Flamenco Guitar Techniques - Three- Finger Picado
3-finger picado is a technique I observed in Narciso Yepes, the classical player and Victor Monge Serranito. As far as I know, Serranito is the only flamenco player to utilize this technique exclusively to play fast picado passages. The main idea: three fingers are faster than two fingers. Instead of dividing the passage into two, moving one finger after the other, you divide it into three and the speed requirement per finger is significantly reduced. Check out the following video for a tutorial:
The key is to break down the scale into short ami (anular-middle-index) bursts. This is not always possible as you may have to play only two notes on a particular string. In such instances, you replace the ami with mi. Since each scale is different and comes with it's own tricks and peculiarities, a 3-finger picado sequence always has to be planned in advance. You need to know with which finger to start the scale and at what point you have to switch to m-i or a-i, etc. A good example is the picado sequence from Entre dos Aguas:
Hardcore flamenco musicians look upon 3-finger picado as an inferior technique, sort of a "poor man's picado." There are pros and cons to it. When playing 3-finger picado you get less tired and can reach a much higher speed if you coordinate your ami bursts well. It is easier to combine an arpeggio with a 3-f picado passage. As for the disadvantages, it is harder to produce the punchy flamenco tone with 3 fingers because the ring finger doesn't have the same strength as the index and middle fingers and to balance the three you have to opt for a more "classical" sounding tone. Also, each passage needs to be meticulously planned beforehand which makes, say, improvisation almost impossible.
The following video is a passage by Serranito that was composed particularly for 3-finger picado.
The following video is a passage by Serranito that was composed particularly for 3-finger picado.