How long should it take to improve your fingerpicking technique? Tricky question but not impossible to answer. I have been testing this three weeks system that combines scales, arpeggios, chords, melodies, and technical exercises. If done correctly this program can make you a better fingerpicking guitar player in a matter of weeks.
So, how do you improve your fingerpicking technique? To improve your fingerpicking technique combine scales, arpeggios, chords, melodies, and technical exercises that become progressively more difficult every week. Each week, the scales should be played faster, the arpeggios become more complex, the chords become more stretchy, the melodies more intricate, and the technical exercises more challenging. Practice as an athlete does, progressively and consistently.
How to Improve your Fingerstyle Technique
Becoming better at playing guitar isn’t just about repeating the same chord or scale over and over again. Instead, you should practice just as an athlete does, progressively and consistently. You should start slow and then make things more challenging as you become better.
But why three weeks? Well, it takes time for your fingers to get used to the movement and stretch. I have been testing this three weeks program with some of my students and I found that it’s just the best length of time to really see an improvement in your fingerpicking technique. I tried with four weeks but it was too short and we missed the final boost for massive improvement. On the other hand, programs longer than six weeks become boring and monotonous.
Three weeks is just about the right time to make a significant improvement in your fingerpicking guitar technique.
How does it work? I am going to give you a practice schedule to follow. Each week you will be practicing a bunch of exercises and key movements that will improve your fingerpicking technique with consistency. The exercises are practical and musical so you have the feeling you are actually playing music.
Fingerpicking Program
Here’s Your Fingerpicking Program
Week 1
E Major Scale
Four Chords in E major
Fingerpicking Exercise
Melody in E major
Warm Up Exercise
Week 2
A minor scale
Four Chords in A minor
Fingerpicking Exercise
Melody in A minor
Stretch Exercise
Week 3
G major scale
Four Chords in G major
Fingerpicking Exercise
Melody in G major
Symmetrical Exericse
Other things you will learn in this lesson:
How to organize your practice routine.
How to increment speed.
How to Organize your Practice Routine
Before we get started let me quickly show you how you should organize your practice routing to maximize the time you have available for your session. It obvious that you should already know how to position your right-hand to pluck the strings correctly.
You will need between 60 to 90 minutes per session to complete each weekly program. Obviously, if you practice six days a week, you will be able to get more benefits from the things you are about to practice.
Each week we are cover five different topics: A major or minor scale, chords, a fingerpicking exercise, a simple melody, and a warm-up or technical exercise.
If you can practice 60 minutes each session, you should spend roughly 12 minutes for each exercise. Obviously, 90 minutes as you will dedicate 18 minutes for each exercise.
Divide your practice routing into five sections. If you practice for 60 minutes, spend 12 minutes on each exercise. 90 minutes is recommended as it will give you 18 minutes to spend on each exercise.
How to Increment Speed
Each exercise has a starting speed indicated on top of the music stave. This is the Goal Speed and it shouldn’t be treated as the Starting Speed. If you are just getting started, practice the exercises for a while without metronome. Then, when you feel ready, play along with the click to track your speed.
For each week try to increase each exercise of at least 10 Bmp (beats per minutes).
Week 1 – E major Scale
In this first week, we are going to learn the E major scale in one position of the neck. Don’t see the scale as a technical exercise, but teat it as a melodic exercise. In fact, the notes we are learning will soon become a simple melody.
E major scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E
Here is the E major scale diagram. The scale is played with eighth notes (two notes per beat).
The speed is 90Bpm.
Week 1 – Four Chords in E Major
In this section we are going to learn four chords in E major key. Chords are one of the best thing you can practice to improve your fingerpicking technique.
The chord progression we are learning is E | C#m | A | B. Notice how with the fingerpicking technique we can simplify difficult chords such as the C# minor and B major chord.
The speed is 90Bpm.
Week 1 – Fingerpicking Exercise
In this fingerpicking exercise we are going to practice one of the most popular fingerpicking pattern exercise. This fingerstyle pattern is great for developing speed and control. It involves alternating the thumb with the index and middle finger.
To keep the exercise simple, I am only going to show you how to play it on two chords, but you can apply this pattern on any chord or chord progression.
