How to make Maphis magic?

[jfine]

I've heard that Joe was reluctant to share his style with other players. The one time I met him, he was a really nice guy--let me play his guitar, even--but I didn't ask him to show me anything, either. I've never been able to do that ultra-fast double-picking stuff--I guess my fast-twitch muscles just won't twitch that fast! And two of my earliest influences were Joe Maphis and Dick Dale, both known for blistering picking technique. If I have to fake that stuff, I can do it a lot quicker with my right middle finger than I can with the pick, and I've never been able to do the locked-wrist, pick-from-the-elbow thing--maybe it comes from being left-handed and playing right-handed, although that sure doesn't seem to slow Glen Campbell down!

[gplayer]

I've heard that Joe was reluctant to share his style with other players. The one time I met him, he was a really nice guy--let me play his guitar, even--but I didn't ask him to show me anything, either. I've never been able to do that ultra-fast double-picking stuff--I guess my fast-twitch muscles just won't twitch that fast! And two of my earliest influences were Joe Maphis and Dick Dale, both known for blistering picking technique. If I have to fake that stuff, I can do it a lot quicker with my right middle finger than I can with the pick, and I've never been able to do the locked-wrist, pick-from-the-elbow thing--maybe it comes from being left-handed and playing right-handed, although that sure doesn't seem to slow Glen Campbell down!

I'm also a lefty that plays righty. I have the same problem. Never could get that Don Wilson chugga-chugga thing down. I always attributed that failing to my right hand lack of dexterity. Glen may be a bit more ambidextrous than me....or maybe that's talented.

[Desert Surfer]

Man oh man! That kid is amazing!

Sarah, you have to come to Nashville to attend the CAAS event (this year 7/7-7/10). I know you love Gretsch too. A lot Gretsch lovers there.

You will see Bryan and many talented players there (see Elaine too)

[Strat-o-rama]

Jfine and gplayer,
I am also a lefty who plays righthanded, and like you, mastering the fast trem-picking has been a long time coming, but it can be done! Since I quit playing in my previous band, playing blues rock, I took the time off to learn surf style and even some rockabilly. It has taken years to get down the Dick Dale fast picking, and I'm still working at building up the stamina to play like that for any length of time. It has lead me down a path of improving all right hand picking techniques, including Maphis and Travis style. It's not easy when your right hand is retarded, but I am determined to overcome my physical handicap of being a lefty!

[rballister]

I'm another lefty who plays righty. When I first picked up a guitar my natural inclination was to hold the instrument upside down. I think with guitar the thing is coordination between the two hands. (Which used to give me a little trouble a long time ago!) Playing guitar is the only thing I do righty. Wonder if righties have trouble with fingering with the left hand? Is there something that inherently makes a standard guitar "right handed'?

[Dennisthe Menace]

......ditto......

[MWaldorf]

I'm yet another lefty who plays right handed. While Dick Dale style double picking isn't a problem for me, I've never managed to fingerpick very well. Of course, I've never managed much speed on the fretboard with my left hand, either. Maybe that's why I like speed frets so much, as I need all the help I can get!

[JimPage]

Interesting thread about the left-handed/right-handed aspect of guitar playing.

I seem to recall reading that Paul McCartney is actually right-handed in everything but his bass- or guitar-playing, which, if true, makes him even more astonishing than I already felt that he was!

--Jim

[jfine]

Wow! Rather a lot of us lefties-playing-righty on here. Who'd have thought? I'm convinced that right-handed guitar is in many ways a left-handed instrument anyway, and we all have things that give us trouble that may not be what gives the next person trouble, righty or lefty. I've got students who've been playing maybe a year who can already pick faster than I can (and I think that's great--more power to 'em!), but they often have more trouble with fret-hand techniques like bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc. than I ever did. There's always a trade-off somewhere, and a lot of my style (lots of hybrid picking and legato fret-hand stuff) developed as a result of my inability to tremolo-pick fast. I like the flow I get from more legato playing--maybe I like it because I can actually do it! I still try to get the picking speed up, and it has improved some over the years, but Joe Maphis I'm not!

[Veenture]

Hey Mel [MWaldorf], you chose the wrong title for this 'left-handed' thread! (just kidding).
How are your young daughters coming along on the guitar -and what-handed are they?

Talk about kids, at age six, my son started showing interest for my Strat guitar so we bought him a kiddie guitar (Spanish type) to stimulate him -and to save the Strat from...well, you know, what kids can do to them
Now he is left handed too, so when we decided to have him follow some guitar lessons, I changed the strings around to accommodate for his left-handedness. Wrong thinking! as I soon found out from his music teacher who 'reprimanded' me for changing the strings around! He insisted that left-handed students learn to play right-handed
It was a real learning experience for me and I remain amazed at the human capacity for learning and adapting

He is 18 now and because of his study, friends, girlfriend and scooters etc, there is no time for guitars. Maybe later when the bug has bitten him...