Thumb and Index Finger Picking

Over time I've become comfortable and happy picking with my thumb and index finger only, Doc Watson style. But, I started taking online lessons, and my instructor keeps insisting that I use all my fingers. I keep telling him that I'm really not interested in that, but he keeps pushing it. I know that he'd be right if I was a 14 year old just developing playing habits. Technically he's right, in every way. But, I'm an old man, and I don't have any ambition or vision of becoming an accomplished master of the Ukulele. I just want to have fun with it, and learn a few different tricks and licks. I watched a youtube video some years back by a native Hawaiian Ukulele teacher who taught classes in one of the music stores over there. He played with thumb and index finger only, and was pretty adamant about that being all that was necessary for good Ukulele playing. Sound familiar? If so, please give me a name or link, because I can't find it now, and I'd like to show it to my instructor.

Do you mean Kimo Hussey? He is an expert at 2-finger playing, but his style is somewhat unique. He uses one finger for melody and one finger for harmony which sounds great when played well, but that is not an easy technique to master.

Yes, I brought Kimo's playing to my instructor's attention. And, he couldn't quite get it either. We worked on my learning "Hallelujah" Kimo style. My instructor finally said Kimo was "hiding" what he was really doing under his hand, and more or less dismissed his style of playing. But, I really like it! And, I tried to get my instructor interested in helping me learn to play "Deep River Blues" Doc Watson style, and he produced a handwritten TAB that incorporated all the fingers. Then, he said it really couldn't be played on Ukulele the way Doc does it because of the "missing" strings. I don't believe that. I wasn't shooting for a 'note for note' imitation of Doc's version. I just wanted to learn to travis pick the tune using thumb and index finger the way Doc does it. Very frustrating!

I think it was some other player that was advocating the thumb and index finger technique. But, Kimo is advocating it in exactly the same way! So, maybe my memory is faulty. Maybe it was Kimo after all. I just remember the video as featuring a larger, more Samoan looking islander than Kimo. I also remember inferring that he was a class instructor by what he said. In Kimo's video, you actually hear the class in the background.

Kimo Hussey's playing technique and style is very unique. He's a very nice man and play the ukulele mostly "his" way. If he "hides" the way he play the ukulele, he would still be a great ukulele player. That thumb and index technique belongs to Kimo. No one plays it beside him. That's his way of playing the ukulele just like the ukulele master Ohta - San using only thumb with long nail. Kimo's way of playing the ukulele is to play the bass string (Kimo used Low G) with the thumb and pick the melody with his index. He combined the two together and create his own style of playing the melody and harmony SIMULTANEOUSLY.

I used all my fingers to fingerpick. But sometimes, I like to pick with only the thumb or strum depends on styles of music for example: jazz... I also use thumb and index together but if I use thumb and index together, I often wear a thumb pick to add more volume to the bass string. (I have long nails on my index middle, and 4th finger because it's easier to pick and the flamenco technique is easier that way. I don't have long nail on thumb because I use thumb on jazz music.)

Benjamin

I compromise. I use three fingers instead of four. I use my thumb for the G and C strings, the index finger for the E string, and the middle finger for the A string. That's all I have ever needed for picking patterns and pinching strings. When I play scales I usually plant my thumb on the soundboard and use my index finger, sometimes I add the middle finger if I need double-stops or if I want to play something fast.

I will add that only using the index finger like Kimo seems rather difficult and somewhat acrobatic. It seems like a lot of movement which is unnecessary. Doing something like an Elizabeth Cotten picking pattern would seem to require a lot of movement with just one finger. It seems more ergonomic to use a few fingers to minimize excessive hand movement

If we are talking PIMA (thumb, index, middle, ring) , you are talking about playing PI.
I play PMA mostly, for ONE song, I play PIMA. Its probably only a handful of people in the World that play with their little finger (which doesn't even have a letter assigned to it. EDIT: I just don't know what the letter is. Apparently its C).

Learning with a teacher is learning with a teacher. Try playing with more fingers even if its just PIM. See where it takes you.

Led Kaapana is another Hawaiian player who uses thumb & index picking uke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tphHReecQgU

Not sure if it helps the argument, but picking with only the thumb and index finger is a banjo technique called 'two finger thumb lead'. It is a fun style to play.

In fairness, I also agree with your teacher that there is nothing wrong with trying to add more fingers. Might end up liking it, otherwise can always go back to your current technique.

anthonyg said:

If we are talking PIMA (thumb, index, middle, ring) , you are talking about playing PI.
I play PMA mostly, for ONE song, I play PIMA. Its probably only a handful of people in the World that play with their little finger (which doesn't even have a letter assigned to it).

Learning with a teacher is learning with a teacher. Try playing with more fingers even if its just PIM. See where it takes you.

Click to expand...

Not to seem like a know-it-all douche, but the pinky does have a letter, "c" which is short for 'chico.'

VegasGeorge said:

Over time I've become comfortable and happy picking with my thumb and index finger only, Doc Watson style. But, I started taking online lessons, and my instructor keeps insisting that I use all my fingers. I keep telling him that I'm really not interested in that, but he keeps pushing it. I know that he'd be right if I was a 14 year old just developing playing habits. Technically he's right, in every way. But, I'm an old man, and I don't have any ambition or vision of becoming an accomplished master of the Ukulele. I just want to have fun with it, and learn a few different tricks and licks.

Click to expand...