The fingerpicking pattern is the P i P m, which stands for thumb, index, thumb, middle finger.
The Speed Goal is 100 Bpm.
Week 1 – Melody in E Major
We are going to use the E major scale you just learned to write a simple fingerstyle melody. The goal is not to write the most difficult melody you can possible play. Instead, we will focus on playing a few notes that sound good and melodic.
When you practice and play this melody, focus on improving the plucking, dynamics, and tone.
Week 1 – Fingerstyle Warm-up Exercise
The warm-ups are some of my favorite fingerpicking exercises. This particular exercise will help you warm-up both right-hand and left-hand. It’s based on the famous 1 2 3 4 guitar exercises that every guitar player know but the one I am about to show you comes with an interesting twist.
This warm-up exercise is played on two strings, the B and top E string, but it can be transposed in other set of strings to. You will pluck the B string with the index finger and the E string with the middle finger.
The Speed Goal is 60 Bpm but notice that the exercise is played with sixteenth notes (four notes per beat).
Week 2 – A minor Scale
We will now learn the A minor scale in position I. This scale is very simple to learn as it combines fretted notes and open strings.
A minor scale: A B C D E F G
Speed goal is 115 Bpm
Week 2 – Four Chords in A minor
Improve your fingerpicking technique with this simple chord progression in A minor. Pluck the strings together with Thumb, index and middle finger. Keep the plucking as evenly as possible and work on the dynamics and tone.
The speed for this exercise is 80 Bpm
Week 2 – Fingerpicking Exercise
One of the things that will improve your fingerpicking technique is practicing arpeggio patterns of eight notes. This pattern is one of the most common classical fingerpicking patterns ever played.
The pattern is called P i m i a i m a.
Speed 85 Bpm
Week 2 – Melody in A minor
Time to improve your fingerstyle tone and dynamics with this simple melody in A minor. The notes are played in triplets, three notes per beat. The number three on top of the notes means in fact “triplet”.
Speed 70 Bpm
Week 2 – Stretch Exercise
This stretch exercise is perfect for both right-hand and left-hand improvement. Pluck the strings with alternate fingering.
Speed 75 Bpm
Week 3 – G Major Scale
Learn this very simple G major scale in 1st position using the alternate fingering i-m-i-m.
G Major Scale: G A B C D E F# G
Week 3 – Four Chords in G Major
In this chord progression, we are going to combine two fingerpicking patterns. The first one is P i m a and the second pattern is P a m i.
Speed 125 Bpm
Week 3 – Fingerpicking Pattern
The fingerpicking pattern we will learn in this lesson will improve your alternate fingering technique as well as control and speed.
Speed 75 Bpm
Week 3 – Melody in G Major
Learn this simple melody and develop your musicality and tone. When you practice and play the melody, don’t really worry about speed. Instead, focus on tone and dynamics.
Week 3 – Symmetrical Exercise
The last exercise of this program is this symmetrical exercise played on one string. The goal for this exercise is to develop alternate fingering, finger stretch, and finger dexterity.
Related Questions
Can I practice each week for longer? Absolutely! If it takes longer for you to master one week than don’t worry about it. At the end of each week you should feel like you learned something. There is no point to finish the program as quickly as possible.
I am a beginner. Can I start playing guitar with the fingerstyle technique? You can start playing guitar with the fingerstyle technique. However, you should focus on exercises that develop your plucking technique like fingerpicking scales and arpeggios as well as playing chords, songs, and fingerstyle melodies. It is absolutely possible for beginners to learn fingerpicking technique.
Fingerstyle is one of the most creative and beautiful guitar technique. Think about acoustic guitar players such as Tommy Emmanuel, Dan Ross, Preston Reed, and Gabriella Quevedo who explored every aspect of the fingerpicking technique and inspired thousands of guitar players.
Classical and Spanish guitar players also use the fingerpicking technique. Musicians like Andreas Segovia, John Williams, Julian Bream, and Pepe Romero devoted their entire life to expand the fingerpicking repertoire by transcribing beautiful compositions from the past.
Fingerstyle music became more complex over the past few years. Techniques like percussive fingerstyle and tapping have now become a standard that many try to reach.
