Learning fingerstyle guitar is not as difficult at it might seem at first, with some proper instructional material and dedicated practice, you can learn the art of fingerpicking, or fingerstyle guitar.; read on…
What do you do with all those fingers?
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It is quite impressive to hear somebody play the bass and melody of a tune, with only 3 fingers. Then there is Doc Watson, who only used his thumb and index finger! Most people, however, use 3 or more.
What is the difference between fingerstyle and fingerpicking?
For some reason, fingerpicking sounds folksier than fingerstyle guitar, which sounds more classical. As far as I know, the two are interchangeable. I prefer fingerpicking because that is what I learned to call it, back about one-hundred years ago!
The reason I know you can learn fingerstyle guitar is because I did it. If ever there was a total klutz with no musical ability, it was me. My fingers are rather large and nobody in my family for generations had played an instrument. Nevertheless, I wanted to learn, really bad. After all, I was 16 in 1969, so it was only natural.
When I heard Jorma Kaukonen, from Jefferson Airplane, play Embryonic Journey, I was hooked. Then I heard Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues, Mississippi John Hurt and Doc Watson. Ahhh.. this was something I could relate to.
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If you have a thumb and 2 fingers you can play fingerstyle guitar
There are many ways to fingerpick the guitar, but basically, you use your thumb for the bass notes and your first two (pointer and middle finger) for the melody. Many people begin with the style known as Travis picking, named after Merle Travis, an amazing guitarist who is sadly no longer with us.
Generally, your thumb alternates between two bass notes, keeping the tempo going and adding a basis for the tune. It takes quite a bit of practice to keep it going when you use your other fingers, but this is really essential. You will certainly get off track while playing, but it is a bit like dancing, you just get back in the groove.
Your thumb plays the bass lines, much like a piano player plays with his left hand. The fingers resemble the right hand of the piano, playing melody. Once you get past the thinking part, fingerstyle guitar is a true gateway to creativity.
Homespun tapes put out a booklet in the early 1970’s that taught how to fingerpick. This is really how I learned to play. My first tune was Shoo Fly and I was so impressed with the results that I just kept going.
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