Elliott Smith's Right Hand Technique, Yet Again, With Words!
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2021
- This is a special request but hopefully it's useful for others as well.
Note: I once again profess wholeheartedly that I'm in no way an authority on this technique or even claim to be doing it right at all, but I've made these videos because I feel like I've gotten pretty close. Elliott has a way of making his fingerpicking and strumming blur together in a way that not many others seem to have done. Paul McCartney does something similar though he uses his index fingernail and it's a bit more jaunty. This Elliott technique is obviously special so I wanted to share it so others could try their hand at it.
Here are the other two videos I made that have other examples of right hand fun:
• Elliott Smith's Right ...
• Elliott Smith's Right ...
He even speaks like the man himself
yeah it shocked me when he started talking he sounds just like him
Meh
@@SonyaBladesBootynah. he does
This made me lol
he sounds like Phil Elverum to me
The truest thing said in this video was that it takes years. It really just requires an unhealthy obsession with Elliott and his music hahaha
Sweet, I just need a few years and I'll have it down. I already got the unhealthy obsession down pat lol
thank you, immensely helpful for all of us striving for Elliott's sound
Dude, I cannot tell you how awesome and helpful these videos have been. You do his style so much justice, and even your speaking voice sounds like elliotts haha. Thank you.
dear brushstroke, please come back with more ES tutorials. you're too good!! also, if you can talk more in detail about the thumb (harmony) and index finger (melody) relationship. I know you've covered it already, but the more the merrier. lol.. I've been watching ES tutorials for over a decade now on youtube and you're the best I found.
is there a song in particular you’re interested in? happy to help more if i can
@@brushstrokemedallion hey thanks for the response "I don't think I'm ever gonna figure it out" or "Whatever" or "New Disaster" or anything that exemplifies the typical ES style of simultaneously playing harmonies and melodies. The more detail the better. I can listen to you talk for as long as you're talking about it. Now don't feel obligated of course if you forget that's fine as well, but I'm just saying if you ever get bored just know that there's people out here that really appreciate what you do and the skill involved.
@@ShaiUI +1 for new disaster, been wanting to learn it for so long but just can't wrap my head around it. really want to learn the last hour as well, once again can't wrap my head around it lmao
@@brushstrokemedallion Southern Belle would be amazing dude!
I got so close to playing it from watching him but something is still just off. Your technique is amazing and most likely the missing link. Really glad to find you and thanks for the vids. x
Agreed, I’d love to see Southern Belle as it feels like one of his most complex somts
yessssss thank you. pls keep the vids going you have that magic touch. I havent seen anybody else talk about elliott smith’s thumb. probably the most important part of his style! never heard of carter family. now doing research on carter scratch / carter picking. always was familiar with travis picking but this carter thing is big. I wonder which one elliott gravitated more towards..
So useful, and such a lovely fingerpicking style! Thanks so much for breaking it down. I'm going to have weeks of fun trying to get this. 😃
The guitar sounds great. Warm and subtle
Its a parlor, i love parlor guitars
This is pure gold. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this. That’s how I thought he did it. I love Elliott’s style of play. Him and Nick Drake have a unique approach to the acoustic guitar, and both inspired me to learn it myself.
me too! only been playing for 8 months now and ive learned a few of elliott’s songs but i cant play them the way he does
Dude! Great demonstration of Elliot's sound. It really made sense to me. I'm gonna go try it out.
Man this is awesome! Please do another one of how does he strum with a mix of the thumb and index finger!
the best guitarist who plays as well as elliott smith!
Great explanation of Elliotts right hand technique! Spot on!
So unbelievably good
this helped me so much to play condor ave. more accurately! thanks so much!!!
A good place to begin practicing his right hand would be no name 1. Really easy but getting that flutter sound is a good start for beginners.
Beautiful playing!
Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing. Would love to see more or some covers!
You should do in depth tutorials on less covered Elliott smith songs, such as new disaster!!!!!
ua-cam.com/video/gZ7rZ5zvDNM/v-deo.html
Awesome training!!!
you’re the best!
Until you referred to Elliot Smith in third person, I thought this was a cover of an Elliott Smith interview. As if that makes any sense. It’s not just the tone of your voice, but the cadence, too. Seriously uncanny
Thank you for that! I really appreciate you making this! The more tutorials we have on Elliott the better. He was so unique as a musician it would be a shame for his music and techniques to get lost as I feel alot haven't even been tapped into. It truly amazes me how something as subtle as his strumming can totally change the character of a song. Thanks again! How as it you figured out his technique? Just by ear?
yep, just listening. have fun!