For these reasons, many beginners feel discouraged. Many of my students frequently ask “Can I start learning guitar with the fingerstyle method? Is the fingerpicking technique difficult for beginners?”
The answer is obviously no! However, you should know HOW to get started the right way.
But how do you get started with the fingerpicking technique and what’s the best fingerpicking pattern for beginners?
In this fingerstyle lesson, we are going to take a look at the top 5 fingerpicking patterns for beginners and how to implement them into musical ideas.
Each pattern has different musical examples that you can practice that will help you familiarize yourself with the fingerpicking technique.
Are you Just Getting Started?
There are two categories of fingerstyle players.
Total Beginner: If you just bought a guitar, this is your category!
Fingerstyle Beginners: The ones who already play guitar but they never learned the fingerstyle technique. If you know how to play basic chords and strumming, you fall into this category.
There will be six examples for each one of the five fingerpicking patterns. Start with the first three if you are a total beginner.
On the guitar tab, you will find an indication as to which fingers you should use to pluck the strings. Classical guitar players adopted this system, and it has been around for many years.
The letters come from the Italian/Spanish language.
Here is how it works:
Tumb = Pollice, letter “P”
Index = indice, letter “i”
Middle = medio, letter “m”
Ring = anulare, letter “a”
For the left-hand, follow the number on top of the music stave.
Number 1 – index
Number 2 – middle
Number 3 – ring
Number 4 – little finger
Fingerpicking Pattern #1 – Alternate Index and Middle
The fingerpicking pattern number one is called “i-m-i-m.”
This is indeed the most simple and common pattern every guitar players start with. It is simple, intuitive, and works perfectly for simple melodies.
Ex.1 – One String Fingerpicking Melody
In this exercise, we are going to practice the pattern on one string only, the top E string. You can then transpose it to the other strings.
The goal of this exercise is to help you develop strength and finger dexterity.
We are going to learn a few chord progressions as well as combining the P i m a pattern with the alternate fingering.
If you are a beginner, start with the first three patterns.
Ex.1 – Two Simple Chords
In this first example, learn this chord progression in A minor.
Pluck the bass note with the thumb and assign a finger to each string. Pluck the G string with the index finger, the B string with the middle, and the top E string with the ring finger.
The two chords are A minor and E major.
Ex.2 – P i m a Reverse
Each fingerpicking pattern can be played reversed.
The reverse of “P i m a” is “a m i P.” This pattern isn’t musical at all, so I decided to change it into P a m i.
Learn this simple chord progression in D major,
Ex.3 – P i m a together
Another awesome variation for the P i m a pattern is to pluck the strings simultaneously.
This pattern works perfectly for rhythmic chords and can be used in many different ways.
In this example for beginners, we are going to pluck together chords in G major key.
Follow the right-hand pattern on the tab.
Ex.4 – P i m a with Intermediate Chords
With such a simple fingerpicking pattern it can be boring to practice things.
Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this pattern. We can add a beautiful chord progression that will make you love this pattern.
The chords are in E minor key.
Ex.5 – P i m a With Percussive Pattern
Another great thing you can easily add with this pattern is the percussion.
There are a lot of different percussive techniques on guitar, but we will stick with the most simple one called “thumb slap.”
With the thumb slap technique, you strike the bass strings with the thumb while playing the chords. The sound is similar to the snare drum.
This is a simple example using this percussive technique.
Ex.6 – P i m a With Different Bass Notes
The last example will have the thumb plucking on two different bass strings.
I recommend that you hold the chords down while you pluck the strings and let it ring out beautifully. Also, try to emphasize the bass notes by playing them louder than the rest of the chords.
Fingerpicking Pattern #3 – P i m a m i
Let’s explore the fingerstyle pattern in six that every beginner should learn. It’s called P i m a m i or sextuplets (six notes).
This pattern can be broken down into two patterns of three. The way you count each pattern will now be 1 2 3 – 1 2 3 as opposed as the patterns in four which we count like 1 2 3 4 – 1 2 3 4.
The P i m a m i pattern can be quite confusing at first especially if you try to use a metronome. You will now have to play three notes per beat which aren’t the most natural thing to do.
Spend a few minutes counting 1 2 3 – 1 2 3 while tapping the foot on the first count only.
