Anyone Else Uses Flamenco Style Index and/or Middle Finger Flicking Technique?

[Baloney Balderdash]

As the title says, does anyone else make regular use, that is as an integrated part of your regular playing, of the flamenco inspired index and/or middle finger flicking picking technique?

 

I personally started systematically practicing it somewhere around last year, personally using either index or middle finger interchangeably, then kind of forgot to keep up at it, but then recently I went to mainly using my fingers rather than a pick for plucking the strings of my bass, so I took up starting using this technique again, and for some strange reason I have gotten better at it in the meantime without really practicing it.

 

I still don't exactly master this technique, pretty far from in fact, but I do feel like I am actually fairly decent at it already.

 

Doing it with precision, so that you only hit one string and doesn't bump into the one above or bellow the one you intend to pick, and only hitting the string with the outmost edge of you finger tip/nail on both up and down strokes, without frequently missing it entirely, as well as the fact that you actually need to relax in your hands, and with guarantee will fail if your hands/fingers are too tense, does make it rather tricky when you first start out deciding to learn this technique, but I actually can do this pretty consistently now, my main issue currently really just being a matter of hitting a speed limit before I mess up, not being able to do it consistently at the kind of speed I ideally would want to, and then not having quite as much control over my index finger as my middle finger yet, but I totally feel like I am actually slowly getting there, and that I actually got it pretty decently down, to a point where it is actually practically applicable for me, at least at relatively moderate speed. 

 

But when one does master this technique it makes it possible to obtain quite high speeds of picking/strumming strings, as well as it is perfect or strumming several strings at a time (kind of a variation of this technique, sort of raking index+middle+ring finger successively flicking across the strings), otherwise only really possible by using a pick, but in fact even actually more effortlessly so, and while also still really having it's totally own thing going that allows for some types of expression unique to this specific way of playing.

 

Mind I don't use it as the only picking technique but combine it with regular 2 finger plucking (regular 3 finger plucking, that is index+middle+ring I only really exclusively use for Steve Harris style galloping stuff), classical guitar style finger picking, double thumbing, as well as faux, thumb + index finger pressed together, pick style (the two former techniques, regular 2 finger plucking and classical guitar style finger picking, being what I predominantly utilizes, and the remaining 3, double thumb, faux finger pick, and flamenco finger flicking, being utilized to a somewhat lesser degree, which one of those depending, mainly in situations where you would otherwise probably had preferred using a pick over the traditional 2 finger plucking technique). 

 

Using your fingers this way, combining several different finger picking techniques to play the bass, rather than just a pick, really opens up for a lot more variety of expression.

 

I couldn't find the video I wanted to link to, by someone who really masters this technique, playing a crazily fast picked solo, using his index and middle finger interchangeably with a lot of string crossing involved, and in general I had a hard time finding really good examples of this technique demonstrated, however I did find this quite decent demonstration of the technique, this guy using index and middle finger in tandem, starts at about the 1:38 mark of the video:

 

This cover gives a bit better idea of how it can sound and how high picking speeds it allows for (and yes it does sound great without distorted bass too, I just couldn't find any great examples of it on YouTube):

 

I know Geddy Lee adopted this technique, allegedly from Les Claypool, and started making wide use of.  

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Waddo Soqable]

I will sometimes use the fingers in a flicking type action, & for some things use the thumb 'tug bar' style but add upward strokes in a kind of strumming fashion.. if any of that makes sense 

[Baloney Balderdash]

33 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I will sometimes use the fingers in a flicking type action, & for some things use the thumb 'tug bar' style but add upward strokes in a kind of strumming fashion.. if any of that makes sense 

The thumb "strumming" thing is called "double thumb".

 

Victor Wooten uses that technique a lot (comes more naturally and also sound wise goes well with slapping).

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Woodinblack]

Yes, I do that, I didn't realise it had a name or anything. Or at least that in technique, not the metal stuff.