Wow, I can't believe it! Duude you are such a good teacher. I'm so glad I found your channel. I'll defintely go through all of pluck and chuck lessons :D Thank you so much!
Thanks - A really clear, nicely broken down lesson. Percussive finger style is very difficult to just figure out by oneself. (May I suggest 'back-chuck' - a little more fluid than anti-chuck, without the nudge-nudge double entendre of up-chuck.)
It seems easier than Travis picking with which I'm still struggling. An amazing technique which I would like to definitely try out! Thanks n God bless you Jon.
thanks! I'm not sure what you mean by mute the chuck, but me take a stab though...a lot of the muting happens with very light lifts of the left hand. If you listen to the example at the end that I play, the melody notes are all short. I get that by releasing the LH right after I play the note so it's still in the chord position but it mutes the string before the next note. Helpful?
I'll probably put that in the technique series later this year. If you're in a huge rush to get it, try taking the pattern for "I will follow you into the dark" and speeding it up a whole lot. That will get you most if the way there...
Jon, great lesson. As to the terms; anti-chuck just doesn't sound right. What about reverse-chuck? Same # syllables. Or, since up-chuck is ruled out, what about un-chuck? Last thought; since the chuck is the down stroke and up-chuck is a plucking motion, chuck and counter chuck can be called chuck then chuck-pluck (to differentiate the up-chuck pluck from the other plucks. Just a suggestion. You're doing a great job, thanks
You should expect to sound terrible at first. Getting the basic stroke down is the hardest. I recommend checking out the newer version of this lesson around 4:35 for some more in depth advice about how to master the basic stroke. th-cam.com/video/FqcomT_erdM/w-d-xo.html It's OK to have troubles at first. A couple of slow, diligent practice sessions and it should become clearer. Send me a video of your progress, I'd be happy to offer some pointers if that would help. Jonathan
Jon Michael Swift thank you Jonathan! I will continue to try and make progress.. thanks for your encouraging words. I love playing the guitar (with the 6 chords I know) lol but learning something new is always a challenge.
Hey Jon, excellent tutorial for someone like me who wants to get into a new way of playing. I do have a question though. Does the base of your right hand touch the strings when you do the thumb slap and the 'chuck' together? It somehow happens naturally when I play. I'm not sure if that's the right way to do it. Thanks a ton for the lesson though :)
***** There's a lot of ways to skin a cat, pal. I can't tell you exactly what to do, but my palm doesn't usually touch the strings. It depends a lot on what angle my fingers attack at. If I'm using a lot of nail, my fingers are elevated and it's all thumb. If i'm using the sides of my fingers to get a deader fleshy sounds, esp. when I play bass guitar, or if I palm mute, then I'll touch the strings. The songs in this series don't use that technique, except possibly Clarity by John Mayer. Off the cuff, that's what I'd say.
hey Jon I've been watch your pluck and chuck guitar series religiously for the last 2 month and I would like to thank you for making me a better guitar player! I was wondering if you knew the song "the Girl" by city and colour and if he using this technique to play the song?
I don't know the song, let me go watch it... I don't think so. A friend and I toyed with the same question about the song "What makes a man" and I think pluck and chuck sounds good over his songs although I don't think he explicitly uses the technique. He appears to up-and-down with the thumb and index, strumming a little harder on backbeats. I play the song "you and me" and I switch between his fingerpicking riff and pluck and check for when the drums come in. Give that a shot and see how it works for you!
..... just a guess..... my perception ............ this whole ' percussive ' finger style spread like wildfire after folks started noting T Emmanuel ........ I knew NOTHING about it , and thought Angelina would be an easy tune to pick up ..... nope ... and the ' string slap ' is a must to get the song even close to his performance ......
Actually, the first percussive guitar I ever saw was on TH-cam, and I think it was Andy McKee. "Drifting" was one of the first top videos on TH-cam, and early percussive fingerstyle had its heydey close to the advent of TH-cam. This is even a slightly watered down version that you can easily do while you sing, but Tommy is maybe not even a pioneer in that area. One of the greatest players in the world, but I don't usually put him in the hall of first ones going out on this limb; I think he caught enough of it to use well as the trend came along. IMO.
