Chicken Pickin' 101

Weekly Newsletter #36

April 14, 2022

 

Are you a finger picker or a flat picker? 

Do you use both for different styles of music? 

How about using them both at the same time? 

Learning how to use hybrid picking, also called “chicken pickin”, is one of the most eye-opening techniques a guitarist can develop. It is simply the best of both worlds, for numerous reasons. 

What is Hybrid Picking? 

Essentially, hybrid, or chicken picking is when you use a flat pick to pluck or strum but also use the remaining fingers of your picking hand to pluck strings. The technique is wildly popular in genres like country and blues but in recent times has made a huge splash among rock and pop players because of its versatility and speed. 

The aim is to hold your pick between your thumb and index finger and use your middle and ring finger to pluck notes on the higher strings. 

It sounds easy enough, but in reality it takes quite a bit of getting used to. Learning how to fit in finger plucks with flat-picking requires that you first begin to map out the economy of this technique. 

How Do You Get Started? 

One of the most simplistic hybrid picking ideas is to play a note using your pick, then hammer on to another note and follow that up with a finger pluck on the next highest string. 

Take a look at an example of this idea: 

The downstroke beginning each beat is done with the pick and followed up with a hammer-on. This hammer-on actually buys you enough time to get your middle finger to the next string in order to pluck the 8th fret. 

Learning when to move your finger to the string you’ll be plucking is essential for this technique and inserting a slur in between the flat-pick and the finger-pluck is a great way to establish good timing and achieve consistent results. 

Obviously it’s not necessary to always play a slur between the picked and plucked notes, but this will help you formulate the technique as you learn. 

–Check out the VIDEO and TAB for more licks and details about Hybrid Picking– 

How Can I Use This in My Playing? 

Often times, hybrid picking is used for very quick, flurry-style playing. The fact that as your pick comes through the string your middle finger can already be resting on the next string means that you can follow that picked note extremely quickly with a finger-pluck. Many times, this is much faster than speed picking because your pick doesn’t need to travel to the next string, instead your finger is already there waiting to play. 

To properly implement this technique for speed, it’s mandatory that before you pluck using your finger, that finger must be rested on the string ready to go. Preparing the finger-pluck ahead of time is how you can rapidly go from one note to the next. 

Try this out, using the example above. When you pluck the first of three notes using your pick on the 3rd string, immediately begin moving your middle finger to the 2nd string. Try to land your middle finger on that 2nd string at the same time as the hammer-on. Then when it comes time for the third note, your middle finger is already in place, touching the 2nd string and it only needs to pluck. 

Not preparing the finger for the next plucked note is usually the cause for frustration with this technique, so if you take anything away from this lesson, let it be this: Prepare your finger ahead of time…ALWAYS! 

So It’s Just For Speed? 

No way! There are many more benefits to hybrid picking. 

In addition to speed playing, articulation can be improved using hybrid picking. When you only use flat-picking, the articulation of notes is fairly static and boring. Sure you can differentiate between the sound of a downstroke and an upstroke, but that difference is minimal. 

Incorporating the sound of a pick with the fleshy and snappy sound of a finger adds a very different color, dynamic and tone to your playing. The harder you pluck the string with your finger the more that string will snap and pop, creating a louder, brighter and more powerful note. This can be hugely useful in getting certain notes to stand out within a lick. 

Take a look at this ascending pentatonic lick: 

The flat pick is only used on the 4th string while your middle finger plucks all the higher notes. 

Try plucking those middle-finger notes really hard and making them louder and snappier than the 4th string notes. It may be tough at first, but once you hear the sound of that ascending pentatonic scale compared to the droning of the flat-picked 4th string, you’ll understand how valuable the articulation of hybrid picking can be. 

Practicing Hybrid Picking 

In order to use this technique effectively in your daily playing it must be part of you. What I mean is that you must have spent enough time practicing the technique that it no longer feels strange and foreign. 

In order to establish a good practice routine there are a few things you should do. 

1. Go slowly and focus on preparing the finger by planting it ahead of time on the next string. 

  • In the last example, that means that during every flat pick, you should be simultaneously planting your middle finger on the next note so that when it comes time to play it, you’re already there and can just strike the string. 

2. Try playing three-note chords. 

  • Take any three-note chord and try using your pick on the lower note, your middle finger on the middle note and your ring finger on the upper note. Learning to play chords with this technique will allow you to play really fast banjo-rolls, accent various notes within a chord and improve the articulation of chords. 

3. Rework your current licks. 

  • Take any licks you already play regularly and look for opportunities to include hybrid picking. These will most likely be during string changes. If going from a low string to a higher one use your middle or ring finger instead of jumping with your whole picking hand. On descending string changes, begin by using a finger-pluck on the higher string so that you can have your pick rested and prepared for the lower string. 

Economical playing is everything with guitar, and whatever we can do to promote efficiency in our technique is something I think is worthwhile in pursuing. 

Rather than jumping around with your entire hand for every string change, use chicken pickin’ instead and watch how smoothly you begin to phrase and transition from string to string. 

-Max Rich