In bluegrass, from the little I've seen, it seems like pretty much all the major pickers play with larger body guitars (I'm not great with model types, but from what I have seen, things along the dreadnought lines) and seem to prop there arms up on the body of their instrument. I own/play a smaller body instrument (OM, etc.) which I can't really, so far as I can figure out, prop my arm upon in the same way. It seems like in bluegrass that propping is pretty essential to picking technique. What is there to do? How do I modify my technique to fit this? Should I up and burn the smaller body and swich to a bigger guitar?
I love (and marvel at) the speed and accuracy (not to mention the less technical, more musical/inventive things) you achieve on your instrument. Is all of that possible on a smaller body guitar in the bluegrass style? If so, how do you adjust the technique?
This entire line of questioning may be entirely off base, but any help is appreciated.
Good question. To me, the main reason that bluegrass players play drednaughts rather than smaller body guitars has to do with rhythm playing. If you're playing rhythm in a bluegrass band there's a certian ammount of headroom that's important to have. Smaller body guitars can be every bit as loud as drednaughts, particularly in single note playing, but they don't seem to stand up as well to the, at times, more agressive strumming. I think it has a lot to do with the combination of scale length and body size. OMs have a long scale, but I still wouldn't feel comfortable playing one in a proper bluegrass band for fear that it would peter out on the rhythm front.
As for flatpicking technique, I do rely somewhat on resting my arm on the lower bout on a drednaught, and I do feel temporarily adrift when I first pick up a small body guitar, but I think it's just a matter of what I'm used to. In other words, I don't think that propping the arm up is a essential part of the technique. For instance, mandolin players, who employ a pretty similar RH technique get by just fine without a body to prop against. If it helps you to anchor your right hand against the top in some way (being careful to not induce tension while doing so!) I would encourage to you explore that.
A good small bodied guitar is a beautiful, glorious thing. Flatpick on yours with pride!
Hey Chris--
In bluegrass, from the little I've seen, it seems like pretty much all the major pickers play with larger body guitars (I'm not great with model types, but from what I have seen, things along the dreadnought lines) and seem to prop there arms up on the body of their instrument. I own/play a smaller body instrument (OM, etc.) which I can't really, so far as I can figure out, prop my arm upon in the same way. It seems like in bluegrass that propping is pretty essential to picking technique. What is there to do? How do I modify my technique to fit this? Should I up and burn the smaller body and swich to a bigger guitar?
I love (and marvel at) the speed and accuracy (not to mention the less technical, more musical/inventive things) you achieve on your instrument. Is all of that possible on a smaller body guitar in the bluegrass style? If so, how do you adjust the technique?
This entire line of questioning may be entirely off base, but any help is appreciated.
Thanks for the great lessons,
Ben
Hey Ben,
Good question. To me, the main reason that bluegrass players play drednaughts rather than smaller body guitars has to do with rhythm playing. If you're playing rhythm in a bluegrass band there's a certian ammount of headroom that's important to have. Smaller body guitars can be every bit as loud as drednaughts, particularly in single note playing, but they don't seem to stand up as well to the, at times, more agressive strumming. I think it has a lot to do with the combination of scale length and body size. OMs have a long scale, but I still wouldn't feel comfortable playing one in a proper bluegrass band for fear that it would peter out on the rhythm front.
As for flatpicking technique, I do rely somewhat on resting my arm on the lower bout on a drednaught, and I do feel temporarily adrift when I first pick up a small body guitar, but I think it's just a matter of what I'm used to. In other words, I don't think that propping the arm up is a essential part of the technique. For instance, mandolin players, who employ a pretty similar RH technique get by just fine without a body to prop against. If it helps you to anchor your right hand against the top in some way (being careful to not induce tension while doing so!) I would encourage to you explore that.
A good small bodied guitar is a beautiful, glorious thing. Flatpick on yours with pride!
Cheers!
Chris