... guessing it's more a case of my very small catalogue of artists, and different generations. I'm envious you've managed so much in a short time. The ' net ' was a distant reality when I first went at ' learning ' tunes , the old way ... slowed down vinyl and tape. Folks starting today have mountains of methodology and tunes laid out start to finish. Then again, personally, I'm finding it is difficult to know where to start, work at it without being distracted off to another interesting tune or methodology. You have some great stuff, THANKS .. and .... check this guy out ... you'll see some ' slap ' in there ! th-cam.com/video/Fm1qtX7Mz5w/w-d-xo.html
I hear you. You speak of a real challenge of opportunities and when they present themselves in our lives, and that does create major struggles. Still, I would make one argument. The problem is not that you don't have opportunities to learn and change the same as I do now, but that you appear to be limited in your opportunities because you have already accepted others and are unwilling to give them up. I came to this conclusion when I studied language immersion, and realized there were consistently reliable systems for average adults that would let them learn a new language to fluency in 3-6 months (much faster than a child). The secret sauce is not some cool game or trick, but that you have to abdicate from speaking your mother tongue completely to make space for focusing on the new language. I think this is the same with learning music; in order to make space to learn it like a younger person would. you would have to go back to a younger person's life space which doesn't have the same responsibilities that drain your attention from new pursuits. I think that's a critical realization and can give you either peace in accepting your circumstances, or resolving to get rid of things in your life you don't really want in exchange for things that you do. Heady stuff, but I hear about the struggle you are facing from a lot of people, and I think the problem is not one of addition but one of subtraction, and people struggle with that X-D Just an opinion. Hope that helps. And I love me some good thumbpicking, so thanks for sharing the Broonzy bit! Reminds me of many dreams I have for my own guitar playing ;-) Be well, Jonathan
I know what you're saying, but frailing/clawhammer is a specific style of banjo technique that has certain repertoire that goes with it. I studied it a bit because I had the same concern. The more I thought about it, the more I decided they were different things. I doubt a clawhammer banjo player would pick up these patterns any faster than anyone else, excepting that their flicking/chucking might be a little ahead. That's my theory anyway.
Jon Michael Swift technically, i suppose you're right, after thinking about it. clawhammer, whether on banjo or guitar, never slap and pluck. it's all thumb and downward strokes with either index or middle fingernail. nice impromptu with your roomie at the end of the vid, btw
ultrakool Thanks dude. I appreciate the thoughts. People need to challenge me on this stuff so I can take it from all angles. I'm still in the early stages of putting these ideas together, so there's still a lot of room for discussion. Feel free to write your thoughts in anytime, I appreciate the input.
Jon, this video is almost 12 years old now but just wanted to extend another thank you from another guitar player coming across this
Cant tell you how long i've been looking for a lesson this in-depth. My thanks, sir!
The best tutorial for this technique I've seen. Really helpful. Thank you!
Trying this technique for a while and you finally cracked it for me, well taught
Harry Sneesby happy to help!
I really like how passionate you are about guitar playing. Very eloquent teaching. Keep on plucking! Greetings from Germany.
Nico Danke Sehr. Woraus in Deutschland?
Jon Michael Swift Bitteschön! Mainz, close to Frankfurt.
Mein Schwager ist ein Westfallener, aus Muenster.
NP. I'm going to try to start a series on this in late October, so hopefully it won't stop here.
This is an excellent explanation and demonstration! Well done.
Oh this is fun. Awesome lesson, thank you.
Wow, I can't believe it! Duude you are such a good teacher. I'm so glad I found your channel. I'll defintely go through all of pluck and chuck lessons :D
Thank you so much!
+Łukasz Łakomy Dude, I love it when people who need this stuff discover it! Good team!
Took me a long time but you are very helpful thanks
Thanks. I'm going to try.
Thanks - A really clear, nicely broken down lesson. Percussive finger style is very difficult to just figure out by oneself. (May I suggest 'back-chuck' - a little more fluid than anti-chuck, without the nudge-nudge double entendre of up-chuck.)
tru stori. Thanks for the thought!
It seems easier than Travis picking with which I'm still struggling. An amazing technique which I would like to definitely try out! Thanks n God bless you Jon.
This is seriously gold! Amazing buddy!
this lesson was really well. couldn't say enough good things about it. thanks for posting
Def.
you're awesome at guitar and teaching! thank you :)
Great lesson, thank you!