You are an excellent player! This seems to be the best explanation/interpretation of Elliott's magical right hand on the internet. Robot hand haha. It really does sound like picking and strumming two guitars at once. I'd love to hear you play Southern Belle sometime. Just throwing it out there haha. Cheers.
I'm making a video soon but capo'd on3rd or 4th depending on tuning, chords are: dmaj, 2 note run ascend up to an Fmaj played like a c chord (thumb style) without the high note on b string or thumb emphasised, 2 note fill, first fingered note of an A7 then actual A7, flick on and off on the high f on 1st fret (e string), to land back on Dmaj.
Long shot but hope that helps!
reading back it's a very long shot, sorry lol
Thank you so much man. I can’t wait to try this. By the way your voice is so nice to listen to, bob Ross energy. I wish I had your voice in my head guiding me through life 😆
Wow you’re quite a player. Thanks for the tutorials
THANK YOU i've been trying to figure this shit out forever
glad to help!
It reminds me stroking my ukulele, interesting, really appreciate the channel from 🇨🇱
Great video man, helped alot thank you!
Very good stuff!
Thanks so much!
thank you. very helpful.
this was super helpful!! you also sound a lot like elliott
Thanks!
Thanks man
Subscribed.
Great discovery session!!!!!! This is how you teach. I heae a lot of Arlo Guthrie in your picking and strumming. Check out Arlo Guthrie songs. You will dig him. You would be a great guitar teacher just doing this with students
to me it almost seems like when he does the downstroke with the thumb, he sometimes strums with his index nail at the same time to get more or a percussive effect.
Beautiful man xo
Thank you man, this was great, now I have to practice! What kind of Guitar Is that? Greetings from Italy 🇮🇹
grazie, tommaso. è una meteor. è molto economico e vecchio ma funziona abbastanza bene
This video is amazing. Any tips on getting more of that percussive effect going with the thumb? I can play the notes but I can't figure out how to get that sound going. Thanks again.
thanks! maybe just try a different guitar or use more of the side of your thumb. that sound is just the strings hitting the frets so by strengthening the attack or your thumb you can make it stronger. hope that helps
@@brushstrokemedallion I’ve been practicing it a lot and I can get that sound once. Now I just need to get it going consistently in time. Thanks so much! Do you think it’s easier on a guitar with a high action or a lower action?
lower will be your friend here
I’d love to see an explanation of his strumming on his live version of Southern Belle. Amazing video btw
that song is 100% beyond my skill level - sorry!
@@brushstrokemedallion All good 😂 Thanks for the reply
@@brushstrokemedallionI really don’t think it is. I used to be able to play it pretty well when I practised it, always with a few blemishes but had the idea for the most part. And you picked this technique up way better than I ever have. It does take a lot of practice and focus at first but you could definitely play it better than me in a week or two from now
Hey I was wondering if the thumb hit is like a percussive bass hit. As in your not plucking, as in finger style, but more straight hitting. Thanks :)
this is incredible. Can you please play some covers?
i’m not much of a singer but thank you :)
Nice video! How do you think that this technique translates to songs as "Everything Reminds Me Of Her"? I feel like that song is different from the songs that you played in the video because there isn't a constant strumming. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I hope that you understand
it's certainly different but uses a lot of the same techniques: strong strumming thumb playing single strings at a time, fleshy part of thumb and index used to strike all strings, upper strings on the offbeats during the bars with single chords, etc. the more songs you figure out, the more you'll see there are small connections between them all.
This is awesome, thank you. Where did you learn how to play "Folk song in C" by Elliot??
thanks! just learned it by ear. definitely not perfect
@@brushstrokemedallion Super impressive. By the way, are you friends with Adrianne Lenker?
Very nice. Is that a Hensel guitar?
Could you do a tutorial or cover of condor ave?
ua-cam.com/video/bDVMoSGeFTo/v-deo.html
How do you get that percussive sound when your thumb strums down? I haven't been able to figure that out
i wouldn’t sweat it too much. the action might just be low on my guitar. tuning down the strings a half or whole step should make the strings floppier and get that sound. but it’s not crucial to getting the technique down, really.
Listening to some of Elliott’s songs now and was thinking maybe a lot of percussive sounds are coming from him tapping the body of his guitar, much like a Flamenco “Golpe”, usually done with the tip of the strumming hand’s ring finger. Would love to hear your thoughts.
I’m sure I read in an interview somewhere that he’s compared his playing style with flamenco guitarists
@@cameron1917 while an obvious flamenco influence can be heard on "tomorrow tomorrow", "the white lady loves you more", "easy way out", and some others, i've never heard anything like a golpe used in any of his songs but maybe that's just me. definitely not an authority!
