Flatpicking Using Rest Stroke

poboxnyc

Am interested in doing some basic bluegrass flatpicking. Anybody do bluegrass flatpicking using the rest stroke technique? Can you be as effective as crosspicking using only the reststroke?


thanks

MichaelHorowitz

I think it works great for fiddle tunes....but you will probably have to use different left hand fingerings to make it happen.

Some of the banjo like cross picking things won't totally work with rest stroke picking....but there are banjo like effects that work just fine!

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poboxnyc

Michael,


Thanks. I'll make the rest stroke work for bluegrass-- as I am a beginner in gypsy picking, staying with one technique make sense. I realize there are no "rules" as long as you can make it work. Who would think a guy with two usable fingers on his left hand could ever play like he had 20 fingers.

S

StephanieCarta

I use some rest stroke in flatpicking, especially in intros and endings. They add a lot of punch to G runs. Clarence White used rest strokes frequently. He was listening to Django. Listen to Clarence and you'll hear it.

One of the best albums is Appalachian Swing by the Kentucky Colonels. His break on I Am A Pilgrim is full of rest strokes.

poboxnyc

Thanks. Will order Appalachian Swing from Amazon this week.