Mastering the George Benson 'Rest Stroke' for Jazz Guitar
For many intermediate jazz guitar players, the quest for the perfect tone can feel like an endless journey of buying new pedals, amps, and guitars. We chase the warmth of Wes Montgomery or the fluid drive of Pat Metheny🔗 , but often overlook the most crucial element: the pick. If you're accustomed to alternate picking, the technique of the legendary George Benson offers not just a challenge, but a profound opportunity to transform your tone and rhythmic feel. The secret isn't just his unique grip, but the engine behind it: the 'rest stroke.' Mastering this redefines your entire right-hand mechanism and unlocks a new level of dynamic control and swing in your improvisation.
Alternate picking, common in rock and fusion, is built for efficiency and speed. The pick strikes the string and immediately returns to the air, ready for the next note. The George Benson approach is fundamentally different, built on weight and groove rather than speed. First, the grip is reversed. Instead of the thumb pressing down on the pick, the index finger is extended and lays over the thumb. This forces the pick to strike the string at a flatter, almost parallel angle. This is why a flexible pick, like a Fender Medium, is essential. It bends slightly upon impact, producing a fat, round tone instead of a sharp, thin one.
Second, and most importantly, is the rest stroke itself. When you play a downstroke, you don't pull back into the air. Instead, you push through the string and let the pick come to a dead stop, resting on the string directly below it. All the weight of your arm and hand is delivered into that single motion. This technique has a powerful musical side effect: every downstroke becomes naturally accented. It creates a heavy, driving pulse, much like a drummer's ride cymbal, that locks your lines into the groove. The upstroke, in contrast, becomes a light, preparatory motion, used primarily to get back into position for the next powerful downstroke. To practice this, apply the rest stroke to your chord tone arpeggio routines over a II–V–I progression. Take a Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7. As you play descending arpeggios, focus on making every downstroke a rest stroke. Feel the 'thud' of the pick landing on the next string. It will feel slow and clumsy at first, especially if you're used to the feeling of floating over the strings. However, once you internalize this motion, you'll find you can generate a powerful, swinging rhythmic feel with very little effort. Your phrasing will gain a natural weight and authority that is impossible to achieve with alternate picking alone.
Just as it's crucial to see the fretboard as a flow of harmonic functions, it's equally important to control the right hand that expresses that flow. Starting today, consciously focus on the sensation of your pick landing on the next string during your downstroke practice. Resisting the urge to speed up is key. Once this motion becomes second nature, your jazz guitar playing will acquire a groove and tone that are deeply authentic and command attention. This isn't just a technique; it's a philosophy of rhythm.