Hi all
Got a question for the Acoustic players, if you are able to advise at all.
I've been playing more acoustic lately, not my favourite thing but I've found I maybe have a better affinity with it than electric now my voice has improved.
I generally like finger picking, though basic as I've only ever taught myself so it's rough around the edges. I don't usually strum much, definitely not a "drum rhythm strummer" of chords. Sort of simplified Laura Marling type stuff but without the alternative tunings, mostly picking but occasionally there is a section of strumming for contrast or for building a rise and fall into the mood of the songs.
But the strumming is way louder than the picking. My voice is quite quiet so is ok over the top of finger picking but gets drowned out by strumming. I don't use a pick.
So when you see people performing solo by themselves, how do you they manage to balance the two? Finger pick louder? Though that tends to sound too twangy.
Or is it just clever compressors on recorded sound?
For example on this I have to mute my strumming to repress it on the chorus when I'd like to be able to go fully ringing chords for some variation, but quieter than just strumming it out normally
Thanks
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Comments
In the room there's not too much you can do beyond strumming lighter.
“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
Will try the stuff mentioned here and see how I get on. The video is perhaps not the best example of it but I don't have anything else on video at present - I'm really holding back a lot and only twanging a couple of strings at a time over alternate bass on the more "strummy" bits of that.
I watched the online Laura Marling gig the other week and it struck me there the contrast was great between the two but again, could be comp/limiting or that her voice can keep up. But there's a video of Chris Cornell that does what i'm on about, where the strumming bit is so much louder than the picked bit it sounds really out of place. For first verse & chorus it sounds sounds great, but then the strumming at 1:59 and 2:15 sounds way too loud compared to the picking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul45DZg4i74
I am overthinking it I Know I guess it comes from being an electric player who tries a bit of acoustic as the compression of volumes takes care of itself on electric, and just picking harder on the non-strummed bits is effective. But less so on acoustic - I played an acoustic folk open mic thing earlier this year, where there was literally just a mic hanging from the ceiling for amplification, and I found i was finger picking too hard and it sounded terribly twangy like elastic bands haha