Guitar Fingerpicking for Beginners: A Simple Fingerpicking Pattern

The guitar can be played using many different styles and techniques. From simple strumming to playing with a pick to guitar fingerpicking, the sky is pretty much the limit.

This article details fingerpicking for beginners. If you've been playing guitar and want to progress from strumming to fingerpicking, read on for fingerstyle tips.

Some guitarists try to fudge it by randomly striking strings with any available finger but this produces a uneven and undisciplined sound, lacking that essential polish heard when listening to accomplished guitar players.

What is Guitar Fingerpicking?

• Fingerpicking involves the use of patterns: specific fingers strike specific strings in an established pattern to produce a distinctive sound.

• Different sounds are produced using different fingerpicking patterns.

Once a fingerpicking pattern has been learned, a guitarist can speed it up to produce an impressive, musically-pleasing sound.

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Many guitarists, eager to learn fingerpicking, attempt to hurry the learning curve, rushing the pattern before fingers and brain have learned it thoroughly. This is a recipe for frustration because the wrong strings will be struck or the sounds produced will reflect that lack of preparation.

Start out slowly and strive for an even tempo. If you lay a good foundation, you'll be amazed at how quickly you master fingerpicking and how your fingers will naturally pick up speed.

In fact, it has been observed that once a fingerpicking pattern has been memorized, fingers can go at lightening speed, effortlessly--such is the power of fingerpicking patterns!

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P = thumb, usually plays lower strings 6th (E), 5th (A), 4th (D)

I = index or first finger

M = middle finger

A = ring finger

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(P, I, M-A, I)

1--------------------------------------------A--------------------------------------------------------

2--------------------------------------------M--------------------------------------------------------

3---------------------------------I---------------------I-----------------------------------------------

4------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5------------------P----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As can be seen here, the thumb plucks the fifth string, then the index finger plucks the third string and the M & A fingers pluck the second and first strings simultaneously, then the index finger plucks the third string.

Practice this fingerpicking pattern a few times on open strings.

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Fingerpicking With a Chord

Okay, let's turn things up a notch.This pattern sounds so much better when played using chords, instead of on open strings. So, now we'll use chords with the pattern to produce a musically-pleasing sound.

• Use a C-chord to start.

• Finger placement: begin by placing your P finger on the 5th string and the I, M, A fingers on the third, second and first strings, as you did when using open strings.

Pluck the strings, as follows: P (fifth string), I (third string), [M (second string) + A (first string) played simultaneously], I (first string). Repeat pattern. It may help to count: 1(P), 2 (I), 3 (M-A), 4 (I).

Here's how it looks:

C

1------------|------------|-------------|-------------------------A----------------------------------

2-----O-----|------------|-------------|------------------------M-----------------------------------

3------------|------------|-------------|------------------I--------------I----------------------------

4------------|-----O-----|-------------|-------------------------------------------------------------

5------------|------------|------O-----|-----------P------------------------------------------------

6------------|------------|-------------|-------------------------------------------------------------

This is a good, basic guitar fingerpicking pattern. Play it slowly until you become comfortable with it and then practice speeding it up. Once you've learned this pattern, you can use it with any number of chords.

* At times, you may play a chord while your selected strings do not strike a note as seen in a chord. No worries, this helps to produce a better sound overall and can act as a guide for your fingers. you' ll notice, in this example using C, that the fourth string, while comprising part of the chord, is not actually plucked. One could split hairs and only place fingers of the left hand on the strings to be plucked but simply playing the chord is easier and helps with chord changing and is perfectly suitable for fingerstyle guitar. For someone playing a technically harder classical piece, this might be relevant, but for the sake of this tutorial, the chords suffice.

Fingerpicking With Chords
Try this with the following chords: C (P (5)), A-minor (P (5)), D-minor (P (4)), G-7 (P (6)), alternating the base notes as indicated here. Repeat. you'll start to automatically alternate your bass notes depending on which chord you are playing. If you strike a bass note that is not musically pleasing, you will hear it.

Once you've committed this fingerpicking pattern to memory, you can use it with any chords of your choosing.

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• See my next Hub: A Great Fingerpicking Pattern: Impress All Who Hear You Play it.

This next fingerpicking pattern sounds so impressive when played up to speed. You will sound like and accomplished guitarist--and best of all, once this fingerpicking pattern has been learned, you could play it in your sleep!

This is one I've used for years and it is an old, reliable stand-by.