Right Verses Easy. How To Avoid The Frustration Of Learning How To Fingerpick Your Guitar

Developing Great Fingerpicking Technique Video

Stepping into the world of fingerpicking can be a game changer for your guitar playing. I say “can be” because it depends on how you go about it. As is the case with a lot of things, many players tend to go with what feels “easy” over what is actually “right” when developing different techniques in their guitar playing. Fingerpicking is no different.

Let me ask you, would you like to be shown the pathway to fingerpicking freedom on the guitar by going about it the right way, or would you like it to feel real easy, to you, in the moment, but result in painful frustration and hours of wasted time.

The choice you make is crucial to the outcome you get:

Easy = incorrect, inefficient, and problematic technique resulting in inability to play songs you love

Right = solid and correct technique enabling you to easily play the songs you love

Obviously the second option is the one you want, however it evades many players due to going with what feels easy in the moment, which ironically is easy to do.

I know, because this is what I did in my early years of fingerpicking on guitar. I wasted many hours of valuable time with a trial and error approach that never really resulted in any significant progress. It wasn’t before I sought some help and guidance in this area, that things started to change for me.

That is what I am going to give you today. I am going to show you exactly what to do to develop an awesome fingerpicking technique that will enable you to play the music you love. To do so, I will also need to focus on what not to do, that is the “easy” way verses the “right” way to fingerpick your guitar.

Fingerpicking Your Guitar The EASY Way

There are 3 main problem areas that will most likely arise when going with what feels easy to you rather than what is right, when building your fingerpicking technique on guitar.

Here they are:

1. Inefficient picking hand and arm movements

Inefficient Hand And Arm Movements Pic

If your hand, and especially arm are even moving at all when fingerpicking your guitar, then you are definitely on the wrong track to fingerpicking freedom.

Now, maybe by going with whatever feels easy to you may also just happen to be right, however why leave it to chance? In my many years of teaching and training people to play guitar, I have found that the vast majority of times something feels easy to a student in the beginning, it also happens to be wrong.

Think back to when you first played guitar, or perhaps when observing someone else playing guitar for the first time. What happens when they go to play a riff of some kind?

Yep, that’s right, they use a single finger of the fretting hand for all the notes.

Why?

Because it’s easier for them in the moment to play the riff. We of course know that while it may feel easier in the moment, it’s extremely limiting to ones playing to only use one finger of the fretting hand to play all notes.

Don’t do the equivalent when building and developing your fingerpicking technique.

2. Poor Finger Choice

Poor Finger Choice Fingerpicking Pic

It is very likely you will make poor, incorrect, and inefficient finger choices, regarding your picking hand, when going with whatever feels easy to you when fingerpicking your guitar. This just makes life harder and frustrating as a fingerpicker if you are to go down this road. There is a method to follow and use as a starting point when deciding what finger to use to pick each string. More on this shortly.

3. Position of picking hand and angle of fingers to strings

Incorrect Position Of Picking Hand Pic

Simply plucking the strings without any thought given to the position of your picking hand and the angle your fingers to the strings, is a recipe for massive frustration and a false belief that you just aren’t cut out for this technique. Both these elements are essential to a rock solid fingerpicking technique from which to play your guitar.

Fingerpicking Your Guitar The RIGHT Way

Now understand that there are differences, small nuances if you will, in how one guitarist will fingerpick their guitar compared to another. For example, if you were to analyse the fingerpicking technique of Tommy Emmanuel compared to Martin Taylor you would find that while both have absolutely amazing (fingerpicking) skills, there will be differences in how they go about it.

However, it’s the fundamentals of the technique, not the nuances from one player to another that are important, and therefore our focus. Get these right and the rest will virtually take care of itself.

Before we get into these fundamentals, I do want to mention the importance of having enough nail on the fingers of your picking hand to pluck the strings. You can certainly fingerpick your guitar without any nails, however it does sound a lot better with some fingernail in the attack.