VegasGeorge said:

Yes, I brought Kimo's playing to my instructor's attention. And, he couldn't quite get it either. We worked on my learning "Hallelujah" Kimo style. My instructor finally said Kimo was "hiding" what he was really doing under his hand, and more or less dismissed his style of playing. But, I really like it! And, I tried to get my instructor interested in helping me learn to play "Deep River Blues" Doc Watson style, and he produced a handwritten TAB that incorporated all the fingers. Then, he said it really couldn't be played on Ukulele the way Doc does it because of the "missing" strings. I don't believe that. I wasn't shooting for a 'note for note' imitation of Doc's version. I just wanted to learn to travis pick the tune using thumb and index finger the way Doc does it. Very frustrating!

Click to expand...

I'm not an authority, but having had some lessons in other chordophones, the ukulele is a really informal instrument. There are what teachers call "best practices" and techniques to play the ukulele better, but I think it's all a lot less rigid than, say, guitar instruction (which, by your description, your teacher almost sounds like a guitar instructor who teaches ukulele).

As a kid, I briefly had a classical guitar teacher who couldn't really teach me what I wanted to learn, partly because it was outside his narrow expertise. Later I had a mandolin instructor who kept telling me instruments and performers I liked weren't real mandolins and mandolin players. I didn't have these teachers for very long, and I didn't learn very much from them. I'm sure they're very proficient in their areas of expertise, but it wasn't really helpful to me.

These days there's so much material out there, it's easier to learn without direct instruction, but if you have a teacher, you should probably get one that respects your goals. Granted, there are times when students want something unrealistic. But it doesn't sound like your instructor is helping you learn what you want. If you're doing distance learning, and especially if your instructor is primarily a guitar teacher, you might want to see if you can find another whose expertise is the ukulele. Even if his expertise is the ukulele, maybe he's just not the best fit for you?

TheUkuleleStyle said:

Kimo Hussey's playing technique and style is very unique. He's a very nice man and play the ukulele mostly "his" way. If he "hides" the way he play the ukulele, he would still be a great ukulele player. That thumb and index technique belongs to Kimo. No one plays it beside him. That's his way of playing the ukulele just like the ukulele master Ohta - San using only thumb with long nail. Kimo's way of playing the ukulele is to play the bass string (Kimo used Low G) with the thumb and pick the melody with his index. He combined the two together and create his own style of playing the melody and harmony SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Click to expand...

Is it really only Kimo Hussey? I feel like I've seen it elsewhere, though it's not how I play, and I don't know much about this playing style. I do recall once seeing a group where fingerpicking novices were encouraged to use just their thumb, index, and middle in the style @ripock described. After that, I assumed there was no single formal method to fingerpicking on the ukulele.

Only Kimo play the ukulele that way. It’s very unique. I also called it a thumb-down-index-pinch technique. It’s difficult because you have to focus on 2 things. Harmony and melody.

I don’t use that technique but I tried it before. It’s a little difficult.:shaka::shaka:

Benjamin
Stay safe!

There are more players than Kimo that play his way, but I’d be willing to bet almost all of them got their inspiration from Kimo in the first place.

Regarding instructors, they’re meant to facilitate your learning goals because if you aren’t stoked to learn, you’ll resist, waste both of your time, and not be happy with the end result. I recommend giving it a shot his way and seeing if you like it at all and, if you don’t, moving on to a different instructor. Instructors in all fields have an end goal to help get you to the point where you understand the material and the best instructors can adjust the delivery and method to get you to the end point. It sounds like this instructor is set in teaching things HIS way.

Snowdenn, you hit the nail on the head! ".... Your teacher almost sounds like a guitar instructor who teaches ukulele." That's him. Thing is, I came to him via a recommendation off a major Ukulele manufacturers website. He has Ukes that the manufacturer has sent him gratis. And, I know there are very many excellent Ukulele players out there that do play just the way he teaches. I'm thinking it's a question of his inflexibility and reluctance to bend to the Ukulele's simpler demands. I fear that he just doesn't know any other way to teach.

I pick just thumb and index finger. When I started, I tried following a some YouTube tutorials who all advocated thumb index & middle, thumb on 4th & 3rd strings, fingers on 2nd & 1st. I never quite managed to coordinate my fingers and almost by accident I could get a nice rhythmic pattern with just thumb and index. I find that keeping thumb mostly on 3rd & 4th strings, I can get quite a good bass pattern, especially on a baritone. Works for me. If the OP finds thumb amd index works for him, then why not stick with it? It's all about making the music you want.

I believe Merle Travis used only his thumb and index...It's kinda ironic that what has become known as Travis picking is typically taught using primarily PIM and periodically PIMA. In banjo, in addition to the common 3 finger Scruggs style and clawhammer styles (what I play) there are historically many finger styles...2 finger thumb lead, 2 finger index lead, older 3 finger styles, 4 finger that is sometime called "classic" or guitar style banjo. Among those there are countless variations (i.e. Doc Boggs style, Seegar style).

In folk traditions like Travis picking and the old banjo styles what ever works goes. If at some point using 2 finger becomes a hindrance for something you want to play than perhaps keep an open mind about using more fingers, but otherwise you do you.

Personally, I tend to naturally fall into using PIM on both guitar and uke but I spend a lot of time practicing guitar also incorporating A because I find it useful in some cases. But that's me and what works and is important to me is not necessarily what works for you.

Find a new instructor.


Scooter

When I started fingerpicking, I also my thumb & index finger. Seems like most self-taught players do that. Did that until some friends took classical guitar classes & taught us to use the PIMA technique. Was hard to adjust at first, but now I find that it's more versatile than using only thumb & index.

Well, CPG, I'm so glad you spoke up. I didn't realize that Merle himself was a thumb and index finger only picker. But, you're right, he was. For those interested, take a look, it couldn't be clearer: https://youtu.be/8VikAbi4hTs