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Posts: 1708
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
Right thumb during picado
What do you think about the way Paco bent and rested his thumb on the golpeador when doing picado on the bass strings? See video from about 0.10 and 3.10 Is there a lot of benefit to keeping the thumb anchored like this? Did Paco have unusually long thumbs? Did he just feel like bending it?
What do you think about the way Paco bent and rested his thumb on the golpeador when doing picado on the bass strings? See video from about 0.10 and 3.10 Is there a lot of benefit to keeping the thumb anchored like this? Did Paco have unusually long thumbs? Did he just feel like bending it?
Honestly, it has no functional benefit to BEND the thumb that way, I am quite certain it is just a habit he developed as a youngster, same deal with his deliberately extended pinky (possible he did this to prevent it from curling into his palm, as other players curl the pinky upward away from palm and strings). Notice he must unbend the thumb in order to play a bass note as needed, and when anchoring on a string his posture is normal. The rest of us simply rest the thumb on the golpeador with normal thumb position as if it were just another string, so when we have to play a bass note after it was on the golpeador, the thumb simply drops down.
Posts: 1708
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: Right thumb during picado (in reply to Ricardo)
Thanks, Ricardo. I figured that about bending the thumb. But I really wondered about resting the thumb on the golpeador. Apparently you feel it has value. I never developed the habit; I just keep my thumb in the air--like we do when playing arpeggios or picado with bass notes. But I have been considering adopting it. Pepe Romero recently told me that classical guitarists do that--with no golpeador. I was surprised. I didn't think there was any excuse for dragging a finger on a French-polished surface.
Thanks, Ricardo. I figured that about bending the thumb. But I really wondered about resting the thumb on the golpeador. Apparently you feel it has value. I never developed the habit; I just keep my thumb in the air--like we do when playing arpeggios or picado with bass notes. But I have been considering adopting it. Pepe Romero recently told me that classical guitarists do that--with no golpeador. I was surprised. I didn't think there was any excuse for dragging a finger on a French-polished surface.
With two piece golpeador we always see wear above the 6th just from anchoring the thumb for rasgueado. As for picado, I have always 3 points of contact with the guitar, the apoyando stroke, the thumb on a string (if bass notes are played I will either play apoyando or rest the thumb on a string anyway after a tirando) or golpeador, the forearm/wrist or whatever is touching. If thumb up in the air and only the apoyando is touching the guitar, it feels weird to me. There are some players that lay the thumb flat on the on used strings (Niño de Pura?) but usually some form of contact point. Antonio Rey pushes HARD against the 6th when going fast, you can see it bending all the way down to the 5th string sometimes, which is obviously not necessary.
Looks like on my dad’s lightly finished Hauser, with no golpeador obviously, in the same spots I do lightly press my thumb on the top….oooops. But I don’t see any scratches from it (I hold it up close to camera at the end). I guess they would develop over time if I played this guitar like this everyday. I actually don’t seem to be touching (this would have been instinct not deliberate) on the first run you pointed out in the paco vid:
The bent thumb anchor on the face of the guitar above the bass strings is a sensible way to stabilize the right hand and allows it to keep a consistent shape during string crossings on the bass strings. It provides a bit more stability than extending the thumb out straight - since it allows a longer section of the thumb to remain in contact with the guitar. Another point I would make is that this anchoring doesn't impede the movement of the fingers - unlike anchoring the thumb on the bass string when playing the treble strings. I often see videos of players with bad picado pushing down with the thumb on the bass string while trying to play picado on the treble strings. You should only anchor the thumb on the bass once your fingers are able to play decent picado. The reason is that the the thumb will oppose the motion of the fingers, preventing the development of free and fluid finger movement. Once you have the muscles developed then you can go ahead and anchor the thumb on the bass. It's much better (as a learner) to lightly rest the side of the thumb on the strings - avoiding any opposing push.
RE: Right thumb during picado (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Ricardo
quote:
I often see videos of players with bad picado pushing down with the thumb on the bass string while trying to play picado on the treble strings.
Agreed. Like that poor slouch of a player Antonio Rey for example.
No, because as I mentioned clearly in my post, once you have good picado you can anchor the thumb. The point I made was that anchoring can prevent the learning of picado. Seems common sense to me.
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