Love the TIM TALKS, the applied science of guitar line at a time. Always adds something to the library . Your conversational disarming approach makes me feel like we're sitting at coffee. Thanks much for your generosity of spirit to share a lifetime of knowledge
I’ve been using the one finger double stop forever now. Had a local guy teach that to me .. something he learned from Lenny breau when he lived in Canada. Also crossfretting… a bar style across two frets. Trying doing both at once in a G major 7 ! .. on a classical ! It blew my mind and my musical world wide open. Made me realize that the frets are only there for convenience and we can colour outside the lines ! I’ve never seen anyone else other than Tim ever talk about these techniques. Well done !
All great tips, and I use all of them. The "backwards" technique can really help with smooth voice leading fingering. There's another fingering technique that I like a lot. It is using the tip of one finger (usually the index) to hold down a bass note on one fret, while it's flesh near the palm the holds down a different fret simultaneously or later. An example would be a GMaj7: The index finger holds down the 6th string 3rd fret, and the 1st string 2nd fret at the same time. This may require long fingers, and rolled or scalloped fretboard edges. Another interesting technique is one I've seen frequently on the Cello, and Double Bass. It is to use the side of the fretting hand thumb like a finger, making huge stretches possible.
Yep that’s a good one, slant bar or as GVE called it “the 5th finger technique” I forgot to mention that one but I use it all the time. I haven’t used the cello thumb over thing. But I’ve seen it done well.
Great Topic. Great video. Great playing. Fantastic filming with a great camera. Great audio on the voice with no mic visible. Not sure how you did that. The production value is so good, no one even cares about the topic. We want to know what kind of camera, what kind of lighting, and how are you getting that audio with no visible mic. Thanks in advance.
This is a special topic for me. As a lefty playing a right handed guitar, my left hand is my strong hand, and so I have especially strong abilities on the fretboard, and after many decades of playing, my left hand does some really weird stuff, trying to get out of work, and for speed, muting, and for control. The biggest of which comes to mind is instead of playing a pentatonic scale box, using my first finger and 3rd finger as a normal player would do, I switch to my 2nd and 4th finger because then that will put my 1st finger already in position for when it needs it down there, and it also puts my 4th finger, my pinky that is, on the side of the string that is doing the bending, and since your pinky is smaller than your 3rd finger, it sounds different, and can get a lot of color added to the bend, plus it is more sensitive to a bend, which is both good and bad. It is much less stable than using your 3rd finger for a bend, as it is fatter. Bending with just the pinky is also riskier because it is easier to go too high or low. But you can get some really cool colorful tones that almost sound like a wah pedal. Some of the things I do with my left hand make it frustrating, even for me to watch me play, because so many things that I play, do not look like what even I think they should look like. A lot of that is because my fingers are shifting around to mute strings. And until I had a decent camera to film with, I thought that I did not do hardly any muting, or not enough muting, and I felt bad about that. I felt inferior, because of my lack of muting. ...but then when I see myself on film, it looks like that is all I am doing. I am muting all over the place. I could not believe it. I have the thing locked down like a prison yard. Everything is under an iron fist rule. I was so happy when I discovered that, because that is what Eddie Van Halen and Jeff Beck do a lot of, and that is muting. Also Eric Johnson. Those are my main guitar heroes along with Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons (ZZ TOP is what we call him in Texas). And I like Gary Moore too. Anyway, it is funny what you left hand's work can evolve into. I certainly play the some things very differently now, with my fingering arrangement, than I did when I was starting out. And it looks weird, and it is hard to understand what I am doing. You have to listen to what I am playing, but not look at my fingers because they are very confusing to look at. ...even for me. It's weird.
Inspiring video as always! And nice with the ever so slight, short reverb on your voice - it makes your speaking more pleasurable to listen to. I can take a breath of relief as I see that my teachers (many years ago) taught me the streamlined fingerings right off the bat. Now I someties have to learn the "old ones" if I happen to have to play a more swing style comping. Question: perhaps you've already mentioned this in one of your former videos, but how do you approach nails on your right hand? No nails (a part from the pinky, as we've learned), just enough nails to give some attack and clarity or traditional fingerstyle nails?
Thanks so much! This is knowledge that only years of experience provides - and here taught so generously and lovingly!
Love the TIM TALKS, the applied science of guitar line at a time. Always adds something to the library . Your conversational disarming approach makes me feel like we're sitting at coffee. Thanks much for your generosity of spirit to share a lifetime of knowledge
Thank you for sharing! This is gold!
Thought provoking, Tim, and fun to explore, thank you :)) RA UK
I’ve been using the one finger double stop forever now. Had a local guy teach that to me .. something he learned from Lenny breau when he lived in Canada.
Also crossfretting… a bar style across two frets. Trying doing both at once in a G major 7 ! .. on a classical !
It blew my mind and my musical world wide open. Made me realize that the frets are only there for convenience and we can colour outside the lines !
I’ve never seen anyone else other than Tim ever talk about these techniques.
Well done !
