If you've never fingerpicked before in your life (except your nose), this is the thread for you. If you've done a little, you still might have something to gain.
Beginners
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What's the advantage of fingerpicking?
- It lets you articulate each note cleanly
- It lets you articulate strings on non-adjacent strings at the same time
- It gives your music a different coloring.
Lets start.
for our purposes, the following legend will be used:
P - thumb
I - index
M - middle
A - ring finger
S - pinky (rarely used in modern music)
A few examples we'll be referencing:
- Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive"
-
Pink Floyd "Is There Anybody Out There"
- Beethoven "Ode to Joy"
- Whitesnake "Sailing Ships"
These songs could probably be played in a different fashion, but they're great examples of how fingerpicking makes songs easier. You could certainly play Ode to Joy on one string, but fingerpicking will provide a much fuller sound in this case.
A Few Tips Before You Play:
--------------------------------
Keep your hand parallel with the string and your fingers curled. Your thumb is responsible (usually) for 6, 5, 4 strings. Your index for the 3, your middle for the 2 and your ring for the 1st string. If you're practicing correctly, you should keep your fingers hovering right above their strings. When you articulate a note, you want as natural and clean a note as possible. When you watch your hand, it should look like the fingers are "walking" on the strings.
Let's start.
Probably the easiest example we're going to start with today is Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive". It's simple for a few reasons. The thumb does not move off of the 4th string and there is little movement across the strings. It's a very linear song.
Code:
P I A I P I A I P I A I
e------13---------12---------10----
B----------------------------------
G---14----14---12----12---10----10-
D-0----------0----------0----------
A----------------------------------
E----------------------------------
Obviously, this isn't too tough, and you probably can play it faster with a pick right now. But it's a good one to start with. Why is it a good intro? The thumb keeps articulating the the open D string. That pedal tone leads well into the verse which is in the Key of D.
Don't worry, it get's harder.
Pink Floyd's "Is There Anybody Out There" is a bit tougher simply because it employs all 4 frethand fingers and uses a bit more complex articulation patterns.
AGAIN, remember, your thumb hits the 6, 5, and 4, your index on 3, your middle on 2 and your ring on 1
Code:
E:----------------------0---------------0---------------0---------
B:--------------------1---1-----------1---1-----------1---1-------
G:----2-------2-----2-------2---2---2-------2---2---2-------2---2-
D:----------------2-----------2---3-----------3---4-----------4---
A:0-------0-------------------------------------------------------
E:----------------------------------------------------------------
E:------0---------------0-------0-------0-------0---------0-------
B:----1---1-----------1-------1-------1-------1---------1---------
G:--2-------2---2---2-------2-------2-------2---------2-------2---
D:3-----------3---2-------0-------------------------2-------2---2-
A:--------------------------------3-------2-------0---------------
E:----------------------------------------------------------------
E:----------------|--------0-------|----------------|------0---------
B:------1---------|------1---1-----|------1---------|----1---1-------
G:----2---2-------|----2-------2---|----2---2---2---|--2-------2---2-
D:--2-------2---2-|--2-----------2-|--2-------2---2-|2-----------2---
A:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
E:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
E:------0---------|------0---------|------0---------|--------------0-
B:----1---1-------|----1---1-------|----1---1-------|----1-------1---
G:--2-------2---2-|--2-------2---2-|--2-------2---2-|--2-------2-----
D:3-----------3---|4-----------4---|3-----------3---|3-----2-0-------
A:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
E:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
E:------0---------|--------0-------|----------------|--------0-------
B:----1---1-------|------1---------|------1---------|------1---1-----
G:--2-------2-----|----2-------2---|----2---2-------|----2-------2---
D:0---------------|--2-------2---2-|--2-------2---2-|--2-----------2-
A:------------3-2-|0---------------|0---------------|0---------------
E:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
p p
E:--------0-------|--------0-------|----------------|--------0-------
B:------1---------|------1---1-----|------1-3-1-----|------1---1---0-
G:----2-----------|----0-------0---|----0-------2-0-|----2-------2---
D:--2-------------|2-2-----------2-|--0-------------|--2-------------
A:0---------------|3---------------|2---------------|0---------------
E:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
p p
E:----------------|--------0-------|----------------|--------0-------
B:5-0-3-0-1-0-3---|------1---1-----|------1-3-1-----|------1---1---0-
G:----------------|----0-------0---|----0-------2-0-|----2-------2---
D:----------------|--2-----------2-|--0-------------|--2-------------
A:----------------|3---------------|2---------------|0---------------
E:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
E:8---0-7---------|------0---------|------0---------|------0---------
B:----------------|----1---1-------|----1---1-------|----1---1-------
G:----------------|--2-------2---2-|--2-------2---2-|--2-------2---2-
D:----------------|2-----------2---|3-----------3---|4-----------4---
A:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
E:----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------
grad. decrease tempo
E:------0---------------0-------0-------0-------0-|--------5---7---
B:----1---1-----------1-------1-------1-------1---|----1/5---------
G:--2-------2---2---2-------2-------2-------2-----|--2-------------
D:3-----------3---2-------0-----------------------|-2--------------
A:--------------------------------3-------2-------|0---------------
E:------------------------------------------------|----------------
rasgueado
E:8---10---12-----
B:---------10-----
G:----------9-----
D:---------10-----
A:----------------
E:----------------
Ode to Joy is different in that fingerpicking makes the song much much better. It's not a matter of playing quickly, but a matter of ariculating notes that don't exist next to each other. Once again the same rules apply.
http://alt.venus.co.uk/weed/music/classtab/lvb_otj.txt
If you're fine with all of this, just wait. In the next week I'll add the begining to "Sailing Ships" that Vai did with Whitesnake. It's difficult but fun once you've got it. Good luck.
