Percussive slaps when finger picking

[petelanger]

What works for me is to keep the general shape of the finger picking hand but I curl the ends of fingers just a little more and when I slap I’m hitting with the flat part of my nails. I give it a quick hit, I try to get the strings to slap against the frets (not perfect with that but getting better) but now you have to slide your hand down just a tad and real quick to hook onto the strings make the next pluck.

[BarbaraM]

OK, I’m trying that, but it’s …ah…challenging to keep from sliding off the strings. I’ll work on it some more

[BarbaraM]

Wait, I think you are doing more of a punch instead of a slap…? The only way I can get the flat part of my curled fingers on the strings is to point my hand/fist more toward the strings. It’s not too bad that way, but harder to coordinate the index and thumb for the triplet.

[JTSchrock]

Hi Barbara, as Pete says, if you bend your fingers over and make them flat to the strings, also turn your hand about 45deg and your fingers won’t slip through the strings. Seems to work pretty well.

Cheers

[Moose408]

I hit the strings with my first knuckle, not my nails. I think of it like knocking on a door. Same hand shape and hit.

[BarbaraM]

Oh that’s where I get into trouble, often my knuckles are painful due to arthritis. Have to knock on doors with my left hand.

[jumpinjeff]

I leave my hand as relaxed as I can get it in about the same posistion as if I were plucking a sequence, i have the wrist even more loose than the hand, my thumb/the meaty part of the thumb is what makes the bulk of the snare drum sound of the strings on the frets. When I need to i can lean in on my thumb and push that snare sound or conversly lighten it up so that is becomes a mute sound where all the strings choke off without a percussive snare/slap sound. The thumb is contacting primarily the Bass strings and really it is mostly the E and A string that makes the snare sound, sometimes the D string as well. My curled finger tips and the meaty part of my thumb on the bass coming down all together are the full execution.

[BarbaraM]

So….You are doing similar to dead strumming but with a fingerpicking motion?

[jumpinjeff]

Yes, but less motion for sure.

[JimQuiz]

My observation… if I hit the strings individually with my thumb pad (thenar eminence), the low E, and maybe A make the percussive sound. The other strings offer little.

I would agree with JumpinJeff ‘The thumb is contacting primarily the Bass strings and really it is mostly the E and A string that makes the snare sound’.

I also got more sound moving towards the nut while fingerpicking over the sound hole.

[petelanger]

I’m uploading a video right now. I am having to sit in an awkward position in order to get a good camera angle so one can see what’s going on. As a result, the execution isn’t the best and I’m not quite getting the desired sound.

[petelanger]

@BarbaraM

I hope this video explains how I’m doing. I pluck with the thumb on the A and 3 fingers hooked under the D G B strings. I keep my hands in the same position and come back to hit the strings with my nails. I don’t have to move the hand much at all to hook into the strings again.

https://youtu.be/MnWxMFJoUxQ

[BarbaraM]

Yes the angle you have here shows more of what you are actually doing, than Tony’s video; you can’t see “inside” his hand. I can do this, I think, but only at half speed for the triplet as I have to get my index and thumb into position, and remember to put my little finger down to mute the strings. The more I practice though, the more uncoordinated I get; have to work on that.

Thanks, Pete for the video. And thanks to the rest of you who replied. It’s all helpful.

[petelanger]

I have a tripod setup in my office specifically for recording guitar videos, but I have it kind of locked in as it comes through the wiring hole in my desk. In order to shoot that shot I had to straddle the corner of the desk and lean into the camera while trying to hold the guitar at the optimum angle. It was good for video but not so much for me as the player. I need to figure out a mounting setup that is more flexible so that I can record any angle I want. This has actually inspired me, @BarbaraM

Thank -you!

[Mave]

Thank you!!! I’ve been watching Tony do this all week. It just didn’t click, or slap, if you will. LOL Can I piggy back how to do the next section. I can’t do bar chords yet so I’m totally lost trying the rest of it. I’m too new go get frustrated yet.

Thanks

[petelanger]

@Mave It’s OK to struggle! In fact, it’s good to struggle! (explanation below)

It’s completely normal to be overwhelmed by these types of challenges. Especially if you are looking at the entire TAB. Divide and conquer. The challenges are almost always easier in the beginning so can usually do a few measures at the front, maybe just one! Similarly there is a trend throughout each week from simpler to the more complex. When I started in TAC I found myself on many Thursdays and Fridays just repeating the Monday and Tuesday challenges, maybe dabble a bit on the late week stuff.

I’m here for the 5th time and it’s clicking now. First 2 times I was lost, 3rd time started getting some major parts, began to include barre chords. 4th time I was able to play all the parts but couldn’t string it all together. 5th time I can play through.

THE MOST LEARNING HAPPENS WHEN YOU STRUGGLE! I know it doesn’t make sense at first, but there has to be resistance if there is going to be growth. Just think about it: how much would you have learned if you could do this right away?

[JonnyGee]

Thanks for taking the time to post a vid – super helpful to see this from a different angle!

[petelanger]

You’re welcome @JonnyGee

Please don’t interpret my posting of the video as the authority on how this should be done. I said above (right below the OP’s question) that I knew of a way that works for me. I think there are a bunch of ways to do it and I’m just offering up my method.

Cheers! Keep on rocking!

[JonnyGee]

Yep I get that. I was banging around on my strings trying to get Tony’s cool click sound and the closest I got looked a lot like what you described in your earlier comments. This is my first time through this benchmark so your video was awesome confirmation that I wasn’t doing something too weird.

Cheers!

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by  JonnyGee.

[gmhendersonme-com]

This is essentially how I try to do it, although it’s not as clean as yours. I think the D-G-B-E strings work well since they are closer to the fret board than the E and A strings if you have a proper setup. I spent most of my day adjusting the action on my guitar to get this as close as possible without fret buzz. Even had to file down one of my frets !

[jorgemac]

There are so many ways to mute

1. palm

2. slight finger lift off string and just muting those strings.

3. fingernail slap and variations.

4. finger across strings and plucking those strings, I’m sure there are a lot more variations.

For this song I do curl the fingers and place the fretting hand pinky across the strings and slap the strings fairly lightly and then slide my muting down in a slight 3 finger strumming stroke. This is one continued motion. I also achieve different tones by where my bent finger nails strike the string, close to the bridge or over the sound hole produce different muted tones.

Another method is the middle finger up stroke instead of the finger nail approach.

Pinky over the strings and use an middle finger brush stroke for a different muted tone and then your fingers are in position to pick the last 2 notes of this mute. For me this is easier and I vary the 2 approach’s for different tones.

Each has different mute tones and also where on the strings you strike them also affects the sound – close to the bridge or closer to the fret board end. To me, all are valid ways to to mute.