@@brushstrokemedallion maybe im using the term golpe a little loosely here but see: ua-cam.com/video/N1aLTnCja9Q/v-deo.html at around 5:30. while I can’t quite hear any taps, there is a kind of motion coming from his right hand, where the tip of his ring finger would be tapping the body along with his thumb strokes, that you can kind of make out.
i am definitely not an authority either lol and your playing is the best I’ve heard capturing Elliott’s style. again, interested to see what you think
@@cameron1917 yeah i see what you mean here. elliott's right hand fingers happen to be hitting the guitar but only because the backswing of the thumb necessitates it. in either case, there's a similar sonic effect, despite the techniques being pretty different
This is a great video, but I still don't fully understand what is going on. Is your thumb alternating the top 3 bass strings, or are you doing the top 4?
Also how does this apply to the song Son of Sam? The acoustic live version that is, since the record is played with a pick.
Generally speaking, the thumb plays the root of the chord (or the lowest string if you’re playing an inversion) on beats 1 and 3 and the 3rd or 5th of the chord on beats 2 and 4, usually on the A or D string. So basically the bottom three strings are always being played with thumb, usually one string at a time. The index then plays on the offbeats with the upper three strings. Son of Sam acoustic studio version and all live versions are without pick. The tone is bright which sounds like he is using a pick but if you listen closely you’ll hear that there’s some definite stuff only fingers can do. I can make a video demonstrating if you feel like that’d be helpful but I’d have to learn the song first
Have you tried doing this technique with the other 2 fingers that normally play the top three strings? If so how did it work for you?
@@brushstrokemedallion lol 2nd second but to further go into helloimatapir question, are you trying to use your thumb to pluck the melody notes on the upper strings or more so strum into it like with ajust strumming a chord? It looks like youre kind of trying to hit the upper strings with your thumb in the video. sorry i tried to make this make sense.
Welcome back Elliott Smith
Got no idea how you can make the percussive noise with the strings at the same time as strumming a bass note lmao, seems like in order to hit the strings hard enough to create that percussive noise you’d naturally have to focus only on hitting that string and have no way to strum with the thumb in a way that replicates an alternate bass with fingerpicking. Very neat balance required it seems but idk it is TOUGH my dude. Would ya happen to have a walkthrough of Whatever anywhere ??
sorry i’m afraid i don’t really know how to break it down any further. it’s difficult to express in words what’s happening. the best thing to do is just slow down the songs and focus on one chord and practice the same technique over and over every day and eventually your hand will learn it.
@@brushstrokemedallion appreciated nonetheless !! keep up the good work lad
@@ellismanning3163 if you slam your thumb down flat on the string, of course, it will make the clicky sound.. and if you go parallel to the face of the strings, like a typical strum, you can't get the percussive sound. The sound comes from the metal on metal, as the string smashes down on the frets, rather than from your thumb smacking the string. So I think getting both sounds, the pluck and click, just comes down to striking the string at an angle. Just enough to actually pluck it, and if there is enough force, you'll get that lovely click sound too. I used to play slap bass, so this thumb technique is somewhere between slapping and strumming.
Do you know what his technique is on songs like The Last Hour? I can play this technique, and the variation where you play with the forefinger at the same time as the thumb, but I can't figure out what is going on in The Last Hour.
i’ll take a closer listen and see what i can figure out
@@brushstrokemedallion awesome! Thank you!!
@@Daneh97 sorry i dropped the ball on you but here is a tutorial i just made: ua-cam.com/video/Q7wCGazQgiE/v-deo.html
@@brushstrokemedallion AAAH! I just watched it! Thanks so much! I've been thinking about revisiting that one and trying to get the timing right, and your new video will definitely help with that. Love these videos you do about elliotts technique
u sound like elliott dude!
im hyperfixated on your guitar what is it its so nice
it's the balloon on the bridge, i'm pretty sure. it's a cheapo meteor guitar from main drag music in brooklyn. they have a bunch for $200-300 but you can probably find cheaper ones outside nyc.
Hey, what's the name of the song at 2:10
"whatever (folk song in C)" off new moon
Is that a Norma?? I just bought a guitar with a pickguard like yours for 15 bucks at a antique store. It’s a Norma from the 60s.
Whats the 2nd song???
folk song in c I believe
What tuning is this?
standard with the high e down a whole step
@@brushstrokemedallion thank you! Great video
just certain ones
It’s a bit like clawhammer
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that’s amazing, man
Jesus your voice sounds like Elliott. Are you doing that on purpose ?!
Hey man, do you think you could speak just a tad bit quieter? Almost blew out my speakers with how loud your voice is. I almost was able to make out the words, and we obviously dont want that happening
Not quite. Nice try though.