The left hand can press the finger board all day and not produce a sound audible beyond the few inches from the neck (Unless you are Stanley Jordan of course). The right hand determines the dynamics for the notes you are choosing with the left hand. In essence, we all play the same notes. But, each instrument allows us to attack those notes using our own signature sound that is a reflection of who we are. For the guitarist, the majority of that personality comes from the picking hand.

One of the ways I express this to my students is to give them a chart of chords that share one common tone. And I will play that note in various ways as they strum through their chords. They learn not only how the notes is affected by the backdrop of the chords but also the attitude in which I use to strike that same note for a dozen or so measures in order to keep it interesting. I think I learned that idea from a trumpeter a long time ago.

RickeG