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How To

How to Finger Pick a Guitar

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(3 Ratings)

Guitar finger picking expands your versatility as a musician. Use it as an alternative to a guitar pick or combine the two pick styles. To start, practice by just finger picking the open guitar strings then fret chords. Skip around and create some patterns.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Hold your guitar comfortably with your finger-picking hand over the sound hole. Your thumb should be straight, with your hand's knuckles facing up so you're looking at them.

  2. Step 2

    Keep your wrist straight but relaxed and softly curl your fingers, hovering them above the top three strings or gently resting them on the strings; index finger on the third string (G), middle finger on the second string (B) and ring finger on the first string (E).

  3. Step 3

    Use your thumb to pick the sixth, fifth and fourth strings (E-A-D). Move your thumb at the second joint and pick the string near the first joint and the fleshy part of the thumb in a smooth down-and-forward motion.

  4. Step 4

    Pick your top three strings now by keeping your fingers curled but relaxed, and pick up and toward your palm.

  5. Step 5

    Practice the pinch technique by taking your thumb index finger and picking two strings at once, for example, the fifth and first string, in a pinch-like motion.

  6. Step 6

    Start finger picking some chords now, experiment with the pinch technique and combine different dyads.

  7. Step 7

    Continue finger-picking chords but now simultaneously pick the top three strings. Practice producing a clear and even chordal tone. Balance this sound with bass thumb-picked notes and roam around your chords.

Tips & Warnings
  • The picking movement comes from your thumb and fingers, not your wrist.
  • You don't have to strictly use your thumb for strings six, five and four or your fingers for strings three, two and one. Get the feel for finger-picking then create different combinations.
  • Don't let the thumb or fingers stop on the adjacent string. This technique is called the rest stroke.

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