Introduction

Hello. This is Darrin Goodman with GuitarControl.com and I wanted to thank you for purchasing my Introduction to Fingerpicking mini course. In this course we will go over the fundamentals and techniques for fingerpicking on acoustic or electric guitar as well as some fingerpicking songs. So let’s dig in..


Fingerpicking Basics

Fingerpicking is used in a variety of styles of music. It is used in just about all genres of music and no matter the genre the basic technique is the same.

First let’s look at how we will be identifying the fingers of your picking hand, which is the same regardless if you’re right or left handed.

The chart below shows how we will be identifying and naming our fingers on our picking hand.

The letters are for the first letters of the Spanish words for each finger.

• (P)ulgar • (I)ndice • (M)edio • (A)nular •

It’s important to memorize the finger identification because some songs will have a set pattern and will be noted at the beginning of a song. So for example a song may say that the picking pattern is P M I M A, which means that you will pick using your thumb, then middle finger, then index finger, then middle finger again and then third finger.

Next you want to memorize which fingers you will use on which strings of a chord. The chart below is an outline for this concept.

Next let’s look at a video demonstrating picking hand technique.

Picking Hand Technique

Fingerpicking Exercises

Now let’s take a look at some exercises we will use to get your picking hand into shape and some muscle memory which will help with the technique.

For the following exercises I will demonstrate using just four chords. The chords that we will be using are; C, Em, G and D/F#.

Typically when you play some of these chords you do not play all of the strings but since we are playing each note separately we can play all of the strings since all of the notes are in the named chord.

The exercise is executed by playing the sequence of each column for each chord.

Exercise 1

The first exercise is pretty simple and will get your feet wet with the technique.

Pattern:	P	I	M	A
Strings:	4	3	2	1
	5	4	3	2
	6	5	4	3
	5	4	3	2

Now let’s watch the video example for this exercise.

Be sure to practice the exercise with a metronome.

Exercise 2

This exercise is also pretty simple since we are basically just playing the first one in reverse.

Pattern:	P	A	M	I
Strings:	4	1	2	3
	5	2	3	4
	6	3	4	5
	5	2	3	4

Now let’s watch the video example for this exercise.

Be sure to practice the exercise with a metronome.

Exercise 3

This exercise may be a little more challenging than the previous two. Now that we are using your fingers out of sequence your brain and hand may take a minute to get on the same page.

Pattern:	P	M	I	A
Strings:	4	2	3	1
	5	3	4	2
	6	4	5	3
	5	3	4	2

Now let’s watch the video example for this exercise.

Be sure to practice the exercise with a metronome.

Exercise 4

Just like the previous exercise this may be a little more challenging now that we are using your fingers out of sequence.

Pattern:	P	M	A	I
Strings:	4	2	1	3
	5	3	2	4
	6	4	3	5
	5	3	2	4

Now let’s watch the video example for this exercise.

Be sure to practice the exercise with a metronome.

Playing Two Strings Simultaneously

Now that we have done some work to get our fingers working independently let’s try playing to strings at the same time.

Exercise 5

In this exercise we will playing fingers P and A simultaneously.

Pattern:	P/A	M	I
Strings:	4/1	2	3
	5/2	3	4
	6/3	4	5
	5/2	3	4

Now let’s watch the video example for this exercise.

Be sure to practice the exercise with a metronome.

Obviously there are other patterns that can be played and I recommend that you practice other combinations to make the most of your practice.

Fingerpicking Song Examples

Now that we have practiced the exercises we are ready to play some songs. I have chosen the following songs purely based on technique and not the song itself. These examples are not necessarily the complete song, but sections to practice the fingerpicking technique with.

The first song we’re going to look at is “Silent Lucidity” by Queensryche. This is a great riff to practice fingerpicking with and a lot of fun to play.

Song #1 Silent Lucidity - Queensryche

This is a great song to get you started because the picking pattern is fairly simple and so is what you will be doing with your fretting hand.

Song #2 Malaguena

Next let’s look at a riff inspired by the Spanish guitar piece “Malaguena”. Another great practice riff and it looks and sounds more difficult than it actually is.

Song #3 Let It Be - The Beatles

And finally let’s look at a fingerstyle version of “Let It Be” by The Beatles. This song was originally played on piano and multiple strings are played at the same time making this a great practice piece.

So now it’s just a matter of practice to become proficient with fingerpicking. Be sure to practice the exercises with a metronome to help improve speed and accuracy.

This concludes this course. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did making it for you and I thank you for purchasing the course!

Have a great day,

Darrin