Palm blocking and Pick blocking

Joe Farrell · Post by **Joe Farrell** » 26 Dec 2011 6:17 pm

What technique do you prefer; palm blocking or pick blocking?

When is one technique preferred over the other?

Do anyone experience pick noise when using pick blocking?

Brett Lanier · Post by **Brett Lanier** » 26 Dec 2011 7:21 pm

Pick blocking comes more naturally to me so that's what I do most of the time. I don't notice any unwanted noise either. Palm blocking sounds better sometimes though for certain things imo. Especially for getting that big fat sound on the C6 neck.
Honestly I never gave blocking much thought til I starting reading about it on the forum, I just figured out how to block strings somewhat subconsciously as I learned to play different things.
I do however believe that blocking with the bar hand should be a last resort. But then again, you've got guys like Reece Anderson who block an awful lot with the bar hand, and needless to say he plays a lot better than I do. Hmm, how's that for a straight answer?

Ted Solesky · Post by **Ted Solesky** » 26 Dec 2011 8:38 pm

When I talked to I lived in Vegas, he said 'if you can do both methods, that's the ideal way'. Tommy White still prefers hand blocking and he isn;t lacking any licks whatsoever. Same with Paul. So,which one.??

Ted Solesky · Post by **Ted Solesky** » 26 Dec 2011 8:40 pm

whoops, he was Mike Smith, when I met him there in 1981 or 82.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 26 Dec 2011 8:56 pm

Question 1: both
Question 2: both
Question 3: I thought they where supposed to make noise hitting the strings
Just kidding on Question three. Real answer, never noticed any---Henry

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 27 Dec 2011 1:00 am

Joe Farrell wrote:What technique do you prefer; palm blocking or pick blocking?

I have no preference. I find pick blocking harder to do generally. I find picking hard to do sometimes too though.

Joe Farrell wrote:When is one technique preferred over the other?

For many faster types of picking patterns, pick blocking is the way to achieve it smoothly.

Ultimately, the preferred technique of blocking is the one that achieves the sound you want (or dont want in the case of blocking, haha).

Joe Farrell wrote:Do anyone experience pick noise when using pick blocking?

Yes.

Clete

David Ellison · Post by **David Ellison** » 28 Dec 2011 1:31 pm

I'd never heard of pick blocking until I started reading this forum. I'm sure it must be a decent method of blocking or no one would recommend it. I know I must be missing something, but I can't see how it would be easier or faster.

The way I block, I pick the note while rolling my hand back slightly to block it... it's all one motion of my hand. To block with your picks, it seems like it would require two separate movements of your finger... one to pick the string and one to block the note.

I'm not the fastest player, but I've never had trouble blocking the notes as fast as I could pick them. For me, actually PICKING the right notes has always been the most difficult part of learning certain licks... but if I can pick it, I can usually block it. For faster single note licks, I find that the notes sound better when they slightly run into one another anyway, otherwise it sounds too staccato.

Dick Sexton · Post by **Dick Sexton** » 28 Dec 2011 2:00 pm

And probably a few more, like lifting the back of the bar...

I primarily palm block, but have finished a run and thought, Holy Cow(edited for family site), I just pick blocked that whole thing. Basically I just made it sound the best I could, what ever it took. And I really didn't much think about blocking. I don't think the pros do think much about it, that process would get in the way of what they were trying to play. I think they play and do a lot of things on steel they don't think about. There just isn't time.

Things like, starting a simultaneous move of a pedal and a knee lever, at some point it just happens and happens correctly. If you practice that move enough, you'll never think about it. When is the last time you walked and thought about each and every step you took and how you took them. Only in unfamiliar or uncharted territory. OOMV...

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 28 Dec 2011 3:34 pm

You can tell Dick has been playing for a week or two.

You know you are comfortable with your technique when you don't think about it. Until that point you won't have the spare brain capacity to 'let it flow'.

If you are concentrating on where the bar is, what chord you are playing, which pedals to use, and whether you blocked that last note, there's really no time to play creatively and beautifully.

Auto-pilot is a wonderful thing and something to strive for.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 28 Dec 2011 4:16 pm

"Auto-pilot is a wonderful thing and something to strive for."

Yup! I zone out. I know that I use palm, pick, and bar hand blocking, but I don't think about it at all. After a while, it just happens naturally, I guess. I never seem to know what's going to happen next. Flow.

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 28 Dec 2011 4:35 pm

I pick blocked as a primary means of stopping the note for a long time, then I started encountering a few issues. The worst is that I am using up my picking on blocking so I cant reset my picking hand quickly on fast runs. The other is that I have a horrible tendency to block a note I meant to let ring. Sometimes when I pick block, you can hear the pick hit the string, which is a problem recording wise.

As a result I have been palm blocking more and have noticed an improvement in my fast playing, pick blocking notes when it feels right and palm blocking others. My tone seems better and more uniform as well.

I also will let my thumb on the bar hand stop a few notes from time to time, Tho that is just out of laziness.

Thats for me though; I have seen plenty of people sound way better than me using techniques that cause problems with my playing, so I guess it just varies from player to player. I do feel learning to palm block helped my over all accuracy and picking technique improve.

