The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #128289   Message #3099019
Posted By: brianbanjos
20-Feb-11 - 07:32 AM
Thread Name: playing 1930s country guitar style
Subject: RE: playing 1930s country guitar style
Desert Dancer,

Like you I'm primarily a banjo picker but in the three finger style.I play country guitar in the Carter scratch style. Its a great style, it can be kept simple and still take you to a deep musical place. Yet if you have the time and interest there's scope for virtuoso playing like Norman Blake or Doc. Iplay out of either a c or g chord position depending on how the melody falls and the key I want to play in. At the heart of this are bass runs, boom chucka rythym, timing, hammer on and pull offs. It can get repetitive so the key is to bring in as much of the melody as possible. Depending on the song i'll use a flat pick or thumb and fingerpicks. For straight up country or old time I use the flat pick. One wonderful thing about this style is that its not a tremendous leap to country blues. For those songs (think Etta Baker) I use finger picks. One doesn't have to use finger picks. I do it so they don't feel like foreign objects when I pick up the banjo.

OSZAR »