Acoustic Fingerpicking for Beginners

The acoustic guitar is a great way to get your foot in the door when learning how to play the guitar. Because of the construction of the acoustic guitar, and because of the amount of tension on the bridge and the neck of the guitar, there is more tension in an acoustic guitar than there is in an electric guitar. This makes building up finger strength easy for those of you just starting out on the guitar.

In this article, we will discuss one of the most basic things you will learn on the acoustic guitar; acoustic guitar finger picking.

The first thing that you will need to work on in order to get yourself ready for finger picking is coordination. The coordination between your left hand and your right hand is the most important thing you will develop as a guitarist.

This is because the coordination between the two hands determines how well you can do tasks such as; fretting a chord change while picking unfretted notes; playing a pattern the involves a moving bass line; playing a pattern that involves a consistent bass line but a moving treble line; playing a chord with a melody over the top of it (this is a bit more on the advanced side of your finger picking playing); and changing the shapes of chords while maintaining a smooth, consistent pattern, among other things.

The first thing you need to do is designate your fingers to strings. The bass strings are consistently played by the thumb. The treble strings are consistently played by the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger. Guitarists seldom, if ever, use the pinky finger due to the fact that it is such a fragile digit and can do more harm than good.

The best way to start off with a simple finger picking pattern is by playing one. Play the open low E string with your thumb, then play the G string with your index finger. After that, play the B string with your middle finger, then the high E string with your ring finger. Each note should b a quarter note in value. This is a basic finger picking pattern that will help you to develop better coordination between your hands and your digits.

Once you are comfortable, try playing the open low E string with your thumb, then the high E string with your ring finger. Next, play the B string with your middle finger, and the G string with your index finger. This is the same, simple pattern as before, only the finger picking is reversed with the treble strings.

After you are comfortable with these two simple open string patterns, the next step is to make up your own patterns. Remember the string properties assigned with each finger; thumb for the bass notes; index finger, middle finger, and ring finger for the treble notes. Pay attention to what you are playing when you are playing it, and keep an eye on your timing. Have fun with it, and good luck!

Video Lesson of Finger Picking on the Acoustic Guitar by GuitarTricks.com

This four-step fingerpicking pattern is a powerful building block for fingerstyle guitar.

For this pattern, play the sixth string (Low E) with a downward pluck of your thumb. Next, pluck upwards on the first string (high E string) with your middle finger.

Next, pluck downwards on the third string (G string) with your thumb. Lastly, pluck upwards on the second string (B string) with your index finger.

This pattern of four steps constitutes one half measure of music in 4/4 time. The count is: One And Two And. To complete a full measure, simply play the pattern again, with this count: Three And Four And.

Repeat this pattern over and over, trying to maintain a consistent rhythm, and gradually building up your speed.  

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON HOW TO PLAY THE GUITAR:

Q: I see you are using only your thumb, index, and middle fingers? I’ve seen some players use three fingers, plus the thumb. Which is correct?

A: There is no absolute right or wrong to this. You’ll hear opinions on both sides of the aisle. My personal preference is based on the tradition called “Travis Picking” named for guitarist Merle Travis. I personally feel this pattern of finger moves, which uses the thumb twice within the pattern, opens up more rhythmic possibilities as you get into more advanced techniques.

Q: What is "TRAVIS PICKING?"

A: The signature "Travis" move is that alternating thumb beat - the fact that your thumb does double-duty, alternating between the bass note, and the third string (or a variation of that) of the guitar. That provides a steady rhythm against which you can then add ornamentations, syncopation, melody, etc. Some students ask why they can't do these same patterns using three fingers, and the thumb on the bass note only. Technically you may be able to, but in so doing you compromise that steady "thump thump" of the Travis-style thumb beats.

Q: Is it necessary to have long fingernails to play fingerstyle guitar?

A: No. My personal preference is to have longish nails on the thumb, index, and middle fingers of my right hand. However, many players prefer to play with short nails. There is a difference in tone when using nails vs. not using nails. With nails, the tone is a bit crisper, without nails, it is a bit more muted. It’s a matter of personal preference.

A NOTE ABOUT THE LESSONS IN THIS SERIES:

This lesson is part of a tutorial called Acoustic Fingerpicking for Beginners, Level 1. These lessons were designed to be followed sequentially, with new skills and practice exercises building one upon the next.

The Acoustic Fingerpicking tutorial series also builds sequentially, from Level 1 to Level 2, and so on. If you are new to fingerpicking, this series will take you from the fundamental basics, and all the way through to a solid foundation of fingerpicking skills useful in playing folk and popular music.

You should feel free to proceed at your own pace, and to jump around within the tutorials, as you wish. You may want to return to various lessons from time to time to make sure you are on the right track before moving to more advanced guitar playing skills.