Dick Sexton · Post by **Dick Sexton** » 28 Dec 2011 4:44 pm

You guessed it Larry, two!

I think the most shocked I've ever been, is when one of the band members wives said, hey I taped that, want to hear it. I think my words were, "I didn't play all that stuff", I'd been on full auto the whole song. Never thought what, where or how to play it, just generally how I wanted it to go. "It Played", a quote from one of them Zen Masters.

When I stopped playing for a long time, I lost that, but I'm once again getting close. And it feels good.

Study, study, study, practice, practice, practice, then let "IT" happen...

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 29 Dec 2011 3:02 pm

In my opinion you need to learn to do both ! I have found the best way to learn to block the strings is to take your volume pedal out the loop . Hook your guitar straight up to your amp ,turn the volume down so you wont go deaf ,then proceed to play . You will have to block the notes to keep them from ringing . This may sound crazy but it works for me ! You will learn to block !!!

George McCann · Post by **George McCann** » 29 Dec 2011 5:51 pm

I'm new to all this but agree with Gary. I took the volume pedal out for all of my daily practice sessions about two weeks ago. Some times I leave the picks off too. I noticed on an xmas eve semi gig for friends and neighbors that I wasn't consience of actually blocking notes but all of the practice helped it just "happen" as is was supposed to. Guess I'm slowly learning again as I just took up the steel after setting it aside back in 76.

Dave Magram · Post by **Dave Magram** » 30 Dec 2011 2:26 am

Steve Norman wrote:I pick blocked as a primary means of stopping the note for a long time, then I started encountering a few issues. The worst is that I am using up my picking on blocking so I cant reset my picking hand quickly on fast runs. The other is that I have a horrible tendency to block a note I meant to let ring. Sometimes when I pick block, you can hear the pick hit the string, which is a problem recording wise.

...I also will let my thumb on the bar hand stop a few notes from time to time, Tho that is just out of laziness.

Steve,

There is a good bit more to "pick-blocking" than literally blocking with the picks, although that is certainly part of it. (Using your bar-hand thumb is actually part of the technique.) As a friend put it, "You block with everything you can. Use your elbow if that helps!"

I had palm-blocked for many years, but when I heard Paul Franklin play "Pick it Apart" with Mark O'Connor at 185 bpm, I knew there was no way I could play that fast with palm-blocking.

At the time, Paul's courses were not available, so I bought a videotape (now a DVD) from Joe Wright that explained it all very completely.

Many people do a bit of pick-blocking without realizing it, but to put it all together like Joe and Paul do is a whole new level of precision technique.

- Dave

Fred Glave · Post by **Fred Glave** » 30 Dec 2011 10:33 am

Developing accuracy with your picks, (that is striking the desired strings with confidence) will go a long way to being able to block well regardless of technique. Before my string attack became reliably accurate, I worried too much to consider blocking. Once I was rolling through the notes accurately, better blocking just came.

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 30 Dec 2011 6:05 pm

Good advice Dave, I think I do mix it more than I am aware. I think I might grab a copy of that lesson mentioned.

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 30 Dec 2011 9:06 pm

I really like the sound of pick blockin, especially on a fast song. Just makes a smooth flow. Just wish I was better at it than I am.

terry

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 7 Feb 2012 6:23 pm

I think that there is something to be said about both, listen to JayDee play those old dukes of hazard car chase pedal steel guitar licks. You can't do alot of those unless you palm mute as goes for alot of classic train beat stuff on heehaw. Really good chicken pick choppy stuff, man that old stuff sounds so cool 8)from back in the 70's The same goes for alot of modern steel. There are alot single note run stuff that pick bllocking has an edge over palm muting. So I would have to agree with the majority on this opne that both are essential because it gives you options and makes you a well reounded picker. I jsut watched David Hartley pick orange blossom specila and it was almost etirely palm muted. Fast....

. That staccato sound is classic to pedal steel. I primarily pick block but recently started messing around with palm muting and I am liking it alot. Tom Brumely was the master.

Eric Philippsen · Post by **Eric Philippsen** » 7 Feb 2012 8:47 pm

I use a combination of both. However, I do use a fair amount of pick blocking.

Actually, (oh-oh, I'm going to make a generalization here) I think there is at least one disadvantage to pick blocking. Here's the quick story on how I found that out.

I had a studio call where I laid down steel parts for a bunch of tunes. Normally, after all is done I pack up and head home but that time I stuck around and watched the producer and engineer work on the tracks. When they got to my parts the engineer removed what he called "the junk" from the top end of my tracks' audio spectrum. I wondered what that actually was and where it came from in my signal chain. Then it occurred to me it was the "sizzle" that occurs for just an instant when your pick first contacts the string to block it. That didn't make me happy but, then again, they didn't discard or dump any of my parts.

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 8 Feb 2012 3:30 am

I just read my post,

I think my keyboard typing needs more work than either my pick or palm blocking

Yes Eric I know what you mean.

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Palm blocking and Pick blocking

Palm blocking and Pick blocking

Re: Palm blocking and Pick blocking

Palm, Pick, Left thumb, Finger at the end of the bar...

Haha!

Blocking

Pick or Palm.....

pick blockin