Lesson #018, The Pinch

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Lesson #018, The Pinch

Hey Everyone,

In this segment I talk about a very important technique called the Pinch, or Pinching the strings. Also I'm going to introduce you to the forward/backward roll sometimes called the reverse roll.

Pinching the strings consists of playing two or three strings at the same time. You can use any of the three fingers of the right hand to play the two or three string pinch. These pinches are used in soloing and in backup as well. Practice pinches using different open strings for now, always being conscious of how the different strings you are using sound as you play them.

The forward/backward roll consists of playing the forward roll that you've learned together with the backward roll that you've learned. In this example in the video I've used the fifth string played open with the thumb to use as a connecting note for the two rolls. The fifth string can be thought of as forward or backward. For instance, the first four notes in the example on the video can be viewed as having forward motion. Also the four last notes can be viewed as having backward motion. It all depends on how you would like to perceive the use of the fifth string in this example. I should also say that the forward/backward roll doesnt necessarily need the fifth string added. The forward roll can be played T M I M T as well.

David