From now, there will be three examples of each pattern.
Ex.1 – Minor Chord Progression
In this first example, I am going to show you a straightforward chord progression in E minor played mostly with open strings.
The melody is played on the top E string should be louder than the accompaniment.
Ex.2 – Folk Chord Progression
This pattern works perfectly with folk and country chord progressions.
This is an example in A minor.
Ex. 3 – The Six + Three Pattern
A common variation could be playing the P i m a m i followed by the P i m P i m pattern.
An easy way to spice things up.
Fingerpicking Pattern #4 – Combined Patterns
Even beginners should learn how to combine different fingerpicking patterns. The fact that you are just starting with fingerstyle doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try something challenging.
By combining different patterns, you will also learn the amazing possibilities that fingerstyle offer not only harmonically but also rhythmically and melodically.
You will learn how to combine chords with melody and how to change the rhythm of a pattern simply.
Good luck!
Ex. 1 – P i m i a i m i + Melody in “i-m”
In this example, we alternate chords and melody. The pattern is rhythmically very simple as we only play sixteenth notes.
Assing a finger to each string to each string and alternate when you play the melody.
The chord progression is in A Minor.
Ex. 2 – P i m a m i + Melody in “m-i”
A pattern in six is always challenging at first.
In this example, we are going to play an arpeggio in E minor followed by a melody on the E string.
The long notes at the end of the melody should help you transition between the chords easily.
Speed isn’t important so play slowly and focus on chord change and tone.
Fingerpicking Pattern #5 – The Tremolo
The tremolo is a popular Classical and Spanish technique. It sustains the melody and creates a continuous sound similar to a fast picking.
This technique is achieved by playing three notes with the ring, middle, and index finger on one string while the thumb takes care of the bass note.
On the music score, the tremolo looks like that:
One of the reasons I teach the tremolo to beginners is because it develops many aspects of the fingerpicking technique at once.
By practicing this technique, you will improve your control, speed, plucking, rhythm, timing, and skills.
But how do we get started with the tremolo technique?
Let me show you how.
Ex. 1 – Tremolo Technique Definition
We can apply the tremolo on chords and melody.
In this exercise, I am going to show you how to familiarize yourself with the technique by using a simple chord progression.
Hold the chord down while playing the tremolo.
Ex. 2 – Simplified Tremolo
There is a way to simplify the tremolo by removing one note from the group (usually the ring finger).
In this case, we only play with thumb, index, and middle.
The tremolo is now in three and not in four anymore.
Let’s Wrap This Up
I hope you enjoyed these fingerpicking patterns for beginners.
I know that some of the examples can be quite challenging for a total beginner. I also know that by practicing something that feels difficult you have more chances to make an improvement.
Don’t get me wrong! I am not saying you should practice things that are way above your level. But a little challenge keeps you motivated and determined.
Take each example as a separate exercise and spend time practicing each exercise.
When you feel ready, check the next lesson below and learn 11 Ways to Practice Scales on Guitar!
Whether you want to become the next Singha Jung or want to be able to play your favorite fingerpicking songs the beginning looks the same for every guitar player.
You need to start by learning the basic fingerpicking concepts that will take you from zero to fingerpicking hero.
In this fingerstyle lesson, I am going to show you eight great fingerpicking exercises that you should know.
As there is already a ton of basic fingerpicking stuff online, I decided I would try to give you more practical and musical exercises. I will also talk about useful resources and fingerpicking books you should check out.
When you read the music score in this lesson, you will notice four letters written at the bottom of the tab. The letters are P i m a.
Pima stands for thumb, index, middle, and ring finger. These letters come from the Italian/Spanish language.
Thumb = Pollice, letter “P.”
Index = indice, letter “i”
Middle = medio, letter “m”
Ring = anulare, letter “a”
We don’t use the little finger to pluck the strings, even though some guitar players do.
If you want to learn how to pluck the strings correctly, there are three golden rules you should always follow.
Rule 1. Keep the thumb in front of the finger and pluck the strings with the side of the fingertip.
Rule 2. Pluck the strings with the index, middle, and ring finger with a 45-degree angle.
Rule 3. Keep the right-hand on top of the sound hole for better tone and dynamics.
