Hayes Griffin's Flatpicking Essentials: Crosspicking Part 1

Guitarist Hayes Griffin gives an introduction to crosspicking, one of the most common bluegrass guitar techniques.
www.hayesgriff...
Hayes Griffin is a professional acoustic guitarist based in Columbus, OH. Inspired at a young age by the sounds of Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, and Tony Rice, Hayes completely immersed himself in the world of bluegrass and acoustic music. As a teenager, Hayes gained recognition playing in local bluegrass bands and winning local flatpick competitions.
Around this time his musical interests started to broaden, and Hayes began studying bluegrass and jazz music under the supervision of Andy Carlson, Tom Carroll, and Casey Cook at Denison University, where he eventually earned a BA in Music Performance in 2010. After Denison, Hayes was an active member of Boston’s vibrant acoustic music scene while pursuing a master’s degree in Contemporary Improvisation at the New England Conservatory under the instruction of the late, great John McGann.
Since his graduation, Hayes moved back to his native Ohio and began touring full time with renowned Canadian fiddler April Verch, and pursuing his love of teaching music.
Hayes’ Favorite Gear:
🔗 TZ Audio Stellar X3 Condenser Mic: amzn.to/3AsgQ1D
🔗 Warm Audio WA-84 Small Diaphragm Condenser Mic: amzn.to/3wAM4To
🔗 Panasonic GH5 Mirrorless Camera: amzn.to/3pL8Gwv
🔗 Olympus 25mm f/1.8 Mirrorless Lens: amzn.to/3QROJA0
🔗 Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 Audio Interface: amzn.to/3pJpUdP
🔗 Sony MDR-7506 Dynamic Stereo Headphones: amzn.to/3wyiE8t
🔗 Paige Guitar Capo: amzn.to/3QVRZdE
🔗 Dunlop Primetone Triangle Picks: amzn.to/3To6M2n
🔗 Ultimate Support GS-100 Genesis Series Guitar Stand: amzn.to/3CurpEe

[@harrisfrankou2368]

Done I'll practice both styles.

[@HayesGriffin]

You won't regret it! Practicing both makes your right hand extremely versatile.

[@harrisfrankou2368]

@@HayesGriffin got 10 in a row slow...sped up lost it..slowed down. Both patterns After corona I'll get a lesson from you or buy some stuff. You've been great. I can shred/ rock and blues metal ok. Finger style is good but this is glueing it all together and helping each style. Its amazing how it btings out the holes in ones technique

[@HayesGriffin]

​@@harrisfrankou2368 that's great to hear! Glad some of this has been useful to you. You know how to find me, would love to catch up with you once this whole corona stuff is behind us! :D

[@goodcommentman1512]

Great stuff!

[@HayesGriffin]

[@Sim0nSezZ]

Great playing!! Subbed!!

[@HayesGriffin]

Thanks Simon! Just checked your channel out and love it. You're a great player yourself!

[@danbromberg]

Nice video but left me wondering if I should bother with the Scheffler Style if the only benefit is loudness. I much prefer clean speed in the crosspicking style. Can't you get just as much volume out of crosspicking and is Scheffler really slower? Is there a benefit to knowing both? Your video left me a tad confused as to where I should direct my effort.

[@HayesGriffin]

Hey Dan! Sorry the video left you stranded, that was definitely not my intent. My reason for showing both styles was just to give you the tools to unlock either pattern. Like you, I prefer clean, fast crosspicking, and the alternating version of the crosspicking pattern yields better results for me personally. I think with practice, you can get good volume/speed out of either method, but I've found that the Shuffler style slows me down because of the two down strokes in a row. That being said, Doc Watson, Clarence White, and Tony Rice all exploit the Shuffler-style method with AWESOME results... If you are on the fence about which way to go, I would try the alternate crosspick method for now since it works on the principles of alternate picking, which most flatpickers are already used to. A lot of modern players (David Grier, Kenny Smith, Bryan Sutton, etc.) tend to use this more often than the other, so check them out to compare/contrast.

[@KennethChapple]

Nice video, brother!

[@HayesGriffin]

Thanks a million Ken!

[@robertgriffin3464]

In this one I think you should've split both styles with a break, for begginers, a pause would've been beneficial on the learning curve.

[@HayesGriffin]

Great feedback. Thanks Rob! 🙏

[@paul29671]

I've been impressed with your playing, but I was wondering about the make of your guitar. I first saw you playing with April, BTW.

[@HayesGriffin]

Thanks CM! Had a blast playing with April and glad you've kept up with me since then. This guitar is a Leo Posch mahogany dreadnought. Check out www.leoposch.com/ for some pics of the other beautiful guitars Leo has done.

[@merthsoft]

Nice video, Hayes! For the next one, though, I'd suggest increasing the volume of your speaking sections a bit. I have my volumes at max and still can't hear you too well.

[@HayesGriffin]

Thanks Shaun! You're not the first to mention it, so I'll definitely have to do a better job normalizing everything next time. I appreciate the feedback man!

[@jeremydmarx]

to the shed....

[@HayesGriffin]

[@CCRForeverTribute]

more rockin less talkin

[@HayesGriffin]

Creedence Forever | The Supreme CCR Experience thanks for the feedback!