I'm trying to play the attached tab and I'm confused how to play/finger the last two notes -- 4th fret on the 4th string then open fret on the 3rd string. Given the spacing, it looks like I'd hit the 4th fret note with my index finger and then the open G string with my thumb, but that makes no sense to me. Tips? Thank you.
Thumb then index.
Whole tab is:
index thumb index+middle thumb index (pause) thumb index
Thank you very much. On the final index strike, is it with the nail? I'm very used to a thumb/finger combo being in fingerstyle, with the finger pulling up with skin. So it's thumb+index-nail? If that's it, I now have something new to practice. Thanks.
quote:
Originally posted by FifthtryGiven the spacing, it looks like I'd hit the 4th fret note with my index finger and then the open G string with my thumb, but that makes no sense to me.
Perhaps you're misreading the timing or note durations.
This tab is written mostly in sixteenth notes (double beams), suggesting it's 2/4. The one eighth note (single beam) gets the duration of two sixteenth notes.
The musically correct way to count a measure of 2/4 in sixteenths is: 1 E & a 2 E & a
I don't like that. So for learning purposes, I tend to count tab like this as if it were in 4/4, treating the sixteenths as eighths and the eighths as quarters. So I would count this tab as: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
Counting this way, the 2nd fret note on 3rd string (5th note in sequence) gets played on the count of 3 then holds through the count of "and" (don't play anything). The 4th fret note on 4th string gets played on the count of 4 and the following open 3rd string gets played on the count of "and."
If a measure of tab ever seems to tricky to me, I find it helpful to count and tap through it before playing so I'm clear on the timing -- when notes are to be played.
quote:
Originally posted by FifthtryThank you very much. On the final index strike, is it with the nail? I'm very used to a thumb/finger combo being in fingerstyle, with the finger pulling up with skin. So it's thumb+index-nail? If that's it, I now have something new to practice. Thanks.
Oops.
Is this clawhammer tab? I was answering as if it were 3-finger. That probably makes my answer inappropriate to your needs.
However, the point of my follow-up remains: the fifth note of the section (an eighth) gets twice the value of all the other notes. Same effect as a rest. The brief break in picking or striking gives you the freedom to sound the 4th string 4th fret note the same as you would if it were the first note in a series, regardless of what finger you used on the 3rd string.
The second note (2 on third string) may be played either with drop thumb or an alternate string hammer on (hammer on an unplayed string). The last note (open third string) is and alternate string pull off (pull off a string that is not played).
Whether its clawhammer or bluegrass tab, what you strike the first note with all depends on the note thats hit prior to it. If its a 1/4 note then your options are open. If its a 1/8 then not so much
quote:
Originally posted by stanleytoneWhether its clawhammer or bluegrass tab, what you strike the first note with all depends on the note thats hit prior to it. If its a 1/4 note then your options are open. If its a 1/8 then not so much
An eighth note where everything else is written as sixteenths (as here) has the same open options as a quarter note where everything else is eighths.
I'd play that last note plucking (pulling off) with the finger that's down on the 2nd fret, but why not just substitute the thumb string (an octave higher)? How well that would work would depend on the context, but if you've got your time and phrasing under control, you'd be surprised how hard it is to hear the difference between a high G and a low G on that one note.
Edited by - Dan Gellert on 04/29/2025 16:54:45