2. Classical Fingerpicking Arpeggios
One of the best ways to getting started with the fingerstyle technique is learning classical fingerpicking arpeggios.
Classical music is mostly played on the Classical guitar. As you probably know, Classical guitar players are well known for their advanced fingerpicking technique, speed, control, and musicality.
Classical guitar player practices a lot of fingerpicking patterns that allow them to achieve an impeccable and fluid technique.
An arpeggio is a right-hand pattern that repeats itself. Think about the P i m a pattern.
Practice each arpeggio slowly and speed up as you improve.
Fingerpicking Arpeggio #1 – P i m a
In this very first fingerstyle guitar exercise we are going to learn the first pattern called P i m a which is indeed one of the most common fingerstyle patterns on guitar.
Because this is the very first arpeggio you are learning, I decided to keep the chords very simple.
You will be playing a C major and G7/B chord. The tempo is set at 80 bpm which is a reasonably slow speed if you play two notes per click.
The right-hand pattern is written below the guitar TAB.
Fingerpicking Arpeggio #2 – P i m a m i
The next fingerpicking pattern is six notes long, and it is called sextuplet.
A sextuplet has six notes per beat. If you struggle playing it with the metronome, start with three notes per beat.
The chord progression is different. We are going to play Am | C | Dm | E |.
I use my index finger as a reference to the first fret, and it helps me with the chord change a lot.
This is the first time you are plucking with the ring finger. Take it step-by-step.
Fingerpicking Arpeggio #3 – P/i – m/a
In this fingerpicking pattern, we are going to pluck the strings simultaneously with thumb and index followed by middle and ring.
This is a common fingerstyle pattern in classical music.
The chord progression is similar to the one we used in the first example.
Make sure you keep the right-hand close to the strings.
Fingerpicking Arpeggio #4 – P i m i a i m i
One of the most popular classical fingerpicking patterns played with a group of two sixteenth notes. Each group is four notes per beat.
The chord progression sounds very classical. Am | E | Am | E7 | Am | E | A |
If you have been playing guitar for a while you probably already learned basic chords such as C major, A minor, D minor, E minor, G major, D major, etc. Most beginners only focus on strumming because it is a more straightforward way to get started with chords.
However, you can easily play all the chords you already learned in fingerstyle too.
How can you practice chords with the fingerpicking technique? Does fingerstyle make chords more challenging to play?
In this section, I am going to show you how to play simple fingerpicking chords and how to change chords quickly. Playing chords with fingerstyle will simplify the way you have been playing chords.
Let me show you five different chord exercises played with fingerpicking technique.
Fingerpicking Chord Exercise #1
We are going to work on a simple chord change such as C major and G major.
A lot of beginners struggle with this chord change because of the different chord shape.
With fingerstyle though chords become very simple to play.
The C major and G major chord look like this.
If you strum the chords, you have no choice but changing the C to the G as quickly as possible.
With fingerstyle though you can play one string at a time and make the chord progression very simple.
If you play the chords with the P i m a pattern, you can add one note at a time on the G chord as you perform the arpeggio. Also, you don’t have to play the full chord as you will only be plucking four strings.
Notice how the G major builds upon each round.
Let me show you a practical example.
Fingerpicking Chord Exercise #2
You can apply the same concept on all the chord progressions you struggle with the chord change.
When I first started the D major and B minor were always a struggle.
The chords look like this.
In this example, we are going to break down both chords.
So we will start by playing the bass note of each chord than add more notes as you progress.
4. Common Fingerpicking Chord Progressions
Some chord progressions never die.
Let me show you the most common fingerpicking chord progressions every beginner should know. The reasons why these progressions are so famous is because they are simple, beautiful and fun to play.
To make things more interesting, I also decided to show you how to play a few basic extended chords.
A scale is a progression of notes. The first note, called root, gives the name to the scale.
The most common music scales are Major scale, Minor scale, Harmonic minor scale, Melodic minor scale, Major Pentatonic scale, and Minor Pentatonic scale.
If you are a beginner fingerstyle guitar player, I highly recommend that you start practicing scales.
In this section, I am going to show you a couple of useful scales that every beginner should know.
#1 The C major scale
The notes of the C major scale are C D E F G A B C.
