In addition to learning from Ben, I take weekly lessons to get some talented and experienced eyes to help me correct 40 years of self-taught technical blasphemy. My teacher wants me to add a thumb motion to my picking. He wants me to move the knuckle of my thumb inward on down strokes and outward on the upstroke. I have a video he made of what he wants me to do but it is too large to upload here. I have watched Ben, Bryan Sutton, Tony Rice and a bunch of other players and never seen anything like this. Do any of you do anything like this? Ever seen anyone who does?
Picking on my thumb
Yes, and you need to practice it. Tony does it a LOT, actually, if you’re talking about what I think you are. Are you talking about bending your thumb at the middle knuckle?
Yes. That is exactly what I am talking about. Bending the middle knuckle down on the down stroke and up on the up stroke.
Holy smokes! That is gonna take some work!
Ben touches on this in his lessons also:
At around 3:00
https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/basic-guitar-rhythm-part-2-guitar-beginner
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Thank you, Fiddle-Wood. I took that lesson but never really made the connection before. Appreciate the help.