You will need to file your nails to keep them nice and rounded so they don’t get too long and don’t get caught under the strings. It’s about a 60/40 ratio of nail to the flesh of your finger that plucks the string.

If you don’t have nails long enough to contribute to the plucking of the string right now, not a problem, continue to work on your fingerpicking technique and grow your nails to a suitable length in the meantime.

So in response to the 3 main problem areas outlined above, here is the right way to go about fingerpicking your guitar.

1. Movement isolated to fingers

Efficient Hand And Arm Movements Pic

The movement required to pluck the strings of your guitar is isolated to your fingers only. Both your wrist and arm remain still. It is called fingerpicking after all :)

I see a lot of people yanking their hand away from the strings after having plucked them when first attempting to fingerpick their guitar. This is a sign of way too much tension and will lead to a messy and inefficient fingerpicking technique.

Be sure to keep both the wrist and arm still, and only use your fingers to pluck the strings.

2. Correct, logical finger choice

Correct Finger Choice Fingerpicking Pic

While the finger choice you go with regarding the picking of a particular string may differ from one situation to the next, depending on the all important context, there is a foundation from which to start from when developing your fingerpicking technique regarding which fingers to use when picking strings.

It is as follows:

- The lower 3 strings, the bass strings E, A, and D, are played with your thumb (p)

- The 3rd string (G) is played with your index finger (i)

- The 2nd string (B) is played with your middle finger (m)

- The 1st string (E) is played with your ring finger (a)

Again, to be clear, there are plenty of times you may divert from this depending on what you are doing.

For example, maybe your index finger plucks the 4th string, or your middle finger plucks the 1st string in a particular playing situation. However a lot of the time it will be as I have outlined above, and so this serves as the starting point, the foundation, for a rock solid fingerpicking technique.

The following drill will serve as a great way to get your fingers and thumb accustom to the strings they will be plucking:

Open String Fingerpicking Drill

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the exercise above, as it’s very effective in developing good, efficient finger choices when fingerpicking your guitar.

3. Correct position of picking hand and angle of fingers to the strings

Correct Position Of Picking Hand Pic

When fingerpicking your guitar, you not only need to be sure you are using the correct fingers for each string, but you also need to make sure your picking hand and fingers are in the correct position.

Typically when flat picking (ie. using a plectrum), your arm and hand are at about a 45 degree angle to the strings. Failing to change this when fingerpicking will put your fingers in a very awkward position. You will be coming from a position of weakness, instead of a position of power, when plucking the strings.

Your fingers need to be at more or less of a 90 degree angle to the strings when fingerpicking. If you raise the wrist of your picking hand above the strings you will find that you can effectively get your fingers to “stand up” so they are at this angle to the strings (ie. 90 degrees). Check the picture for reference as well as the video that accompanies this article.

Your thumb should be straight at all times and more or less at a 45 degree angle to the strings.

From this position you will have the most power and leverage in which to pick the strings, producing the best tone.

How To Train Flawless Fingerpicking Technique Into Your Guitar Playing

Below is the fingerpicking example I demonstrate in the video. It’s a simple fingerpicking pattern on an E7 chord vamp:

E7 Chord Vamp Fingerpicking Drill

When playing the example above I want you to rotate your focus through the following key areas that have been our focus in this article:

1. Movement limited to your fingers

Be sure your arm and wrist are still and that all movement is isolated to the fingers plucking the strings.

2. Finger Choice

Be sure you are using the correct fingers via the method laid out earlier. You will see the finger references for each note/string in the example above.

3. Correct hand position, angle of fingers

Make sure your fingers are at a 90 degree angle to the strings and that your thumb is straight.

The key strategy here is to focus on each one of these things in isolation. Don’t try and keep track of all 3 points at once as it will not nearly be as effective as rotating your focus through each area.

From the outside, someone watching you practice will just hear the same E7 vamp over and over, however in your head you are busy and engaged in rotating your focus through each key component needed to develop an awesome fingerpicking technique.

Turn your technique into real music with these easy to play advanced sounding fingerpicking patterns for your guitar playing.