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Finger Picking Guitar

Using finger picking techniques to play guitar makes your music more interesting and varied. Flat picking does not give the guitar player the chance to pick several notes at the same time, to play in octaves or explore the possibilities of the finger style technique known as Travis picking. A skilled finger picker can create the illusion of the sound of more than one guitar being played. Playing the guitar finger picking style is said to have originated with ragtime music. This was part of the early blues music era and was very popular played on the piano. It was not long before guitar players were using their fingers to pick out melodies in imitation of the ragtime pianists.

When you use finger picking guitar playing technique you can use the flesh of your fingertips to pluck the strings, or you can grow the nails slightly longer on your right hand to give a sharper sound which is similar to that of flat picking. You also have the option of fitting a thumbpick and/or fingerpicks on your picking hand. This is the best option if you are playing an electric guitar or a steel string acoustic because steel strings can be hard on the nails.

Travis Picking was developed by a country guitarist named Merle Travis. It is a simple technique that sounds more technically demanding than it really is. As a general rule the thumb plays the bass strings which are the fifth and sixth strings using an alternating bass pattern. The index finger plays the third string, the ring finger the second string and the third finger plays the first string. Or you can simplify your playing by using the index finger or the index and ring fingers to play the melody notes. Assigning strings to particular fingers is just a way of starting off your finger picking in a disciplined way rather than a hard and fast rule. You will find as your technique and your confidence progress that you will want to use chords where your bass notes might be on the fourth and third strings so you will be varying your technique accordingly.

To get the hang of Travis picking just fret an A minor chord and start picking an alternating bass on the fifth and fourth strings.

Here is your chord . . .

E -0———————————

B -1———————————

G -2———————————

D -2———————————

A -0———————————

E -0———————————

. . . and here is your picking pattern on the fifth and fourth strings:

   1    2     3    4

D ——2———-2

A -0———-0—–

Now you can use your index finger or the middle and ring fingers to throw in random notes that fit in with your alternating bass pattern. To start you off, here is your alternating bass with a few notes thrown in. Just use your index finger to pick the melody notes on the first and second strings. Note that you start this pattern with a “pinch” where you play your bass and melody notes simultaneously.

   1   2   +  3  +  4   +

E -0——————–0

B ———1—–1——-

G ———————–

D ——2————2—

A -0———-0———-

E ———————–

As you begin to see what can be done with finger picking guitar techniques, you will also see that your playing of single note runs will be slower than if you were using your plectrum. This limitation on speed of playing can be overcome by working on your thumb picking. The thumb can be quite fast if you use the “rest stroke”. This is technique used in flamenco and classical guitar where the thumb picks a note and comes to rest on the string below it. The resulting note will be much stronger than if you simply used free stroke where your thumb moves outward from the string. As you become more familiar with finger picking you will develop the confidence to use pull-offs and hammer-ons to augment your finger picking.

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