Hi Jacky!! I think the 'Cotten' picking technique required a more articulate left hand on the bass lines, alternating the 6th string and 5th string bass lines to get a more 'folk' sound (like Suzanne Vega's 'Gypsy' for example) where a more articulate left hand would enable the player to get a bassline that is a little more.... flexible. Big Yellow Taxi, employs a little bit of this but I guess by this time Joni is so used to NOT utilising this technique, she just strums the 6th and 5th strings together, but the left hand alternating bass gives it a more boogie-woogie feel.
I'm not sure if this is right but it's my take on what she means. Peace Much Joni Jamie Zoob ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2001 6:51 PM Subject: A technical question for guitarists > I've been puzzling about something arising from Karen O'Brien's biography, > "Shadows and Light". At least twice Karen mentions the fact that polio left > Joni with a deficiency in her left side which meant she was unable to master > a "Cotten picking" style of guitar playing. While I can see that a weakness > of the right hand could lead to difficulty in this respect I can't see why a > problem with the left hand would lead to her "ending up playing mostly the > 6th string, banging it into the 5th." Looking at early footage of Joni's > playing she seems to use a highly developed finger picking style, although > it's true this was later abandoned. The development of her many tunings as > the result of left hand weakness I can understand as they make for more > comfortable fingering on the whole, although more barring which takes quite a > lot of strength. > > Comments welcome, > Jacky
