

There are exceptions to this, but this is the general rule to follow in developing a great fingerstyle technique. When playing your guitar with a fingerstyle technique, your thumb (p) will play the lower E, A, and D strings, while the index (i), middle (m), and ring (a) fingers will play the upper strings of G, B, and E. It will be your foundation for great fingerstyle guitar playing. To develop your fingerstyle technique for guitar, you should spend a few moments each day holding this hand position. We will call this the “The Right Hand Grip position” where the thumb and fingers of your picking hand are in contact with the strings all at the same time. When you do this, place your thumb on the 6th string, your index finger (i) on the 3rd string, your middle finger (m) on the 2nd string, and your ring finger (a) on the first string. Taking the above into consideration, and studying the picture carefully, get your right hand into the correct position for fingerstyle guitar playing. The pinky can be used, and is in styles like flamenco, but in general fingerstyle guitar playing it usually isn’t. When playing fingerstyle guitar, you primarily use the thumb (p), index (i), middle (m), and ring (a) fingers of your right hand to pluck the strings. Refer to the picture on the right throughout to get a clearer idea of this as it is crucial to having a great fingerstyle technique. Your forearm should be resting lightly on the top side of the guitar as it normally does when you are playing. They go from being at about a 45 degree angle to the strings, when using a flat pick, to more of a 90 degree angle when playing fingerstyle. The reason for this is that it gives you more power when plucking the strings with your fingers. When playing fingerstyle guitar, the wrist of your right hand needs to be higher above the strings than it is when you are using a pick. I will refer to it as the right throughout this lesson. The technique of fingerstyle guitar is all in your right hand, or if you are a left handed guitarist, your left hand. This will then make it much easier for you to play songs that use this style of guitar playing. The aim of this lesson is to save you loads of time from the outset, and get you on your way to a great fingerstyle technique.

There are so many amazing things you can do with this style of guitar playing that you simply cannot do with a pick alone.Īs with any guitar technique, there are right ways and wrong ways you can go about it. This is commonly known as fingerstyle guitar playing.
#Fingerstyle how to
The “Tab” will show you how to read the fingerstyle pattern in full Tablature and “Chords” will give you the chords for the song.Fingerstyle Guitar Technique - How To Play Fingerstyle GuitarĪ great way to play your acoustic guitar is to use the fingers of your picking hand in place of a pick. Make sure you know how to play your basic chords before you dive into this.Įach song title contains a link with a guitar video lesson to learn fingerpicking in the right way. I really tried to keep the songs at beginners level. Some are real easy and others a bit more challenging depending on your skill level. Now pick one tune from the 20 best easy fingerpicking songs to start developing your fingerpicking skill. Here you can see in close up how I pluck the strings with my fingerpicking hand.

If you want to learn the most common fingerpicking pattern check out the video lessons in 16 Legendary Fingerpicking Patterns. The fingerstyle pattern is often also part of the intro of the song which makes the tune easy to recognize. Usually a song contains a primary fingerpicking pattern that is played throughout the song. Scroll to The Easy Guitar Fingerpicking Songs Fingerpicking Patterns
