Silver cloud in my music career

In last 3 years, it's become obvious i don't have a lot of aptitude for playing all these i bought or obtained somehow:

♠ fretted and unfretted guitar,
♣ fretless bass guitar,
♥ clarinet,
♦ cello.

I *can* play piano and flute without inflicting pain (I might remember how to play marinba/xylophone if i bought one, also)

But: I must be one of the best pianists in Seattle area with long fingernails, I'll be announcing the First Seattle International Fingernail Piano Competition.  It'll be like racewalking, if judges don't hear constant clicking, you're DQ'd and immediately pulled from performing. Immediately, like instantaneously.

Pinch harmonics

1. upstroke with thumbnail.  Doesn't sound quite right, pretty scooped out mids

2. pick held in thumb and mid finger, damp with index finger (watch @1:10

http://www.ernieball.com/eb-tv/artists/steve-morse/steve-morse-play-tests-the-new-ernie-ball-cobalt-electric-guitar-strings

3. tip of pick held even with thumb and index tips.  When upstroking, turn pick down from perpendicular to guitar top.

blog posts in the pipeline

Hmm, I only have a couple more blogworthy topics as far as picks go:

- shaping the ultimate pick: Vrai t-shell point, tactilized Tortex grip  Unfort'ly, the shell hasn't got here yet.  Prolly Jan 2013

- shaping nails for fingerpicking (in a way where you can still play piano, cello, clarinet and flute.

Stay tuned.

custom shaped thumbpicks

The tricky things are sealing air bubbles after you cut to approximate shape (cigarette lighter or gas stove to seal air bubbles), and beveling the inside edge.

Prior art #2: the texturized/tactile/hairy guitar pick

For a pick that's much easier to grip than any other: drill holes, lots of holes

2 picks à la fois

innovation #2, which isn't much of an innovation: use 2 picks at once, a camel bone (Teflon-y), and a wegen jazz pick (gritty, frictiony).  Use your index and thumb to extend one or the other.

Kind of like a switchable humbucker and single coil on one instrument, or flat and roundwounds.

Shd be possible to bolt 2 together so you can choose your tip, switchblade style.