This scale (as well as any other scale) can be played in many different shapes and positions. This is possible because on the guitar the notes repeat on each string.
Let’s take a look at the note C for example. This note can be played in many different frets up and down the fretboard.
In this example, we are going to play the C major scale horizontally.
This is a great exercise not only for the fingerpicking technique but also for the left hand.
The fingerstyle pattern is i-m or m-i throughout.
Refer to the numbers next to the notes for the left-hand fingers. Number 1 is the index, 2 is the middle, 3 is the middle, and 4th is the little finger.
#2 The A Natural Minor Scale
The Natural minor scale is built on the 6th degree of the major scale. Because they are the same scale, they share the same notes.
The A Natural minor scale is the relative minor of C major. The notes are A B C D E F G A.
In this example, I am going to show you how to play an A minor scale
But how do you learn how to play a melody on guitar?
As always, we are going to approach everything step-by-step.
There are three music elements you must combine to create a fingerstyle melody. First, you need a melody. The second element is a chord progression. And last, but not least, you need rhythm.
How can we combine all these elements to create music?
This is step one.
How to Write a Melody
A melody is a progression of notes that sound good together. These notes come from the scale.
If, for example, I am writing a melody in A minor, I will have to refer to the notes of the A minor scale.
Let me show you the difference between scale and melody in the example below.
For the Melody in A minor, I also implemented different chords such as the F major, D minor, and G major. It is important to realize that we are only playing the root note of the chord (the bass note) and not the full chord.
This is a significant aspect of fingerpicking guitar, which is the ability to play the bass note of the chord with the thumb while the index, middle, and ring finger play the melody.
Melody #1 – Example on One String
In this example, we are going to learn a simple melodic pattern on the E string.
This is a straightforward way to get started with learning a melody because it is easier to determine the notes on one string first.
We are in E minor key. The notes we are going to use are E F# G A B C D E.
Melody #2 – Melody in One Position
Let’s try a fingerstyle melody in D major.
This time we are going to play the melody in one position only. The notes of the D major scale are D E F# G A B C# D.
The chord progression is D | Em |A7 | D |.
7. Popular Fingerstyle Songs
Fingerstyle technique has been around for a long time.
Over the years, a lot of songs and classical pieces have become the most popular songs to play with the fingerpicking technique.
Think about songs such as Spanish Romance and how you can easily recognize it after hearing just a few notes.
There are also a lot of modern songs such as Here Comes the Sun or Black Bird by the Beatles, Hotel California by the Eagles and More than Words by the Extreme.
All these songs are played with fingerstyle technique and inspired so many people. A lot of guitar players start playing guitar because of the one song that they love.
Let me give you a list of some of the most popular fingerstyle songs worth giving a try.
Classical guitar pieces:
Spanish Romance – Anonimous
Lagrima – Francisco Tarrega
Malaguena – Ernesto Lecuona
Asturias – Isaac Albeniz
Studio in B minor – Fernando Sor
Allegretto – Mauro Giuliani
Classical pieces rearranged for fingerstyle guitar:
Fur Elise – Beethoven
Four Seasons – Vivaldi
Minuet in G – Bach
Canon in D – Pachelbel
Modern fingerpicking songs:
Don’t think twice; it’s alright – Bob Dylan
Black Bird – Beatles
The sound of silence – Simon & Garfunkel
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
8. Fingerpicking Technique Exercise
If you are serious about becoming a good fingerpicking guitar player, you should spend time practicing a few basic fingerpicking exercises.
For me, a fingerstyle exercise is a mechanical or symmetrical exercise that is designed to improve your technique, control, and speed.
Most of these exercises use repetitive patterns or numeric shapes. Think about the popular 1 2 3 4 exercises every guitar player play.
Let me show you my top five fingerpicking technique exercises and how to practice them.
#1 – Symmetrical Fingerstyle Exercises 1 2 3 4
This is one of the most popular exercises for both acoustic and electric guitar.
By plucking this symmetrical exercise, you will be able to improve not only your fingerpicking technique but also speed, control, tone, plucking, stretch, and dynamics.
I like to call it “The 1 2 3 4” exercise due to the numeric patterns involved.
The exercise is simple: Assign a finger to each number and come up with different finger combinations.
