A Cool Technique I Noticed In 'Southern Flavor'

I was working on one of my favorite songs today, 'Southern Flavour.' Dave Hum has 5 different recordings on YouTube of Southern Flavour. He must have really liked the tune, as I do too. At 1:28 time in the video, you can see Dave mute (with his third finger) the first string at the second fret to kick off his run. The muted note happens so fast that it is very easy to overlook. I suggest slowing the video down in the YouTube “Settings” to half or quarter speed, so you can see what Dave is doing. You can use this helpful technique elsewhere.

At first I couldn't figure out what Dave was doing, but then noticed that he doesn't actually play the note, he mutes it to create a cool effect. I made this brief audio clip, so you can hear the muted note. Guitar and steel guitar players call this technique, 'Chicken Pickin.' To create the effect, simply gently place the tip of your third finger on the string to mute it. If you hear the note sound, you pressed too hard. Watch the video (slow it down to clearly see and hear what he's doing).

I learned a very long time ago as a musician that any time you cannot recreate what another musician is playing, it is simply because your technique (the way something is done) is wrong. Dave is amazing, doing little techniques that we often overlook. Those little things are what separate his playing from the rest of us. Another musical hero of mine, pedal steel guitar artist Lloyd Green (born 1937) is a master of incorporating little techniques into his playing. Lloyd and Dave are masters of timing, which only comes with years of playing.

In the aforementioned video 'Southern Flavor,' at about 1:30 time, I took this screenshot of Dave's cool skull tuner on the fifth string. Love it! This is his 1992 Gibson Earl Scruggs Standard (ESS) banjo.

Screenshot From 'Southern Flavour' Video