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  #1  
Old 07-04-2018, 05:58 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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Default Finger Style Questions

I play with a pick. 100 percent. I'm not a rocker. When I pick the acoustic guitar all I want to hear is something pretty. Maybe working around machinery and noise might have something to do with this.

Well, to maximize pretty, finger style would be it for me. I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands in the coming year. Joint replacements.

So, I want to set a goal of learning finger style. I want to do it right.

I've played for 15 years off and on. Nearly everyday for the past 2 years.

Where do I begin.?? How long will it take before it's not ugly, anymore.?? Searching for tips and reference.

I want to be dedicated to it. Should I throw my picks out.?? I'll always play with a pick but for this learning period should I put the pick down and paly fingers only for a month or 2.??

Help me out here, please and thanks.
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Old 07-04-2018, 06:14 PM
Kerbie Kerbie is offline
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Fingerstyle is a lot of fun. I think Mark Hanson's two books are outstanding. I enjoy learning with books, but some people do better with DVDs. Individual lessons are a great idea if you can find a good teacher. If not, lots of stuff online too. Good luck!
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Old 07-04-2018, 06:20 PM
000JB 000JB is offline
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Also, check out Truefire.com. They have a lot of fingerstyle lessons.
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Old 07-04-2018, 06:24 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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I would choose a book over youtube although I don't think setting youtube aside would be the right thing to do. It may be the best choice I've got for the beginning of this challenge.
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Old 07-04-2018, 06:42 PM
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Making the transition from flat pick to finger style is tough. I did it and quite often I would get frustrated and pick up a pick. Over time I did that less and less.

I started with Eric Schoenberg's Fingerpicking Beatles book back in the early 90s. Then I stopped playing to get married, start a family. I started back up again about 2004ish, this time with Mark Hanson's two travis picking books and then I bought his Author's Notes CD and notation/tab for a lot of those songs and worked on them as well as some of his other music (Christmas music, Wizard of Oz book)

The section in bold is critical. That was about 4 to 5 years of time.

The first Travis picking book that Mark sells is comprised of a few tunes, and a lot of exercises. You might also want to pick up a book of EASY fingerstyle book of songs that you are be familiar with so when you get bored with that travis stuff you can switch back and forth with the more popular music.

There may be online websites that provide videos and tabs for beginner fingersyle playing as well.

Also, maybe a few months of in person lessons would be helpful.
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Old 07-04-2018, 09:07 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TBman View Post
Making the transition from flat pick to finger style is tough. I did it and quite often I would get frustrated and pick up a pick. Over time I did that less and less.

I started with Eric Schoenberg's Fingerpicking Beatles book back in the early 90s. Then I stopped playing to get married, start a family. I started back up again about 2004ish, this time with Mark Hanson's two travis picking books and then I bought his Author's Notes CD and notation/tab for a lot of those songs and worked on them as well as some of his other music (Christmas music, Wizard of Oz book)

The section in bold is critical. That was about 4 to 5 years of time.

The first Travis picking book that Mark sells is comprised of a few tunes, and a lot of exercises. You might also want to pick up a book of EASY fingerstyle book of songs that you are be familiar with so when you get bored with that travis stuff you can switch back and forth with the more popular music.

There may be online websites that provide videos and tabs for beginner fingersyle playing as well.

Also, maybe a few months of in person lessons would be helpful.
Oh Gosh... I knew this was coming. I really wonder if I can get it done. It's going to be a tough row to hoe. Oh Gosh...
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Old 07-04-2018, 09:35 PM
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Oh Gosh... I knew this was coming. I really wonder if I can get it done. It's going to be a tough row to hoe. Oh Gosh...
It's not as tough as it sounds, and once you get going with it, it gets easier. Probably the first 1 to 2 months are the hardest because you'll feel like a fish out of water and having picks nearby will be a distraction. You'll be itching just to grab a pick and play just for fun and that's ok. Over time you'll just reach for it less because finger style will start becoming second nature to you.

I abandoned flat picking all together because it didn't fit what I wanted from the guitar. That may not be true for you. Lots of players do both.

I want to add that during that extended 4 to 5 year learning period I was the "man" to a growing son and I was constantly at ball games and practices and just general family stuff. The guitar was what I did for an hour a few nights a week after our son went to bed.

And one more thing... There is no such thing as "thumb independence." You may have heard about that, but it isn't the thumb that learns to do something on it's own, it's not really a dexterity kind of thing. Its just your brain learning "management" a little better.
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Last edited by TBman; 07-04-2018 at 09:41 PM.
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Old 07-04-2018, 09:58 PM
Austin704 Austin704 is offline
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When I first started taking lessons I chose a teacher who was formally educated in classical guitar even though we played mostly pop, blues, bossa nova, and jazz standards. From the very beginning the focus was on fingerstyle technique. We covered arm position, hand position, how to properly trim nails, strokes (rest stroke, free stroke, etc), how to achieve different tones from the strings and how to dampen strings. We also developed skills for strumming without a pick, rasqueado, and other non-arpeggiated playing styles.

