Finger pick

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Banjo player's finger picks.

A fingerpick is a special type of pick and is often used when playing bluegrass - banjo music , for resonator guitars, and for the pedal steel guitar . Finger picks are mostly made of metal or plastic .

Unlike the pick , which is held between a finger and the thumb , a fingerpick is placed on the fingertip so that its stop tongue is on the opposite side of the fingernail. Another difference is that not only a fingerpick is used. Usually three finger picks are placed on the ring finger, middle finger and index finger in the manner described. A specially shaped thumb pick is also used for the thumb. Several strings can be played at the same time, and playing using the fingerstyle technique is possible.

Some players do not use a pick for the ring finger and instead support it (and often also the little finger) on the top of the guitar or the skin of the banjo. This allows greater accuracy when picking .

With the thumb pick (which is usually used individually without finger picks), a player can simultaneously mute the bass strings with the ball of his hand ( palm muting ) and play the treble strings freely. The best-known current representative of this style of playing developed by Merle Travis is the Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel .

Fingerpicks are made in different strengths to suit the different types of play. Thin finger picks produce a quieter, more delicate tone, while thick finger picks sound stronger.

When using different techniques at the same time, such as flat picking and fingerstyle , a thumb pick can replace the classic pick and thus make this alternating playing technique possible.

Individual evidence

  1. https://truefire.com/tommy-emmanuel/fingerstyle-milestones/the-palm-mute-overview/v20659