need for certain songs but can switch to lead quickly ( without having to put the pick in my mouth)

btw I read the reviews for that book and , although it is nice, the price is a bit high, there is a cheaper Mel Bay book,

How about just putting the flatpick down and playing it all with bare fingers?

(Yes, I know there's a specific "hybrid picking" style, but how is it better than bare fingers?)

(I'm eager for someone to tell me what you can do with a flatpick that you can't do with your fingers, if your nails are in reasonably good shape.)

(I'm eager for someone to tell me what you can do with a flatpick that you can't do with your fingers, if your nails are in reasonably good shape.)
Toss it into the crowd, grab another and keep on playing? :P

Maybe slightly off-topic.

ProGuitarShop uploaded a video about the picking technique of Andy, the guy who makes the tests. He doesn't use pick. The video shows his technique and also comments to many other guitar players with images of theirs right hands while playing. Some play finger style and also hybrid picking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3QeJriJ0tY

(I'm eager for someone to tell me what you can do with a flatpick that you can't do with your fingers, if your nails are in reasonably good shape.)

different timbres are possible with each, and no one method completely covers the utility, possibilities and sounds of the others. learn 'em all. it's not that hard.

to me, it's exactly like fingerpicking minus your index finger. it's convenient if you already have a pick in your hand, or want that plucked bassline sound.

I started learning "The Boxer."
May be good for you to start with something similar.

Thanks for all the ideas. The video was very interesting.

The comment on hybrid picking being like finger picking sent me to dig out my old Christopher Parkening fingerstyle book from the community college course. I've been working through some of the old drills just substituting the pick for the thumb and moving the fingers used one along (index is in use on the pick). So instead of using I(ndex), M(edio), and A(nular) I'm now using M, A, and the pinky (is there a letter for the pinky?).

As for the idea of getting a song to work on that's a good suggestion too. After a little bit of work on the drills I'll probably pick out a fingerstyle blues song to work on using hybrid picking.

if you already fingerpick and flatpick, the transition should be a pretty natural one for you.

So instead of using I(ndex), M(edio), and A(nular) I'm now using M, A, and the pinky (is there a letter for the pinky?).
Jody Fisher uses "C" although the name in Spanish is "meñique". Not sure if "C" is general. And "I" really comes from "'índice" (and "P" from "pulgar", thumb).