Fingerpicking
Finger picking on the guitar can be a bit tricky at first but really rewarding in the long run. Electric guitar players may never really know how to finger pick but if you’re to spend any time on an acoustic this technique will really come in handy and open up a lot more songs to you.
The most difficult aspect of finger picking for many people is getting your fingers on your picking hand to work independently from each other. If you have been playing for a while I’m sure you experienced this when starting out and trying to play chords and scales. Sometimes that damn middle finger just wants to do whatever your pointer finger does. It just takes some time and practice, so take it slow, concentrate on your picking hand and build the muscle memory. Speed will come later.
In this lesson I will cover several different patterns that can be customized to fit the chord you’re playing. Once these patterns are mastered you will be able to create rhythms based on the chord structure of a song. Each Pattern has an example on how to play it with the root being on the low E string, A string and D string.
In the example below the first bar is a G chord where the root note is on the low E string, the second bar is an A minor chord where the root note is on the A string. The third bar is a D chord where the root note is on the D string. I’ll be using these 3 chords in the other patterns in this lesson.
patterns in this lesson.
G Major |
A Minor |
D Major |
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Example I
In our first pattern we are going to work on a simple pattern and only using your thumb, index and middle finger.
I’ve included letters above the string to represent what finger you should be using to strike the string. T is for thumb, I is for index finger, and M is for middle finger.
Example 2
You will notice this example is almost identical to the pattern in Example 2. Well, the only difference is we are alternating the bass note with your thumb. The finger picking pattern is the same and I’ve left off the finger letters.
Example 3
Again we are still using the same finger pattern from the previous 2 examples. This time we have lowered our treble notes and we are not striking the high E string at all and we are not alternating the bass notes.
Example 4
Now we are going to tie up the previous 3 examples into one pattern to make things a little more dynamic.
Notice that the first four notes of the pattern are the same as in example 3. We are alternating the bass note as we did in example 2, and then applying the last four notes from example 1 (same notes as example 2).
Example 5
We are introducing a new finger to your finger picking patterns, your ring finger. We are striking each note one at a time, your finger will run an arpeggio type of pattern but once you hit the high E string you will start over.
When you are practicing this pattern tie in the alternating bass note once you have it down.
Example 6
Next in this example we are pinching two notes at once and alternating the bass note. When you “pinch” you are playing more than one note at once and letting it ring until it is played again. In this example we are going to be pinching the bass note that is alternating and the high E.
The pinching of the notes is another technique along with alternating the bass notes that will add a new dynamic to your playing. When you are practicing your different patters throw in a pinch to add to the song.
Example 7
With this pattern we are reversing a bit from example 5. We are striking the bass note with our thumb and then hitting the high E with our ring finger, the B string with our middle finger and the G with our index finger
When you are practicing this pattern also try alternating the bass note and throwing in a 2 string pinch with the root note.
Example 8
In this example we are performing and arpeggio type of sweep. Again we are starting on the root note, playing 3 notes up to the high E string and then working our way back, but then alternating the bass note and adding another note.
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