ONLINE GUITAR LESSONS
Fingerpicking
Fingerpicking is a
playing technique where the fingers are used to pluck the strings instead of a guitar
pick. This lesson will cover some tips for fingerpicking.
When reading music
that uses fingerpicking, you may see the term "PIMA" or the initials P, I, M or
A used. PIMA is an acrostic for the thumb and the first three fingers of the right hand.
This is often used to indicate which fingers to use in picking.
These letters are
abbreviations of Spanish words which are:
Pulgar = Thumb
Indice = Fore Finger
Medio = Middle Finger
Anular = Ring Finger |
|
Lets start our first
fingerpicking exercise. Use your left hand to form the E chord on the guitar neck.
E||-------||
B||-------||
G||---1---||
D||---2---||
A||---2---||
E||---0---||
Pick the notes,
using your right hand; with the fingers indicated. Pick upwards using the fingertip (Pick
downward when using the thumb). You can use the fleshy part of your fingertip or your
fingernail; whichever works best for you.
.....P....A....M....I.......P....A....M....I.......P
E||-------0--------------|-------0--------------|-------||
B||------------0---------|------------0---------|-------||
G||-----------------1----|-----------------1----|-------||
D||----------------------|--2-------------------|--2----||
A||--2-------------------|----------------------|-------||
E||----------------------|----------------------|-------||
For our next
exercise, we will use the same chord, but will use our fingers to pick downwards. Remember
to watch the fingering. Start out slowly until your fingers are 'rolling', then pick up
speed.
.....P....I....M....A.......P....I....M....A
E||-----------------0----|-----------------0----||
B||------------0---------|------------0---------||
G||-------1--------------|-------1--------------||
D||--2-------------------|--2-------------------||
A||----------------------|----------------------||
E||----------------------|----------------------||
Once you have the
technique down, try this exercise. We will use the same fingering as we did in the very
first exercise above. Play each staff twice, then move to the next one. Continue to
practice it until you are able to play the whole thing in a nice, fluid sounding roll.
E||-------3--------------|-----------------3----||
B||------------0---------|------------0---------||
G||-----------------0----|-------0--------------||
D||--0-------------------|--0-------------------||
A||----------------------|----------------------||
E||----------------------|----------------------||
E||-------0--------------|-----------------0----||
B||------------0---------|------------0---------||
G||-----------------0----|-------0--------------||
D||--2-------------------|--2-------------------||
A||----------------------|----------------------||
E||----------------------|----------------------||
E||-------0--------------|-----------------0----||
B||------------1---------|------------1---------||
G||-----------------0----|-------0--------------||
D||--2-------------------|--2-------------------||
A||----------------------|----------------------||
E||----------------------|----------------------||
E||-------2--------------|-----------------2----||
B||------------1---------|------------1---------||
G||-----------------2----|-------2--------------||
D||--0-------------------|--0-------------------||
A||----------------------|----------------------||
E||----------------------|----------------------||
It is always best to learn the basics correctly. If you are able to play these exercises
well, you are on your way to great fingerpicking. Happy pickin'.
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tom@newjerseyguitarlessons.com
