When to begin finger picking training

[Deliberate1]

Friends, new player here. But no question that finger picking is what I want to learn, and bought a guitar (Larravee 00040RE custom - 12 fret) that is well-suited for that technique. Looking for a teacher now.
Is it a "learning to run before you learn to walk" issue to take on the challenge of finger picking while learning all the others stuff I will be focusing on. Just occurred to me that since I am starting with a clean slate, it might be helpful to focus my left hand work with right hand finger picking mindset as well.
Many thanks for your thoughts.

[MC5C]

Start now. No reason not to pick with your fingers, and do what you want from the beginning. There's a lot of different kinds of finger picking, I learned classical style, but there's a world out there. I recently learned of a thing called "claw-hammer" or "frailing" guitar, totally amazing.

[mercy]

It makes sense to start FP now but I am not qualified to answer that as I started FP after many years playing with a pick. I think you should try but yes youll need a teacher that plays FP.

[Christian Reno]

Of course some may look at this differently, but in the very beginning of this learning process, I believe building muscle memory and developing a good rhythm technique will be of most benefit. If you are the type who has always had great dexterity, then you may be able to jump on it all at once, but I have known many players who did not develop their rhythm technique in the beginning and never did develop it very well after. That is not to say there isn’t rhythm involved in fingerstyle or fingerpicking, but it is a different animal.

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by MC5C

I recently learned of a thing called "claw-hammer" or "frailing" guitar, totally amazing.

Thanks for the encouragement.
Very cool technique. Real old timey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lg3MUSNvSs

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by Christian Reno

If you are the type who has always had great dexterity, then you may be able to jump on it all at once, but I have known many players who did not develop their rhythm technique in the beginning and never did develop it very well after.

That is the kind of feedback I am looking for, and appreciate it. I am a beginner guitar player, but have been a woodwinds player for more than a half century. I bring it up only to note that I have developed a pretty solid internal metronome. That said, I also do not want to bite off too much, too soon.

[joelhunn]

Mark Hasons “beyond basic fingerstyle”. Is a great early learner book. You will still need to practice chords and basic fingerstyle patters but the songs aren’t hard and sound like you know what you are doing. A real confidence booster

[Sonics]

It took this fellow a few years before he attempted finger picking, and he eventually became a very good finger picker. However he mastered the fundamentals first.

[Al Acuff]

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

Al, I have actually seen those vids already, and find them inspiring.
Cheers.

[DukeX]

Everybody is different. Do your own thing. There is no single way to learn guitar. I started fingerpicking early, and I'm glad I did. It kept me interested when practicing chords and progressions. It also inspired me to kinda sorta develop my own style.

[pszy22]

Originally Posted by DukeX

Everybody is different. Do your own thing.

Amen! I wanted to develop thumb independence. It probably took me close to a year, it's finally just kicking in. It may have taken me longer because I'd spend about 10 minutes a day on it, and I'm an old dog that doesn't learn new tricks quickly.

At least for me, it took a while for my thumb to develop a mind of it's own.

[Sax Player Guy]

I am about 1/3 of the way through this book by Andrew Dubrock:

https://www.amazon.com/Travis-Pickin...s%2C689&sr=1-3

...and I am really digging it. It's a book about Travis Picking, although Dubrock points out in the introduction that 1) the technique wasn't invented by just Merle Travis, and 2) the term "Travis picking" is used more widely, to include styles that were inspired by Travis' style of fingerpicking. Dubrock's teaching style is very beginner-friendly, and there are online examples of every exercise in the book. In very short order I was fingerpicking the accompaniment to Sweet Sunny South, and it actually sounded like music!

I was so impressed by this book that I went and got Total Acoustic Guitar (which includes Travis picking instruction but, oh well) by the same author. I have been enjoying switching back and forth between the two books, working on strumming for 30 minutes and then on fingerpicking for 30. So far, no harm seems to have come from fingerpicking this early in my guitar journey.

BTW, I have no connection with the author or publisher. I just really like these books. Check them out and see what you think.

[dneal]

Fingerpicking is like learning to ride a bike. It seems impossible at first, but suddenly - and inexplicably - you can do it.

Practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent. There are lots of ways to fingerpick, but it's hard to discount classical (and even flamenco) techniques.

A great aid is tablature of simple classical studies (Carcassi and Carulli in particular, and Sor as you progress).

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by DukeX

Everybody is different. Do your own thing. There is no single way to learn guitar. I started fingerpicking early, and I'm glad I did. It kept me interested when practicing chords and progressions. It also inspired me to kinda sorta develop my own style.

Helpful insight. Thanks.