Keener Music

The time to break the rules of how to play the guitar is anytime a rule keeps you from making good music.

For example, in the previous post I talked about how it is sometimes desirable to break “The Segovia Rule” of alternating between fingers when striking a string. Although the rule is intended to help you become a more disciplined and faster player, you may sometimes find it works against you. One case I mentioned in which it works against you is when you want a very consistent tone from one note to the next.

Another example is a rule my Dad taught me when I was first learning finger style guitar: in using the thumb, start the pattern with the 5th string, then on the next beat hit the 4th, then the 6th on the next beat, and complete the measure (4 beats) by returning to the 4th string. In short, use a 5-4-6-4 pattern. This rule is great for learning, because it forces you to establish some muscle memory for your thumb, so that you get to the point where you don’t have to think about every bass note you strike: it comes automatically.

This rule is also good in the sense that it keeps you from having one string “sound off” too often. Example, you are playing a tune using only the 6th and 4th strings for the bass … after a while, the 6th string just gets to sounding too repetitive and a listener’s mind will become distracted from the music by the “over repetitiveness” of the bass.

The problem with the rule is that it limits you musically. There are times when you will want to start the pattern with the 6th string instead of the 5th. There may be times when you want to play a 6-5-5-4-6 pattern. There may even be times when it’s best to use a 5-3-4-3-5 pattern.

What you ultimately want is for your thumb to do whatever you want it to … you want to be able to switch between patterns without having to stop and think about it. That means practicing different patterns.

Jerry Reed wouldn’t have been the fantastic player he was if he always stuck to the rules. He often hit an open string and followed it with a sharp or flat of the note on a different string, letting the discordant notes sound at the same time. It was part of his style. He sometimes used his pick on the third string to accent a note instead of using a finger (even in the midst of a 5-4-6-4 pattern) … sometimes he would even dip to the second string because it was the best way to pick a complex riff.

The rules are there for a reason. And you should always try to understand the reason(s), so you will know when and when not to break them. They will be most useful to you when you are learning finger style guitar, and you shouldn’t try to break them until you’ve gotten the point they were trying to teach you. As you mature in your playing, you can learn to set them aside, as needed, to get the sound you are looking for.