Right Hand Techniques for Guitar.

What’s new at Zystrix? Read on… March 16, 2026 Right Hand Techniques for Guitar In the last episode we went over part two of Tips and Tricks for Recording Massive Metal Guitar (click here for a refresher). This time we’re going to go over Right Hand Techniques for Guitar. This is not a typical guitar topic, but there are a lot of ways to use your right hand (or your left if you play left handed), and we’re going to cover a few: no picks, one pick, some picks, tapping, and others. So sit back and relax. Welcome to Zystrix, the heartbeat of the universe. Where creativity and free-thinking have more value than conformity. Background Artwork The colorful artwork that surrounds the edges of this website is invisible to many cell phone users. It’s included here (with others) for your enjoyment. Multiple copies are tiled together for a cohesive and seamless background seen all around this page. Enjoy. Introduction: Right Hand Techniques for Guitar It’s amazing how many ways there are to play guitar with the right hand. Some people never use a pick. Classical and Flamenco guitarists don’t use a pick. Two-handed tapping is like that as is the more popular one-handed tapping, although some people tap with a pick. Many guitarists use only a flat-pick. Some guitarists use only a thumb-pick, although many use a thumb-pick and fingernails, or with finger-picks. Some use a coin like the USA quarter dollar, or a pick made of copper, stainless steel, wood, or even stone (see issue #81 Guitar Picks for the Metal Guitarist). Some use a flat-pick with finger-picks or fingernails. I even jammed with a bass player who didn’t have a right hand from an industrial accident. His playing consisted of heavy fretting and a loud amp. It was cool to watch and it worked quite well. So there you have it. This list is not all inclusive, I just did my best to include the outstanding examples. It doesn’t matter if you are left or right handed, we’re going to explore the possibilities of the traditional picking hand. No Picks -- Two Handed Tapping Stanley Jordan is a jazz and fusion style guitarist with a technique that resembles a piano approach. Listen to his album from 1985 called Magic Touch for an inspiring jaw dropping performance. Another guitarist, Jeff Watson, is a rockin’ two handed monster with breath-taking speed and precision. Check out his solo on the tune called Don’t Tell Me You Love Me by Night Ranger. To easily find it fast forward to about 2:25 minutes into the song. Also check out his album called Touch Sensitive. Another maniac for two-handed tapping is fusion guitarist TJ Helmerich. Watch his videos or check out his album called Uncle Moe’s Space Ranch. No Picks -- One Handed Tapping There are more guitarists than I can count who use this technique. Many guitarists either palm or hold their pick in their mouth to do it. Steve Hackett, guitarist of Genesis, can be heard using it on the 1971 tune The Musical Box. For those who are impatient fast forward to about 4:20 for an example. Later Van Halen made it popular using it on their first album in the tune Eruption. Tapping is a cool technique that should be learned slowly and gradually increasing the tempo of your metronome to keep the notes even. No Picks -- Finger Pads or Nails There are many guitarists who use this right hand technique covering a number of different musical styles. Here are a few… Blues Check out Mississippi John Hurt for an excellent rendition of old country blues tinged with folk flavor. Listen to his tune Ain’t No Tellin’ or his live album The Best of Mississippi John Hurt recorded at Oberlin College in 1965. I especially like his version of Make Me a Pallet on the Floor on that album. Classical There are too many names to mention for great old and contemporary classical guitarists including Anna Vidovich, Leona Boyd, Julian Bream, Francisco Tarrega, John Williams, and Fernando Sor. But probably the most recent influential guitarist is Andres Segovia. Check out his album called Guitar Solos for probably his best work. Another album, The Art of Segovia, stands out as another masterpiece. He also published a method book I especially like called Twenty Studies for Guitar that comes with a CD so a person can hear how close their efforts are to the finished work. Good luck. Flamenco There are many superb guitarists who play this right hand style including Vicente Amigo, Paco de Lucia, Pepe Romero, and Ramon Montoya. However, one of my favorites is Carlos Montoya. Check out his album El Flamenco for a guitar lesson that will keep a person in the