Strummer/flatpicker to fingerpicking

MarkM
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 7:48 pm

Someone just posted a Doyle Dykes video and it got me thinking of just how much I am missing by not being able to play fingerpicking style. I've had been playing on and off for the past 20 years and until about 2 years ago I finally decided to spend some time and actually try and get better. Then upgraded my guitar (which made a huge difference of course). Then TG came around and it's be great. Getting better and better all the time. However I'm just a strummer with some flatpicking. I always wanted to learn how to fingerpick as I feel that you truley get all you can out of the guitar once you can. My question is are there any of you that was in the same boat as me. Meaning, knowing most chords, happily strumming away but wanting more. I'd like to know what technique did you use to practice and/or how did you start picking? Basically how the heck did you get all those fingers working???????


haoli25
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:05 pm

Glad to have you with us Mark.

When I first started to learn fingerpicking, I just started with a simple finger roll. Right hand only, you can add chords later, just alternate hitting the 6th string then 5th string with your thumb. After you establish that rhythm, try hitting the 3rd string with your index finger in between the bass notes....thumb, index, thumb. Very slow and steady. After a lot of practice doing that and you feel comfortable, try hitting 2nd string with middle finger and add that to the mix.
Thumb, index, thumb, middle, etc. Eventually you will get to the point where you can play the 1st string with your ring finger. Be patient with yourself, it is not easy to learn, but it is worth your time. Try some of Neil's fingerpicking songs. Just start out slowly and gradually build up your speed.


Bill


mcfingers
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:12 pm

Hey Mark, How ya doin'. I have been finger picking for thirty years and as I recall, the way I started was slowly. I think I was learning country/folk standard, "Down in the Valley". I would alternate my thumb on the base strings while plucking all three (GBE) high strings in unison with my first three fingers. After getting comfortable with the three finger "pluck" I graduated to an arpeggio finger roll kind of thing with those same three fingers and strings. Eventually I had someone show me a very basic alternating finger pick using my thumb and first finger. It was an outside-outside, inside-inside, picking pattern on any four consecutive strings. Whatever sounded good. I stayed with that for some time, eventually adding in my middle finger for a three finger alternating finger picking style. It's not hard, it just takes time for your muscle memory to kick in. Play around with it. Try to find someone else to play along with if you can. That is probably the single best thing you can do. It really helps to have someone else there when you mess around on the guitar. Plus, it's more fun.

Good luck and I hope I was of some small help.

Cheers,
Steve


tovo
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:17 pm

Hey Mark,

Bill's and McFingers advice is great. I would add that I was precisely in the boat that you describe only a couple of months ago. I had never finger picked. If you take a look at the video I posted of Hallelujah (and honestly speaking mate it's not a "hey check out how good it is" because it's far, far from good and quite a few mistakes in it) but you will see the level of finger picking I have reached in just a couple of months work, just by following advice, mainly from the folks here on the forum. What advice? Practice man, practice. I suggest you watch Neil's lesson on "House of the Rising Sun" paying particular attention to the picking, and then get to practicing it. Day, night, in front of the TV, when you are talking to your family or friends, you get the idea. THAT is how you get your fingers working and then go on to other patterns like in "Landslide" and "Hallelujah".

That's my 2 cents worth mate. It actually doesn't take that long, it's just getting it in your fingers and your memory. You will improve rapidly with practice. Hope that helps a little.


MarkM
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:22 pm

No magic pill or chant??? Nuts.....

All kidding aside thank you both. Yup that's the direction that I'll have to go in. I'll put aside dedicated time each day when I pick up the guitar and SLOWLY work it in. That is between regular practicing, theory practice, scale practice, mode practice..........

I'm comfortable with the thumb and index finger. That's fairly easy. Just getting the other two fingers to cooporate will be the challange.

Have a good evening.....


ffsooo3
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:28 pm

Do a YouTube search on "Tommy Emmanuel Boom Chick"


reiver
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:35 pm

I've been fingerpicking for a few (!) years now and I found it much easier to practice by finding a song to play than by just hitting the strings - start with songs with simple chord changes. I remember the difficulty that I had, just moving my RH fingers meant it was like trying to learn the chords all over again. But you'll get there......

r


jayswett
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Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:34 pm

Like Tovo, I started the fingerpicking six or seven months ago and enjoy it. I have nothing to add other than to emphaszie that it's worth the effort. Check out Chris' Love Story video above to see what I mean.


mark
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Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:43 am

Hi Mark

There are 3 basic styles with fingerpicking.

1. Appeggio picking. Where you play a bass note and follow it up with some higher notes. A good example is House of the Rising Sun which is in the target program.

This is probably the best place to start.

2. Alternating bass. In this style the bass plays on each beat, alternating between the root note and the (usually) 5th or 3rd of the chord.
Good examples in the target program would be Dust in the wind or Landslide
You should know when you have this right because the bass notes thud away keeping time for you.

3. Monotonic bass. In this style the bass string thuds constantly on the root note. This is normally usedin blues (in E and A especially).

I would say take Neils advice and use all 3 fingers on the right hand right from the start.
It will feel really difficult to start with, but stick with it and eventually it will become second nature. It's a bit like learning to change gears in a car. Impossible to start with but becomes second nature


BigBear
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Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:02 am

MarkM wrote:
No magic pill or chant??? Nuts.....

All kidding aside thank you both. Yup that's the direction that I'll have to go in. I'll put aside dedicated time each day when I pick up the guitar and SLOWLY work it in. That is between regular practicing, theory practice, scale practice, mode practice..........

I'm comfortable with the thumb and index finger. That's fairly easy. Just getting the other two fingers to cooporate will be the challange.

Have a good evening.....

Mark- these folks provided great advice for learning fingerpicking. Was your question about learning fingerpicking aka pattern picking or do you want to learn fingerstyle playing, like what Neil does most of the time. They are pretty different approaches.

If you want to learn both, fingerpicking is a good way to start because it will help each finger learn which strings each should play. As you work on arpeggios (which are really a blend of both styles) and patterns, take some time and play some simple melodies making sure to keep "finger discipline". This means when you pluck a string you learn to use the finger you meant to use!

I learned by experimentation and it was really a half-assed way to learn. When I get going fast I still try to cheat back to two finger picking and plucking whatever strings seems convenient at the time. Please take these guys advice and start slow and go simple so you don't learn all the bad habits some of us have picked up because they have proven really hard to break!

Good luck with this. I envy you getting to start from scratch. Let us know how you are doing!

Cheers! :cheer:


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