There is far more to proper fingerstyle technique that you will probably learn from a book, DVD or YouTube video. I strongly suggest if you have the time and money to find a classical guitar teacher (nylon strings) and get a good solid education in right hand technique.

I once heard it said “your left hand is what you know, your right hand is who you are.” It’s time well spent.
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Old 07-05-2018, 04:55 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3notes View Post
Oh Gosh... I knew this was coming. I really wonder if I can get it done. It's going to be a tough row to hoe. Oh Gosh...
It's tougher the older you get. Unfortunately! That's just because one's fingers (like one's brain) get set in their ways. They tend to stiffen up and slow down. They can certainly be trained for new tasks (like one's brain!), but it takes longer.

Kids and teenagers have it easy. (I taught myself fingerstyle aged 16 from records, within a year or so of first picking up a guitar.)

The good news is that as you get older you develop patience, which takes the place of the obsessive dedication teens can summon. Teenagers will spend several hours a day hammering away at something they love, and their fingers have all the requisite flexibility. Oldies can rarely afford that amount of time, and may lack the stamina to do even 30 minutes a day even if they can find the space. But you/we tend not to mind coming back to it day after day for months or years. You have a better overview of the long term. And you can learn to enjoy small advances, and the actual act of playing, without getting frustrated about how far you have to go.

I agree with Austin704: you need to start with good position. It matters a lot more for fingerstyle than for pick strumming. Classical technique has lots of good right hand exercises to develop finger independence and flexibility. You can be a little more relaxed when it comes to folk/blues styles, but it's still a good discipline to start with.
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Old 07-05-2018, 05:27 AM
Swamp Yankee Swamp Yankee is offline
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Seems to me this is a great opportunity to buy a new guitar. Get a dedicated fingerer, no pick guard, 1.75" nut, smaller body size. .. something that will sound better when played with fingers. Then two things will help keep you on track: the guilt of buying yet another guitar, and the fear of damaging your nrw guitar by using picks.
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Old 07-05-2018, 04:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swamp Yankee View Post
Seems to me this is a great opportunity to buy a new guitar. Get a dedicated fingerer, no pick guard, 1.75" nut, smaller body size. .. something that will sound better when played with fingers. Then two things will help keep you on track: the guilt of buying yet another guitar, and the fear of damaging your nrw guitar by using picks.
I did just this. Got a great deal on a nice little Recording King parlor, and it stays in DADGAD, which my main guitar has never even seen. When the wife and dogs go to sleep, I slip on the fingerpicks, and work exercises on the couch.

I'm starting this journey as a picker of 20 years, just now finding time to learn some proper finger picking material. The fish out of water experience is definitely true. My biggest hurdle was finding a thumb pick I could tolerate. Had to custom shape a Golden Gate, but finally getting there.
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Old 07-05-2018, 06:39 PM
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KDepew KDepew is offline
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Hey there. Here is one of the lessons I have folks do when they are brand new

https://youtu.be/pcsmCN8y5Ns

Hope you like it!
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  #13  
Old 07-05-2018, 08:55 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swamp Yankee View Post
Seems to me this is a great opportunity to buy a new guitar. Get a dedicated fingerer, no pick guard, 1.75" nut, smaller body size. .. something that will sound better when played with fingers. Then two things will help keep you on track: the guilt of buying yet another guitar, and the fear of damaging your nrw guitar by using picks.
Um no, I don't need another guitar to go down this road. I have a Larrivee OM with a 1.75" nut. Oh darn, it has a pick guard. So what....

Just saying.... I have a great sounding, great quality guitar that sounds awesome however it's played. Even with the pickguard.!!!

I've never damaged a guitar with a pick. How does that happen.??
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Old 07-05-2018, 08:58 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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Some really great replies here. Thanks.
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Old 07-06-2018, 02:26 AM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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Quote:
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I've never damaged a guitar with a pick. How does that happen.??
I play fingerstyle and have never damaged a guitar with a pick (I do use a pick occasionally) I have a friend who's gouged out the rosetta and it's fancy inlays on his guitar. He strums and strums with attitude.

It's hard to play around him cause everything he does with that pick is LOUD.

One thing on getting started with fingerstyle is a simple pattern. Thumb on bass note, index on G string, pinch with middle and ring on B and E string, back to index on G. That's four beats and fits with many 4/4 songs.

Once you get used to that working, then when a chord is played for 2 bars consecutively, alternate the bass. It doesn't take long to get that working for songs you've strummed for years.
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