Glad i found this tutorial
omygizzle THANK YOU SO MUCH for the thumbchuck HELPED A LOT
Great video Jon. I really appreciate your efforts and found this video very useful. Keep it up man!
This is the best tutorial on this ever! thanks Bro, you're awesome!
Groovy man, nice breakdown! && helps me GTR students
Thank you!
Really talented! keep it up
Your roommate sure looks a lot like you :) Nice style of teaching. Thanx!
i've been looking for this. thank you
At one point. I guess the thing I made was the thing I needed. Looks like the circle is complete now.
You're great, man. Thanks
Hey thank it helps a lot! For some reason when I hit with my thin
thanks! I'm not sure what you mean by mute the chuck, but me take a stab though...a lot of the muting happens with very light lifts of the left hand. If you listen to the example at the end that I play, the melody notes are all short. I get that by releasing the LH right after I play the note so it's still in the chord position but it mutes the string before the next note. Helpful?
this is an awesome video "pluck and chuck!"
Your room mate's song at the end was really really good. I'd love to learn that!
17utk I'll let him know!
Since this was 2 years ago... is there any chance there's a video for this song now? I'd love to learn it!
pls pls teach this!!! still so eager.
Great video. I'd really like to learn that country pattern that was played in the beginning.
I'll probably put that in the technique series later this year. If you're in a huge rush to get it, try taking the pattern for "I will follow you into the dark" and speeding it up a whole lot. That will get you most if the way there...
Jon, great lesson. As to the terms; anti-chuck just doesn't sound right. What about reverse-chuck? Same # syllables. Or, since up-chuck is ruled out, what about un-chuck? Last thought; since the chuck is the down stroke and up-chuck is a plucking motion, chuck and counter chuck can be called chuck then chuck-pluck (to differentiate the up-chuck pluck from the other plucks. Just a suggestion. You're doing a great job, thanks
great help buddy thanks keep it up :))
Thanks John lennon
Very good lesson... I would love to learn this but I'm just not getting the hang of it. :( I sound terrible!
You should expect to sound terrible at first. Getting the basic stroke down is the hardest. I recommend checking out the newer version of this lesson around 4:35 for some more in depth advice about how to master the basic stroke.
th-cam.com/video/FqcomT_erdM/w-d-xo.html
It's OK to have troubles at first. A couple of slow, diligent practice sessions and it should become clearer. Send me a video of your progress, I'd be happy to offer some pointers if that would help.
Jonathan
Jon Michael Swift thank you Jonathan! I will continue to try and make progress.. thanks for your encouraging words. I love playing the guitar (with the 6 chords I know) lol but learning something new is always a challenge.
Try learning 20 songs with those 6 chords. They'll be a lot better by the time you get there.
What is the name of the song at the beggining?
Planes, Trains and Taxicabs. I wrote it for my EP "The Growing Season."
th-cam.com/video/Y4KQwvYh2QY/w-d-xo.html
the pluck and the anti pluck... souds like a sci-fi movie :P (great teacher you are)
Hey Jon, excellent tutorial for someone like me who wants to get into a new way of playing. I do have a question though.
Does the base of your right hand touch the strings when you do the thumb slap and the 'chuck' together?
It somehow happens naturally when I play. I'm not sure if that's the right way to do it. Thanks a ton for the lesson though :)
***** There's a lot of ways to skin a cat, pal. I can't tell you exactly what to do, but my palm doesn't usually touch the strings. It depends a lot on what angle my fingers attack at. If I'm using a lot of nail, my fingers are elevated and it's all thumb. If i'm using the sides of my fingers to get a deader fleshy sounds, esp. when I play bass guitar, or if I palm mute, then I'll touch the strings. The songs in this series don't use that technique, except possibly Clarity by John Mayer. Off the cuff, that's what I'd say.
hey Jon I've been watch your pluck and chuck guitar series religiously for the last 2 month and I would like to thank you for making me a better guitar player!
I was wondering if you knew the song "the Girl" by city and colour and if he using this technique to play the song?
I don't know the song, let me go watch it...
I don't think so. A friend and I toyed with the same question about the song "What makes a man" and I think pluck and chuck sounds good over his songs although I don't think he explicitly uses the technique. He appears to up-and-down with the thumb and index, strumming a little harder on backbeats. I play the song "you and me" and I switch between his fingerpicking riff and pluck and check for when the drums come in. Give that a shot and see how it works for you!
