Ace M. asked:
I’m going to college for music (technology) but I have to audition. I’m interested into classical so I’m leaning towards the jazz audition. I play guitar with a flat pic. Is this ok, or is it best to play jazz guitar fingerstyle?
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{ 5 comments }
An ice pick, a hammer or a saw
Either is okay as long as you develop the style to a level where you can play proficiently, although I would say that it is better to use your thumb and fingers, just as many jazz greats have done over the years (:
Both can be equally effective in jazz, but of course it’s best to be fairly proficient in both styles. Most use a pick, but many people use just their fingers and sound incredible. If you use a pick, you will be jealous of what fingerstyle players can do; if you play fingerstyle, you will be jealous of what pick users can do.
My advice though is to use a pick if you plan on playing other styles than jazz. Fingerstyle players are less versatile overall stylistically.
Go with your strength. Learn to use finger picking techniques in your time after you get into college.
A very popular jazz style incorporates both pick and fingers.
I started in jazz using just my fingers and thumb, as many great guitarists did, but then I heard Django Reinhardt, whose playing requires the use of a very thick pick, in conjunction with a completely different technique, so that is what I do when playing most anything now; fingerstyle arrangements are the obvious exception.