Hey Tim-What kind of pickup is that? Sound great as always!
Just noticed that you didn't use the left thumb. It may be another efficient option also.
Yes, I agree
Is that a nocaster with a cc lollar in the neck? Does this have the nocaster wiring blending in the bridge instead of tone
It’s custom shop nocaster (Cunetto era) with a Lollar Custom P90 in the neck and Lollar BS in the bridge. Modern wiring
All great tips, and I use all of them. The "backwards" technique can really help with smooth voice leading fingering.
There's another fingering technique that I like a lot. It is using the tip of one finger (usually the index) to hold down a bass note on one fret, while it's flesh near the palm the holds down a different fret simultaneously or later. An example would be a GMaj7: The index finger holds down the 6th string 3rd fret, and the 1st string 2nd fret at the same time. This may require long fingers, and rolled or scalloped fretboard edges.
Another interesting technique is one I've seen frequently on the Cello, and Double Bass. It is to use the side of the fretting hand thumb like a finger, making huge stretches possible.
Yep that’s a good one, slant bar or as GVE called it “the 5th finger technique” I forgot to mention that one but I use it all the time. I haven’t used the cello thumb over thing. But I’ve seen it done well.
yea scotty anderson uses that under thumb type thing like a beast
Spot ON . Thank You .
Always great content on your channel. Now subbed!
Great Topic. Great video. Great playing. Fantastic filming with a great camera. Great audio on the voice with no mic visible. Not sure how you did that. The production value is so good, no one even cares about the topic. We want to know what kind of camera, what kind of lighting, and how are you getting that audio with no visible mic. Thanks in advance.
The only thing preventing me from fingerstyle us growing long nails like a female. Joking
I use bare fingers
Very generous with your time and experience. Many thanks.
There’s some really useful information here….thanks a lot 👍🍷
great stuff. What is the neck pickup? Seems more rounded than your usual.
Custom-made, Lollar P 90
Such a great lesson and insight Tim. Thank you so much for sharing your insights and experience in this platform. Thank you very much!!
Precious tips ! Thanks Tim 🙏
Hey Tim, really enjoying all your videos, love the things you talk about. Much love from India
Oufh, great! Getting into jazz and my god what a journey 🌟
Thanks for the video Tim 👏
Marvelous as usual! Many thanks for helping us to understand better!
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with all of us ☺😇
This is a special topic for me. As a lefty playing a right handed guitar, my left hand is my strong hand, and so I have especially strong abilities on the fretboard, and after many decades of playing, my left hand does some really weird stuff, trying to get out of work, and for speed, muting, and for control. The biggest of which comes to mind is instead of playing a pentatonic scale box, using my first finger and 3rd finger as a normal player would do, I switch to my 2nd and 4th finger because then that will put my 1st finger already in position for when it needs it down there, and it also puts my 4th finger, my pinky that is, on the side of the string that is doing the bending, and since your pinky is smaller than your 3rd finger, it sounds different, and can get a lot of color added to the bend, plus it is more sensitive to a bend, which is both good and bad. It is much less stable than using your 3rd finger for a bend, as it is fatter. Bending with just the pinky is also riskier because it is easier to go too high or low. But you can get some really cool colorful tones that almost sound like a wah pedal. Some of the things I do with my left hand make it frustrating, even for me to watch me play, because so many things that I play, do not look like what even I think they should look like. A lot of that is because my fingers are shifting around to mute strings. And until I had a decent camera to film with, I thought that I did not do hardly any muting, or not enough muting, and I felt bad about that. I felt inferior, because of my lack of muting. ...but then when I see myself on film, it looks like that is all I am doing. I am muting all over the place. I could not believe it. I have the thing locked down like a prison yard. Everything is under an iron fist rule. I was so happy when I discovered that, because that is what Eddie Van Halen and Jeff Beck do a lot of, and that is muting. Also Eric Johnson. Those are my main guitar heroes along with Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons (ZZ TOP is what we call him in Texas). And I like Gary Moore too. Anyway, it is funny what you left hand's work can evolve into. I certainly play the some things very differently now, with my fingering arrangement, than I did when I was starting out. And it looks weird, and it is hard to understand what I am doing. You have to listen to what I am playing, but not look at my fingers because they are very confusing to look at. ...even for me. It's weird.
As someone recovering from surgery to the left hand this is an especially relevant topic for me.
Great tips,thanks.
Inspiring video as always! And nice with the ever so slight, short reverb on your voice - it makes your speaking more pleasurable to listen to. I can take a breath of relief as I see that my teachers (many years ago) taught me the streamlined fingerings right off the bat. Now I someties have to learn the "old ones" if I happen to have to play a more swing style comping. Question: perhaps you've already mentioned this in one of your former videos, but how do you approach nails on your right hand? No nails (a part from the pinky, as we've learned), just enough nails to give some attack and clarity or traditional fingerstyle nails?
I use flesh, without nail on the right hand.
I’m a pinky picker too.
Thankyou Tim
Merci beaucoup !