Finger Picking
Finger picking or finger style playing is when a guitarist uses his fingers indepedendantly to strike the strings.
Applying Fingers
Section titled “Applying Fingers”As a general rule each finger plays an allocated string. Below is are two templates of finger allocations:
Template 1
Section titled “Template 1”| Fingers | String Number/Name |
|---|---|
| Ring | 1E |
| Middle | 2B |
| Index | 3G |
| Thumb | 4D |
| Thumb | 5A |
| Thumb | 6E |
Template 2
Section titled “Template 2”| Fingers | String Number/Name |
|---|---|
| Pinky | 1E |
| Ring | 2B |
| Middle | 3G |
| Index | 4D |
| Thumb | 5A |
| Thumb | 6E |
Finger Picking Chords
Section titled “Finger Picking Chords”Finger picking chords works the same way as strumming ie. the fretting hand fingers a chord (input) while the picking hand produces sound using a technique such as strumming/ picking (output).
Sequential Picking
Section titled “Sequential Picking”Finger picking can play single notes in sequence to one another.
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Simultaneous Picking
Section titled “Simultaneous Picking”Notes can be plucked simultaneously to produce a chord block or pad chord.
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Alternating Bass Notes
Section titled “Alternating Bass Notes”Commonly heard in Folk and Country music, a common finger picking pattern uses the thumb to alternate the bass note.
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Travis picking is a common picking pattern that incorporates alternating bass notes and string skipping
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