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Playing
a twelve string guitar is a true joy. The rich harmonics,
the many possibilities in different tunings and
arpeggios, make playing the 12 a great adventure.
Powerpicking which is a rhythmic way of playing,
is a sensation to do. Leo Kottke, especially on
his earlier recordings, is a master of it. Listen
to 'Busted Bycycle' and you'll know what I mean.
Personnaly
I use a lot of powerpicking in my own recordings.
There are different ways to play powerpicking on
the 12 string. In fact it is a little bit like playing
bluegrass banjo, but in a guitaristic way. Here
I give you an excercise from which you can learn
some of the principles. I advise you to play it
slow at the beginning and then later speed up. It's
important that all notes sound clear and staccato
at the same time.
Also
when playing, try to shorten the notes by lifting
the fingers slightly from the fingerboard after
playing the string. Important in this excercise
is that I play the first note with the thumb, the
second note also with the thumb, the third with
the index finger and the fourth note, which is often
the same as the second note, also with the Index
finger. This means for instance in the first measure,
that I play the fourth string. The first time with
the thumb and the second time with the index-finger.
Visit
this link where you can see some clips of Leo Kottke
playing some of his earlier recordings: http://www.guitarmusic.org/kottke/gsamples.html
Good
luck, all the best Gert de Meijer
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