“Cotten picking”

Elizabeth Cotten plays “Freight Train” the song for which she is best remembered.

The self-taught left-handed guitarist Elizabeth Cotten developed her own original style. Her approach involved using a right-handed guitar not re-strung for left-handed playing, essentially, holding a right-handed guitar upside down. This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as “Cotten picking”.

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