Where do you fingerpick?

itsme said:

Never really thought about it, had to grab a uke to check. I'm in the "over the soundhole" camp. I tried to pick over the end of the fretboard and the fretboard just gets in the way.


How can you even pick if you're anchoring your thumb? Anchoring, in general, restricts movement in the other fingers. Plus, I've always found the thumb to be crucial for picking. I've seen people pick amazingly fast using nothing but their thumb.

Some say there are no rules in playing uke, and whatever works for you is fine. I get that. But a lot of time when I try techniques others mention, they just don't seem to be very efficient.

My background in classical guitar has translated well into fingerpicking on the uke. I use thumb, index, middle and ring fingers to pick. I don't anchor, my LH thumb stays behind the neck, and my RH floats just barely above the strings so my fingers are ready to strike with minimal movement.

I'm not saying everyone should adopt CG technique, but it you watch videos by a really good CG player like John Williams, you'll see it looks like his fingers (on both hands) barely move. He's a master of the "economy of motion" approach. If your fingers are flailing all about, you're not being maximally efficient.

YMMV.

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Over the soundhole.
Of course fingerpicking the uke is like classical guitar! Use thumb, index, middle and ring fingers to pick; LH thumb behind the neck. Didn't realize that others were using different methods. Interesting. Agree not everyone should adopt the CG technique, but it probably is the most efficient.

Wicked said:

Where do you fingerpick?

So many jokes... must resist temptation...

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I usually play over the sound hole, no anchor.

But I recently started picking in my garden. Tomatoes are looking good this year.
However, they sound terrible, no sustain on them at all.

Wicked said:

Where do you fingerpick?

So many jokes... must resist temptation...

Click to expand...

Ummm...on the strings......Aaaah....I. could not resist.....sorry....


Jarv

If you want to learn to incorporate your thumb into your picking, I can recommend Aaron Keim's fingerstyle book. He plays a style where the thumb establishes the rhythm by alternating between the third and fourth strings. He dedicates the index finger to the second string and the middle finger to the first string. I found this to be a refreshing change from my typical style, which is to keep the thumb on the fourth string as a drone, while using the index, middle and ring fingers on the remaining strings.

As for the original question, I tend to fingerpick over the sound hole and strum closer to the neck joint.

guitharsis said:

Over the soundhole.
Of course fingerpicking the uke is like classical guitar! Use thumb, index, middle and ring fingers to pick; LH thumb behind the neck. Didn't realize that others were using different methods. Interesting. Agree not everyone should adopt the CG technique, but it probably is the most efficient.

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I missed something, I am trying to imitate John King (very slowly) but what is CG?

Nickie said:

I missed something, I am trying to imitate John King (very slowly) but what is CG?

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Classical guitar. John King was formally trained in CG and applied its techniques to uke.

I pick over the sound hole, no anchor. i also strum over the sound hole, it's the sound i prefer. Do what makes yourself happy, and what sounds good to you.

I totally agree with hammer40 and someone earlier who says it depends on the tune. I've been playing for only two months now, which means I have to TRY every way I can think of to play a chord progression or melody I am learning. Bass player Les Claypool of Primus is one of my biggest inspirations for expression determining technique. Here's an example of exploring my decision to use the right index finger to pick melody notes and strum selected accompanying notes at the same time. I tried selective strumming far up the neck at first because I could watch both hands, but after playing all up and down the string length, I decided to practice the original way because of the quality of the sustain I could get. On other tunes, I want to sound more like a banjo than a harp, so I play over the sound hole.

I thought one was SUPPOSED (I don't know how to underline.) to anchor with the pinkie. ld:

...Well? ld:

I anchor with the pinky ...and I don't give a stuff about it .......on the Concert I plant on the soundboard...on the soprano I hook under the body....(not much room)
on the banjo-lelel I plant on the vellum a la banjo and do two and three finger rolls.....or strum the be-jesus out of it .......and I don't play a tenor or a baritone ...I already have enough guitars.

Down Up Dick said:

I thought one was SUPPOSED (I don't know how to underline.) to anchor with the pinkie. ld:

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Depends on who you believe

I'm actually trying really hard to break the habit because I find that it restricts movement too much. I think the pinky-anchoring comes from having to hold on to the uke, but if you use a strap (and I do), there is really no need for it at all.

But, man. Talk about a hard habit to break!

janeray1940 said:

Depends on who you believe

I'm actually trying really hard to break the habit because I find that it restricts movement too much. I think the pinky-anchoring comes from having to hold on to the uke, but if you use a strap (and I do), there is really no need for it at all.

But, man. Talk about a hard habit to break!

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How does it ????...how does it restrict movement ...you have one planted redundant digit ....leaving four ideally placed digits thumb, fore,middle and third ....for four strings .......... agghhhhhhhh ...if it has worked for you before it will still work for you....

If you can float your hand over the strings and pick then how are you securing the instrument ?....(to be honest if you can keeps as much arm off the instrument the better as it resonates much better)...I personally don't like straps but that is my choice and I have been playing a looooong time...but it intrigues me the "new way" .......Good luck if you want to change ...but don't do it if it is just cos some guy/gal said so........Musical instruments are an extension of you as an individual ...play it the way that you want to ........but have fun.

I pick over the sound hole. When I tried a Big Island uke where the fretboard typically wraps partially around the hole, I got hung up a bit.

I've had an earlier posted video up on Youtube for a year now and close to a thousand views/clicks. A couple people asked for additional help with learning it. Well, the least I could do is process the video for reverse image and slowed tempo, and that is the most I could do because this ukulele's neck has warped to the point of unplayability.

This has been a really good thread. Whether right or wrong, I have discovered that I've developed a lazy method of fingerpicking based on comfort. By lazy, I mean that I tend to strum and fingerpick in about the same place and that is it. For a concert it is where the neck joins the body. For tenor it is usually just above the top of the sound hole or the first couple of frets. I don't anchor my pinkie, but that is just a fall out from how I played guitar and I generally use my thumb on the G string.

But I decided to go and look online at different techniques. There are a lot of different ways to fingerpick. Real masters of the instrument (ukulele and guitar) use multiple techniques for different types of music. In all honesty I think the best technique answer is all of them. However, I don't see myself investing the time on various techniques over investing time in the joy of playing. So in my opinion, using one fingerpicking technique over the other is not that important... anchoring a pinkie or not or a thumb or not is not relevant as long as the person is able to replicate the correct attack on the strings.

What I have overlooked all this time is where a person should fingerpick. To me, it seems to be more important to be able to alter the sound based on the location of where a person fingerpicks. I am able to move up the neck some towards the headstock, but for some reason I have found it tougher to move my hand back towards the bridge. It is a pretty simple exercise to pluck a sting at different points and hear the tonal differences and I hope I will be able to spend the time to incorporate those differences.

Sorry for the rambling, I'm sure this is pretty elementary to advanced players.

John

I tend to anchor my pinky next to the soundhole on 'ukes and guitars, so I fingerpick over that. I tend NOT to anchor when strumming so I may pick down the neck a bit.

Hey, I'm lucky just to pick the string I want! "Where," is an absent issue. I pick and strum all over the place. It depends mostly on which size Uke I'm holding, and how slouched down in the chair I am. The other day when I wasn't watching what I was doing, I accidentally picked the pinky on my left hand!

A little bit forward from the hole up the neck. It's where I strum normally, and I've been trying to use the best ergonomic position as I already have a duff neck, so need my arm in the most comfy position. I've only been playing 2 months, so I'm not an expert.