Fingerpicking 101 - question (Streets of London)

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jennings
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Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:33 am

Hi Guys,

I have been playing for 6 years - but would consider myself 'intermediate/beginner'. I am not naturally musical but I love playing.

I recently switched from a plectrum to finger strumming, as it gave me more affinity with the music - it made me feel closer to my guitar. Sounds a bit weird...I am not sure if I have articulated that very well...anyway...I would really like to nail fingerpicking. Specifically my goal is to play a decent rendition of Streets of London (Ralph Mactell). So after a bit of waffle here are my questions.

If I do the fingerpicking 101 lesson, will I be able to play Streets of London?
Will I be able to apply fingerpicking to songs which aren't necessarily fingerpicking songs?


Thanks for reading,

Ian


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neverfoundthetime
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Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:20 am

Hi Jennings, welcome to the forum.
If I do the fingerpicking 101 lesson, will I be able to play Streets of London?
Will I be able to apply fingerpicking to songs which aren't necessarily fingerpicking songs?
Short answer, yes! The lesson on the song will nail it for you and all the tips on finger picking are applicable to anything you want to play. Even learning one simple picking pattern will help you enormously to finger pick many songs.

Have fun!
Chris


schm040
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Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:22 am


Ian,

I started out only fingerpicking because I couldn't get the feel for picking, plus I liked the sound of fingerpicking better. I would fingerpick and finger strum all songs I tried to learn to play. Neil has a lot of lessons that teach this method, one great example is Wish You Were here which is generally thought of as a strumming and plectrum song that he plays as a fingerstyle chord melody kind of thing.

That said, for me anyway, I think fingerpicking is a great way to go. Your questions can be answered only by you and how much you practice, but I do not recommend just trying to learn one song, try them all, then go back to the ones you like the most you will find each time it gets easier and better.

It's funny, but I have finally got some sense of rhythm and now use a pick alot. I will say if there is one thing about guitar playing, whether is pic king or strumming, you MUST nail rhythm first, it is the foundation. So go ahead and fingerpick but be sure you are in time.

Best of luck.

Matt


Lavallee
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Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:30 am

Hi Ian, welcome to TG from Montreal Canada. I really enjoy fingerpicking as it gives a lot of depth in your playing techniques and allow you to enjoy a much greater variety of songs. Neil is a master of fingerpicking. Working from his lessons will help you to get a solid basis.

To answer your question, if you learn fingerpicking 101 you will be able to play streets of London but also a lots of other songs. Keep in mind however that all the songs varies a bit for the right hand work. So you still to spend some time learning the particularities of the individual songs. Finger picking 101 lessons will give you some exercises to work on and explain the right way for the right hand to give you a solid basis on fingerpicking.

You will be able to apply fingerpicking to lessons which aren't necessarily fingerpicking songs applying a pattern and getting the melody from it which is another lesson on its own.

Please note that I am only a Target member and do not work for TG but I have learn so much from this site that I can only encourage people to join if you really to learn at faster pace by being expose to the proper techniques. Of course you still have to spend the time working on the muscle memory, but at least you will not need to second guess if you have the right technique.

Welcome aboard

Marc


jennings
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Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:41 am

Wow. Really fast responses. Thanks guys.

I think I will go ahead and buy the lesson. I will keep you posted on how it goes. :)


tovo
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Tue Apr 03, 2012 2:28 pm

You got some very good answers Ian. Can I just make the observation that you have said you have "switched" to fingerpicking. I don't think you need to work exclusively on one or the other, in fact I think that is a mistake. It doesn't have to be picking OR strumming, it should be both. Picking AND strumming. Some tunes are better picked, some better strummed. No matter how well you learn Streets of London (and I agree it is a beautiful and moving tune) you will eventually want to play with more variety. (I also note you are a player with 6 years of experience). I think that one of the things that makes a good player is a range of technique.

Like I said, just an observation.


jennings
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Tue Apr 03, 2012 2:45 pm

Good point Tovo - I should clear that up. I meant that I have switched from plectrum to fingers - both picking and strumming with fingers. I gotta be honest I do still use the plec with some songs but the finger strumming somehow feels more natural.


jayswett
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Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:34 am

Post a video for us once you've learned it!


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