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458:. Watson and White both legitimized the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass and old-time country music. White brought guitar flatpicking to the forefront of bluegrass, while Watson brought flatpicking to folk audiences as he played fiddle tunes, blues, country, and gospel songs throughout America. Shuffler played guitar for the
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further developed the art of flatpicking. Rice likely had the most profound impact on bluegrass guitar playing of anyone since his musical hero, Clarence White. Rice's tone, rhythm, phrasing, and improvisational skills have influenced an entire generation of bluegrass guitarists. Important elements
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and the minor pentatonic "blues" scale in his lead playing. While there have been several songs using the Dorian mode in
Appalachian roots music, Rice made a different statement by using this scale to improvise during songs written in a major key. For instance, he is very well known for playing an
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though more known for his Banjo playing, is often credited for being the first flatpick guitarist in
Bluegrass music as well as the first to play fiddle tunes on the guitar. Reno had the most profound impact of the early bluegrass flatpickers and built heavily on both complex melodic lead techniques
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F major scale during a song written in G major (the F major scale, when played from G to G, is a G Dorian mode). The use of this technique introduces the flat 3rd (Bb) and the flat 7th (F) over the G chord which has a unique sound popular in bluegrass.
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continue to explore this style of guitar playing. These players are still defining new standards and reaching wider audiences. Pioneers like Norman Blake, Russ
Barenberg, and Dan Crary continue to produce music featuring flatpicking as well.
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styles played on tenor banjos became popular especially in
Ragtime and Dixieland Jazz, but they are not commonly known as flatpicking. This style can be typified by players such as
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guitarists. As the use of a pick in those traditions is commonplace, generally only guitarists who play without a pick are noted by the term "fingerpicking" or "fingerstyle".
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pioneered the usage of acoustic lead guitar in contemporary
Country Music, and flatpicking even found its way into the electric stylings of rockabilly through pioneers like
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and Johnny
Crockett began using flatpicking techniques for lead guitar, often with significant influence from Ragtime, Jazz and Swing styles. Through the 1930s, the
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Rice has used in his playing are jazz type chord substitutions, different from the straight major and minor chords common to bluegrass, and the use of the
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Flatpick style guitar began largely with techniques in rhythm guitar, chiefly in early country, and Old Time string band music. Guitarists like
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recorded his hit flatpick guitar instrumental "Guitar Boogie", which would influence many guitarists in
Country and Rock and Roll music alike.
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played guitar on the first two songs he recorded with the
Bluegrass Boys and even incorporated a flatpick lead intro on the Muleskinner Blues.
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and heavily incorporated crosspicking into his lead styles. Flatpick rhythm guitar techniques continued to be advanced through artists like
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would greatly pioneer the development of flatpicking guitar with rapid picking and melody based leads. Around this time, plectrum based
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and flatpicking. Musicians who use a flat pick in other genres such as rock and jazz are not commonly described as flatpickers or even
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296:. While the use of a plectrum is common in many musical traditions, the exact term "flatpicking" is most commonly associated with
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361:. Bluegrass flatpickers usually prefer guitars with a flat top rather than an arch top, and steel strings rather than nylon.
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Probably starting around 1930, flatpicking in
American music was developed when guitarists began arranging old-time American
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pioneered this early flatpicking by adding quick, complex runs to backup rhythm guitar. By the late 1920s, guitarists like
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have carried the guitar into the next millennium. Also, current "young guns" like Ethan J Meier, Cody Kilby, John
Chapman,
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to release a number of boogie inspired songs featuring both acoustic and electric flatpicking styles. In 1945,
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used a thumb pick to emphasize bass notes, this part of the style was adapted into flatpicking.
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Building on the contributions of Doc Watson, Clarence White, and Don Reno, artists such as
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Flatpicking techniques and styles were built upon heavily in the 1960s by guitarists like
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By the mid-1940s, the Boogie had become a heavy influence on Country music prompting the
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also became prominent in bluegrass flatpicking styles at this time.
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tunes on the guitar, expanding the instrument's traditional role of
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The annual US National Flatpicking Championship is held at the
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The melodic style in bluegrass is often fast and dynamic, with
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often feature musicians playing a variety of styles, both
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on the bass strings. Although early guitarists such as
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607:"Learn the Fundamentals of Flatpicking on Guitar"
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254:Guitar strum, with down and up strums indicated
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175:The examples and perspective in this article
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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231:Learn how and when to remove this message
213:Learn how and when to remove this message
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276:) is the technique of striking the
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430:. Guitarists like Bill Napier,
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195:create a new article
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330:with an occasional
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99:"Flatpicking"
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819:Merle Travis
814:Robert Fripp
788:Guitar Craft
773:Crosspicking
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614:. Retrieved
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558:Molly Tuttle
550:Sean Watkins
538:Tim Stafford
530:Bryan Sutton
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500:Larry Sparks
488:John Carlini
480:Norman Blake
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464:Jimmy Martin
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436:Bill Clifton
432:Edd Mayfield
424:Hank Garland
407:Arthur Smith
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397:Post War Era
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365:Early styles
359:crosspicking
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306:string bands
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82:Please help
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36:Please help
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778:Downpicking
760:Flatpicking
722:Fingerstyle
688:Guitar pick
586:Lead guitar
562:Jordan Tice
526:David Grier
520:1990s–2000s
513:Dorian mode
474:1970s–1980s
420:Johnny Bond
391:Bill Monroe
353:, powerful
294:fingerpicks
272:(or simply
270:Flatpicking
824:Leo Kottke
802:Innovators
683:Fingerpick
616:6 February
592:References
448:Doc Watson
428:Joe Maphis
375:Roy Harvey
357:and rapid
347:hammer-ons
110:newspapers
39:improve it
740:Rasgueado
508:Tony Rice
484:Dan Crary
416:Hank Snow
355:strumming
351:pull-offs
191:talk page
45:talk page
852:Category
730:Apoyando
678:Arpeggio
580:See also
411:Don Reno
314:plectrum
304:, where
286:plectrum
185:You may
745:Tirando
666:General
280:with a
274:picking
124:scholar
750:Travis
454:, and
434:, and
426:, and
343:slides
321:fiddle
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703:Strum
442:1960s
383:banjo
193:, or
131:JSTOR
117:books
618:2024
560:and
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466:and
282:pick
260:Play
103:news
572:in
332:run
86:by
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