Right Hand Technique for Jazz Guitar

One thing that most guitarists learn after acquiring some technique and experience is that the right hand technique for the guitar is considerably more difficult to master than the left hand technique (assuming a right handed player of course! - just reverse 'right' and 'left' if you're a lefty). There are of course exceptions to this, but by and large it holds true.

In the jazz field, there are a variety of different approaches taken to the right hand. Some of the reasons for this are stylistic - for example, many jazz guitarists like heavyish flatwound strings and thick plectrums, because this combination gives a fat woody sound which is popular in many types of jazz. A great example of an outstanding exponent of this approach would be Pat Martino. At the other end of the spectrum, some players use a fingerstyle approach for a more chordally based style sometimes incorporating more than one simultaneous strand of movement. Typically such players will use relatively light roundwound strings and in some cases, a thumbpick. Outstanding players who use this approach would include such great players as Lenny Breau and Ted Greene.

The truth of the matter is that there are as many different right hand techniques found in jazz as there are guitarists - a random study of the picking techniques of a dozen guitarists will reveal a dozen differing variations of technique. There are however a number of general approaches, and it is these that I intend to examine in this article rather than getting too much into specific detail.

Firstly let's consider plectrum techniques. A lot of the 'feel' of the player's interaction with the plectrum and strings depends on the size and shape and thickness of the pick and on the gauge and type (round wound or flatwound) of the strings.. Even in the most basic aspects there are variations - such as how to hold the pick, how to position the hand, should the hand touch the guitar or 'float' freely above the strings, what angle should the strings be struck - so many variables! And so many outstanding players using radically differing approaches in their solutions to these variables! Another factor of importance is that of left hand fingering - a player who plays many scale passages or chromatics will change from string to string probably less often than a player whose style is based more on arpeggios or wide intervallic movement. Since accurate and rapid changing from string to string is a vital part of technique (and some would say the most difficult to achieve), it is no surprise to find that several different techniques have been developed to deal with this. For the purposes of this article, I'm going to break plectrum technique down into three basic approaches as follows -

1. Alternating down and up picking

2. Sweep picking

3. Combination of pick and fingers, sometimes referred to as 'hybrid picking'

In the first category we find the area in which most jazz guitarists would probably put themselves. Alternation of down and up strokes is probably the most common approach taken - in styles of jazz where most improvisation is done at the eighth-note (quaver) level, this approach is usually defined by playing with a down stroke when a note falls on a beat and using an up stroke when a note falls between two beats. When a passage consists entirely of eighth-notes then the picking is strictly down and up alternately. This leads to the changes from string to string falling sometimes on a down stroke and sometimes on an up stroke, so players have to be equally comfortable while crossing strings with either stroke. When high levels of speed are required, some players will choose specific left hand fingerings in order to allow themselves to cross to a new string with either a down or an up stroke, depending on which they find easier. Slurring notes with hammer-ons or pull-offs can also help in dealing with string crossing difficulties. There are merits to this style of picking - playing down strokes on the beat makes notes on the beat slightly more prominent than notes between the beats; many players enjoy the sound given by this, which can be very rhythmically precise. It also feels natural to most guitarists - what feels good usually is good!

Players worth studying who used this approach would have to include such great guitarists as Pat Martino, George Benson and Hank Garland. It's also worth noting that although these three players all use/used the alternate picking method, they all hold/held their plectrums differently, and had different hand positions. Benson in particular uses a different angle of attack on the strings and uses his wrist in a totally different way from most other players except for those who are directly influenced by him. Martino's right hand makes fairly large movements but is extremely accurate nonetheless. In the case of Garland (one of my personal favourite players) economy of motion seems to have been a priority. I've only seen two videos of him playing - his right hand seemed to move in very small, short movements, and the whole impression was of extreme neatness and precision.

Sweep picking is used to some extent in jazz, and to a much greater extent in rock music, particularly by exponents of 'shredding' - extremely fast playing designed to impress by its technique. I see nothing wrong with this as an idea but I'm not going to say much about it here since it's not my field (although I will admit to a weakness for the playing of the shred-king known as 'Buckethead' - great entertainment!!)

In jazz, sweep picking is normally found in two areas of playing. These are arpeggio playing and - once again - the technique of crossing between the strings. The concept of playing up or down an arpeggio using the same stroke to play successive strings is a familiar one to most jazz guitarists, and indeed is sometimes used by players whose main technique is alternate picking, particularly when eighth-note triplets are involved. Using the technique to cross between two adjacent strings by striking both strings successively with the same stroke during passagework is less common, but is used by some guitarists as a routine part of their technique. It's a tricky technique to master, but some players use it to great effect. Probably the finest exponent of this approach is Jimmy Bruno, who has a phenomenal level of plectrum control which has few equals. He also has been known to advocate using left hand fingerings designed to facilitate right hand picking.

Hybrid picking - using a combination of pick and right hand fingers - is a technique more common among country players such as Albert Lee, but has also been used to great effect by many jazz musicians. One fine player who is adept at the art of using this approach is Jack Zucker - once again, he and others will use a finger of the right hand to facilitate crossing back and forth between strings.

Many guitarists use a combination of all three of the above methods - in fact it's quite rare to find a player who sticks exclusively to only one approach.

It's also worth noting that a minority (but a significant one) of jazz guitarists use a fingerstyle technique for all or at least some of their playing. Lenny Breau, George van Eps, Joe Pass, Ted Greene and a host of other fine players were noted for this kind of playing. There are many complex right hand techniques used by these players, most of which can be found in the techniques of the classical guitar and in flamenco music, as well as in the country styles of players such as Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed. Typically (but not exclusively) such guitarists will feature chordal passages heavily in their playing, sometimes with counter-melodies along with a main melodic line, and will often play single note runs by alternating thumb and index finger, a technique used by lutenists during the renaissance period in Europe. Some fingerstylists use a thumbpick: occasionally the thumbpick can be used to play alternating picking in the same way as a plectrum. This can be a difficult technique to master, although some players seem to have great facility with it, such as the Nashville based western swing and country player Brent Mason. The great name in jazz guitar as far as fingerstylists go is Lenny Breau - his variety of right hand techniques is a huge subject and well outside the scope of this article!

The variety of right hand approaches employed by jazz guitarists is, as you can see, an enormously wide-ranging area for study. Some of these techniques arose from a desire to make specific sounds or to play in a specific musical style, while others arose (as is common in the field of technique in many different disciplines) out of inventive solutions to problems. The latter type of technique can be then fed back into the music making process and can become itself a sparking-off point for creative musical ideas.

This article is not in any way intended as an in-depth look at any particular technique, but rather as a starting-off point for anyone interested in pursuing the subject farther.

More on the subject will appear here in due course, including some practice suggestions for improving and developing some of the techniques briefly described above, coupled with a more detailed look at each.

In the meantime if you want to pursue the subject yourself - google is your friend, and there are plenty of names in this article to check out - youtube is also your friend............

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