+Jon Michael Swift I will definitely check out that video! thank you for the response!.
sehr schönes Video
Dankeschön
+LiS Òó bitte sehr
Pluck n chuck. I'm more of a slap n tickle man meself..
as long as you don't pinch and stick, I have no beef.
gee. thanks!
What did you use to color your fretboard on the Johnson guitar on the Original Pluck Chuck VID?
Acrylics. These days I use Avery Labels and colored pencils, but...acrylics.
Kick ass
Watch the great Chuck Pyle. It lays credence to your naming convention.
Guitar Nerd :P
I mean that in a good way lol :)
+nirvan jasrotia Word is born.
"Hey, this is James Spader from the 80's." 🤗🤭
👍
..... just a guess..... my perception ............ this whole ' percussive ' finger style spread like wildfire after folks started noting T Emmanuel ........ I knew NOTHING about it , and thought Angelina would be an easy tune to pick up ..... nope ... and the ' string slap ' is a must to get the song even close to his performance ......
Actually, the first percussive guitar I ever saw was on TH-cam, and I think it was Andy McKee. "Drifting" was one of the first top videos on TH-cam, and early percussive fingerstyle had its heydey close to the advent of TH-cam. This is even a slightly watered down version that you can easily do while you sing, but Tommy is maybe not even a pioneer in that area. One of the greatest players in the world, but I don't usually put him in the hall of first ones going out on this limb; I think he caught enough of it to use well as the trend came along. IMO.
... guessing it's more a case of my very small catalogue of artists, and different generations. I'm envious you've managed so much in a short time. The ' net ' was a distant reality when I first went at ' learning ' tunes , the old way ... slowed down vinyl and tape. Folks starting today have mountains of methodology and tunes laid out start to finish. Then again, personally, I'm finding it is difficult to know where to start, work at it without being distracted off to another interesting tune or methodology. You have some great stuff, THANKS .. and .... check this guy out ... you'll see some ' slap ' in there !
th-cam.com/video/Fm1qtX7Mz5w/w-d-xo.html
I hear you. You speak of a real challenge of opportunities and when they present themselves in our lives, and that does create major struggles. Still, I would make one argument. The problem is not that you don't have opportunities to learn and change the same as I do now, but that you appear to be limited in your opportunities because you have already accepted others and are unwilling to give them up. I came to this conclusion when I studied language immersion, and realized there were consistently reliable systems for average adults that would let them learn a new language to fluency in 3-6 months (much faster than a child). The secret sauce is not some cool game or trick, but that you have to abdicate from speaking your mother tongue completely to make space for focusing on the new language.
I think this is the same with learning music; in order to make space to learn it like a younger person would. you would have to go back to a younger person's life space which doesn't have the same responsibilities that drain your attention from new pursuits. I think that's a critical realization and can give you either peace in accepting your circumstances, or resolving to get rid of things in your life you don't really want in exchange for things that you do.
Heady stuff, but I hear about the struggle you are facing from a lot of people, and I think the problem is not one of addition but one of subtraction, and people struggle with that X-D
Just an opinion. Hope that helps.
And I love me some good thumbpicking, so thanks for sharing the Broonzy bit! Reminds me of many dreams I have for my own guitar playing ;-)
Be well,
Jonathan
is it me or he kinda sounds like matthew mcconaughey?
pluck&chuck? really? it's called frailing or clawhammer technique. nice playing
I know what you're saying, but frailing/clawhammer is a specific style of banjo technique that has certain repertoire that goes with it. I studied it a bit because I had the same concern. The more I thought about it, the more I decided they were different things. I doubt a clawhammer banjo player would pick up these patterns any faster than anyone else, excepting that their flicking/chucking might be a little ahead. That's my theory anyway.
Jon Michael Swift technically, i suppose you're right, after thinking about it. clawhammer, whether on banjo or guitar, never slap and pluck. it's all thumb and downward strokes with either index or middle fingernail. nice impromptu with your roomie at the end of the vid, btw
ultrakool Thanks dude. I appreciate the thoughts. People need to challenge me on this stuff so I can take it from all angles. I'm still in the early stages of putting these ideas together, so there's still a lot of room for discussion. Feel free to write your thoughts in anytime, I appreciate the input.
I didn't know Harry Potter played guitar..