woodshed for a while. Coin Pick Brian May, guitarist of Queen, is known for using an old sixpence coin. The American quarter dollar is also a good choice. Coins provide a unique bright metallic sound, and they are usually available when the music store is not. Price also makes them popular because picks have become expensive but inflation makes coins cheaper. Coins also make for some interesting techniques including solos with drones, curious hammers and snaps, impossibly fast tapping, extreme note bends/glisses, and animal noises. Flat-Pick I’ve heard it said that if a person threw a dead cat they’d hit a guitarist who used a flat-pick. I don’t think that’s very true, but there are certainly a lot of great guitarists who use a flat-pick: Dimebag Darrell (Pantera), Chris Impellitteri, Tony Rice, Tony Macalpine, Doc Watson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Clarence White, Marty Friedman, Zakk Wylde, Paul Gilbert, David Grier, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Dan Crary, Michael Angelo Batio, and many, many others. Each of these flat-pickers have their own brand of being very impressive. Flat-Pick and Fingers or Finger Picks This is the realm of what many call hybrid picking. What is hybrid picking? It’s a combination of pick and fingers to acheive a combination of flat-pick and fingerstyle playing. Many players use the finger tip callous or fingernail. Some players have nails that are too thin and use a glued or pressed on nail. These can be found inexpensively at a discount or dollar type stores. Some use a finger-pick that is worn around the fingertip like a banjo player. These methods are used by country, bluegrass, rock, and lately more metal guitarists. Check out players like Kiko Loureiro (Megadeth), Guthrie Govan, Johnny Hiland, Greg Koch, Brent Hinds (Mastodon), Steve Morse. Ian Thornley, and Pasquale Grasso for some impressive hybrid right hand technique. Thumb-Pick and Fingers or Finger Picks This finger combination is another very popular one, although I couldn’t find many rockers who use it. This is another one where some players who have thin nails use a glued or pressed on nail. Some outstanding guitarists who use this combination are Chet Atkins, Buster Jones, Jerry Reed, Mark Knopfler, Johnny Winter, Tommy Emmanuel, James Burton, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jared James Nichols, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straights), and Phil Keaggy. The thumb pick and banjo pick combination is used a lot by banjo players like Earl Scruggs, Steve Martin, Roy Clark, “Stringbean”, JD Crowe, and Alison Brown. Lap steel and lap guitar players are often users of the banjo pick combination technique. Conclusion Right Hand Techniques for Guitar Well, I guess that wraps it up for right hand (picking hand) techniques. I couldn’t cover all guitarists for all situations and techniques, but I tried to cover the highlights. If you’d like to hear some other fabulous players that didn’t make it to this list check out these guitarists: Joe Pass, Don Ross, Sungha Jung, Leo Kottke, Keb’ Mo’, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Blake, Leona Boyd, John Knowles, Steve Wariner, Paul Yandell, Jimi Hendrix, Gary Clark Jr., Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, Billy Gibbons, Duane Allman, Steve Howe, Steve Lukather, Andy Summers, Robert Fripp, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Dick Wagner, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Johnson, Tony Iommi, Paul Gilbert, John Butler, John Mayer, James Taylor, Pat Metheny, Andy McKee, Blind Willie McTell, and many others. Using picks, or not, plays a significant role in style and sound. And no matter what way you choose to play there are going to be compromises. There’s always a give and take. I hope this issue has given you food for thought, and maybe turned you on to some guitarists you’ve never heard, and given you reason to experiment with sounds you find inspirational. Don’t touch that dial… Stay tuned next time… The next issue is an anniversary celebration of our 100th publication. We’ll stroll down memory lane, and also talk about how Zystrix came to be. We’ll consider the special new free download of Djammincabs 6X12 guitar cabinet IRs for guitarists who prefer the sound of a 2x12 cab on top of a 4x12 cab. And we’ll listen to another solo piano tune from Dangerous Neighbors called Devil’s Hour. Maybe I’ll see you then. Some people say evolution is impossible, but I am living proof manure can sprout legs and walk.

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