Finger Picking Guitar - Easy Finger Picking Pattern

Finger picking is one of the most interesting technique used in playing the guitar, it is almost equivalent to playing the piano with all your fingers. More possibilities can be achieved with this style of playing, and it can really highlight the versatile quality of the instrument. In this article, we will be looking at one of the most useful finger picking pattern that can be incorporated into songs that you already know.

To start with, let's identify the picking hand fingers by their assigned names, as this will be the key to easily memorize any finger picking pattern. Each fingers of the picking hand (except for the pinky) will be referred to by the following 'letters' of the alphabet:

P - Thumb(Plays the 'Bass Strings', namely string 6, 5 and 4)
i - Index finger (Plays the 3rd string)
m - Middle finger (Plays the 2nd string)
a - Ring finger (Plays the 1st string)

The above fingers to string assignment are considered to be the fix settings in this style of playing. It is also a method used mostly by classical guitar players. While some great guitar players are known to omit this, you can never go wrong with these settings. In the next example, you will realize how knowing the names and the functions of each picking fingers, are the keys to get you into mastering this technique.


Our featured finger picking pattern will look like this, demonstrated here using a guitar tab on an 'E minor' chord:

1E-------a-----------a-----|
2B-------m----------m-----|
3G----i------i-----i------i--|
4D--------------------------|
5A--------------------------|
6E-P-----------P-----------|


* I took a different approach for this tab. Instead of writing the usual fret number, I decided to write the 'letters' that represent the fingers just so that it makes more sense to all *

For this pattern, you need to play the 1st and the 2nd string simultaneously using the ring (a) and the middle (m) fingers. This may seems hard but actually pretty easy to do since it's easier to move the two fingers together than to move them separately. Give it a try!

If you're having trouble memorizing this pattern, here's a tip; just memorize the order of the 'letters' written on the tab like this:

( P i m/a i | P i m/a i...and so on)

This can work for two reasons:

1. You already know which letter goes with which finger.
2. You already know which finger goes with which string.

The thumb (P), can play any of the bass strings according to chords being used, for example; to use this pattern on a 'C' chord, the thumb (P) will play the 5th string, and on a 'D' chord, it should play the 4th string.

A clearer example can be found at my website where I demonstrate how to use this and another very useful pattern into an existing song. Check it out here: http://www.edguitar.com/finger_picking.html