This lesson focuses on moving your thumb to different strings.
You’ll find as you play through a piece of music that you may need to position your thumb and/or fingers on any set of string groupings …
… depending on the phrase that you’re executing.
In Example 1, the thumb is moving between the 5th and 6th string. Keep your thumb close to the strings to maintain accuracy.
Again, minimal motion will make this fingering work best.
Ex.1
E |-------------------------------------------------------0--------| B |---------------1-—------------------------------------1-------1-| G |--------0-------------0-------0------------0----------------0---| D |----2-------2-------------2------------2-------2----------------| A |0---------------------------------------------------------------| E |------------------------------------3---------------------------|
Example 2 moves the thumb, 1st, and 2nd finger to 2 different sets of strings. This is a triplet pattern alternating between an A minor add9 and G chord.
The only movement from the hand should occur when the string groupings change.
Ex.2
E |-------0-----0------------------3-----3-------------| B |-----0-----0------0----—0---3-----3------3------3---| G |--5-----5-------5-----5----4----4-------4-----4-----| D |---------------7-----7------------------5-----5-----| A |----------------------------------------------------| E |----------------------------------------------------|
Example 3 will place more demand on your right hand by increasing the velocity of each finger to achieve a louder dynamic.
As you play through the phrase you gradually get louder. Be careful not to rush the tempo as you play louder or slow down as you play softer.
Get out your metronome for this…you’ll need it until you feel comfortable.
Later in this course we’ll focus more on dynamics so don’t over concern yourself with this concept yet.
You may want to revisit this lesson after the lesson on Dynamics.
Ex.3
E |------------------------------------------------------------------------| B |-----------0---------—------0------------------0------------------0-----| G |-------0-----0-----------0-----0-----------0------0-----------0-----0---| D |----4-----------4-----4-----------4-----4------------4-----4-----------4| A |---------------------------------------2------------------3-------------| E |-0-----------------0----------------------------------------------------|
Want To Learn More …
Fingerpicking is a technique where you can manipulate the strings on your guitar … with great speed, accuracy and most importantly as many strings simultaneously as we want.
That itself can send your head spinning and trying to learn that seems daunting and just too complex before you have even started.
Once you know how to do each individual aspect you can then bring it together and in turn you have learnt to finger pick the easy way!
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