How to Practice Blues Fingerpicking

"So, I don't want you to get confused by thinking that this is so complicated with all the different possibilities and different ways you can play. Actually, I'm trying to show you that the opposite is the case. That once you fix in your mind maybe two or three different parameters, that really you have the freedom to explore within those parameters and your music will still sound like country blues. Right? So the parameters are, remember, that your, so, again, let's forget about the left hand for now. We're just going to hold whatever chord you want, you know, I've been playing the C chord. But, the parameters are, first of all, the thumb is separated from the other fingers. The thumb's got to be able to be on autopilot, doing its own thing. On the downbeat, what we call on the on beat or on the one, two, or the one, two, three, four, if you're doing kind of a 4/4 time thing. Okay? So that's one parameter. Okay? Autopilot thumb on the downbeat. The other parameters that the other four fingers can sometimes, you know, pluck strings, any strings on the on beat. Or syncopated, which is between beats. Okay? It doesn't matter which finger you use. It doesn't matter really kind of which string you pluck as long as it's within the chord. If you just follow those simple rules, you know, thumb doing kind of its regular tempo. The other fingers sometimes on the beat, sometimes off the beat. You really don't need to worry about which strings are you playing, which notes are you playing, because you're going to get that sound. Okay? Another way you can practice that can help you kind of get that feel is to tap your foot. And so, I'm going to tap kind of fast here. Right? So, one, two, three, four. Right? About that pace. So, every note that's on the downbeat, or that is to say, every note that's not syncopated, is going to happen when my foot taps. So, like, every single one of these notes is happening with a foot tap. So these are on the beat. These are not syncopated. Now, if you want to syncopate a note, just play it when your foot's in the air. That is in, you know, you play a note in between notes, like this. Right? So now, those high notes are being played in between taps or when my foot's in the air. So now, I'm back on the beat, because it's happening, you know, with the foot tapping. Now, in between. So that's really the main sort of mental challenge of learning how to fingerpick in this style. It's really more of a challenge of tempo and it, well, not really tempo, but a challenge of rhythm. Right? Whether you play fast or whether you play slow. It's learning how to hear and make your fingers do different rhythms. Right? Knowing the difference between the downbeat, sort of being on the beat, or kind of being syncopated or in between beats or on the offbeat. And, if it helps you to use a metronome or, you know, you might not feel coordinated enough to tap your foot and, you know, play guitar at the same time. So just set up a metronome or something like that and you can do it that way. But, you know, I encourage you if you want to learn to play this style, to don't be too, don't be too tied to kind of worrying about which string am I supposed to be playing and which note am I supposed to be playing. Okay? If you know how to finger a chord with your left hand, really the practice that you need to be doing is basically a practice in rhythm. Learning how to separate the rhythms of your right hand. The rhythm of the thumb doing one thing and the other fingers sometimes playing on the beat, sometimes on the foot tap, and sometimes syncopated off the beat. And so, it's really worth a rhythmic challenge than it is one of where on the guitar am I playing."