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Finger Picking Question

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CaliaMoko

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« on: August 24, 2020, 04:31:27 PM »
I'm looking for advice regarding how to decide which right-hand fingers to use (for right-handed guitar playing) when finger picking. I've chosen an easy piece and I'm using tabs for reading it (a first for me). It's going easier than I expected, but I'm having trouble using the same fingers consistently. So I'm writing numbers above each note to tell me which finger to use. But I'm having trouble deciding which fingers to use. Any suggestions?

Andreas

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« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2020, 06:13:36 PM »
I can try and tell you how I do it, but I don`t know if you`ll get any wiser: When the songs go over most of the strings I use pointy, middle and ring. I let my little finger rest on the guitar, pointy on the G - string, middle on the B - string and ring on the e - string, and the thumb for E, A and D string.

For other songs I might only use my pointy finger or pointy and middle. It really depends on the song and style, for me at least.

Hope you got any wiser on which fingers to use :)

cowparsleyman

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« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2020, 09:31:08 PM »
@CaliaMoko - I’m afraid the only advice I can give you Vicky is to use all your fingers on your right hand and to me there is enough to get right on your fretting hand to be overly concerned with your picking hand.

Just make sure it’s as efficient as possible, and that you hit the right string at the right time, use open strings where possible, that’ll give you some time to move to the next shape...

Keep your picking nails long. All the best


Boydie

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« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2020, 07:35:05 AM »
@CaliaMoko

Wow - this really takes me back to my days when I worked as a guitar tutor

This is a crucial aspect of playing and is something worth taking your time with to get right

I would suggest doing some research on “PIMA”

PIMA is an acronym that guides you as to which right hand finger to use to pluck each note in a piece

After a while this simple becomes “second nature” but following this principle on a couple of simple pieces will give you a strong foundation and set you off in the right direction

You should be able to find some simple tabs (and in this day an age there are probably a gazillion videos on YouTube) on how to apply PIMA and even find some notation/tab with PIMA above the notation

My final bit of advice (which applies to learning ALL new techniques) is that:

“practice doesn’t make perfect - practice makes permanent”

ALWAYS practice playing at the speed you can play the HARDEST part. This often means playing the simple parts painfully slowly

This is really important otherwise you could fall in to the trap of developing an inconsistent timing - eg playing the easy bits quickly and then slowing down for the hard bits

It is VERY easy for this inconsistency to become “baked in” to your playing, which is something you don’t want

Do some research on PIMA and have some fun!
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Wicked Deeds

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« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2020, 03:06:24 PM »
@CaliaMoko

Hi  Vicky,

Listen to good acoustic fingerpickers.  They have always been a part of my life.  Like Boydie, I recommend the PIMA approach. It's taught in the RGT Acoustic guitar Playing course (quite expensive but sets you up with solid foundations.)  Most acoustic acoustic guitar playing literature recommends this approach but I would say again, Listen to good players, try to copy what they do and you will more than likely find yourself adopting this style naturally because it's natural.  Another great point is to have fun so that one day, you simply arrive at the place you want to be without thinking that it was hard work/study.

PAul