In this first example, I am going to show you the pattern 1 2 3 4 | 4 3 2 1. The exercise is played on one string, but it can be transposed easily.
2# Symmetrical Scale Pattern
Another popular fingerpicking exercise involves scale patterns up and down the fret.
A scale pattern is a set of notes from the scale that is repeated on two or three octaves.
The first pattern is played in alternate fingering i-m or m-i.
The second pattern is more stretchy and difficult to play. It can be hard on your tendons so, take it step-by-step.
Let’s Wrap This Up
Getting started with fingerstyle guitar is never simple. There are so many different techniques involved that it can be overwhelming and frustrating especially if you don’t know where to start.
In this article, you learned a lot about arpeggios, scales, fingerpicking patterns, and chord progressions that can be easily played.
When you learn something new, start slow. Learn one scale or pattern at a time if you have to.
Use a metronome to track your results and don’t be afraid to do your research.
I will be around on my social media so, don’t be afraid to ask questions if you need to.
However, playing the guitar isn’t as simple as they make it look.
To become good at fingerpicking guitar, it takes time, practice, and passion. Most importantly, you have to know how to get started.
Today I am going to show you the 12 most crucial fingerpicking guitar exercises you must learn if you want to become great at playing guitar.
The word “Great” doesn’t mean you have to become a professional guitar player. Even if you don’t become the greatest guitar player on earth, you still want to be able to enjoy practicing and mastering the fingerstyle technique.
This is just a starting point, but we will be covering many important aspects of playing fingerpicking guitar.
Here are the 12 most important fingerpicking guitar exercises for beginners.
Guitar players use letters to indicate the right-hand picking fingers.
Here’s how it work:
Thumb: letter “P” from the Italian word “Pollice.”
Index: the letter “i” from the Italian word “indice.”
Middle: letter “m” from the Italian word “medio.”
Ring: letter “a” from the Italian word “anulare”
We don’t pluck the strings with the little finger even though some guitar players do.
One of the most common words you will see a lot around fingerpicking music is “Pima” which represents the four plucking fingers.
Some of the most famous fingerpicking arpeggios are:
Pima
Pimami
Pimiaimi
Pami
Pimaim
How to Pluck Guitar Strings Correctly
Two basic fingerpicking rules show you how to pluck the strings smoothly.
These two rules are essentials for any guitar player who wants to become familiar with the fingerpicking technique.
The two fingerpicking rules are:
Thumb position.
Fingers position.
Fingerpicking Rule #1 – Thumb position
Place the thumb in front of the fingers and pluck the strings downwards. Only use the major knuckle that connects the finger to the palm of your hand.
Plucking the guitar strings with the side of the fingertips produces a smooth and dull tone.
Fingerpicking Rule #2 – Fingers Position
The picking hand fingers should pluck the strings at a 45-degree angle.
Pluck the strings upwards towards the palm. Start the plucking movement by moving the finger away from the string to generate speed an momentum. This movement is called “Preparation,” and it comes from the major knuckle. As your finger touches the string, articulate with the minor knuckle upwards. This part is called “Plucking.”
This basic fingerpicking pattern is among the most common patterns for fingerstyle guitar and can be played over different chord progressions.
The pattern is called “P i m a m i,” a six notes pattern very popular in Classical and Folk music.
Here’s the exercise:
The basic chords I am playing in this example are straightforward and perfect for beginners. Some of them will probably sound new to you (and your ears).
Practice one chord at a time if you have to and practice the exercise slowly.
3. Fingerstyle Scales
There are different ways to practice scales on the guitar.
Others use scales to learn more about music theory.
For me, scales are among the most important things every musician should learn. Today, I am going to show you how to get started with scales and how to practice scales with purpose.
How to Practice Scales on Guitar
Mastering scales takes time and practice.
If you want to get started playing single notes and melodies on fingerpicking guitar, you should learn the scales below.
In this lesson, we are going to learn and practice all the example in the C major key. You can then transpose this concept in other keys.
There will be a musical example for each scale so that you can see how to transform scales into beautiful melodies.
Let’s get started with the fingerpicking guitar exercises for technique and speed.
The C major Scale – For Technique and Speed –
The notes for the C major scale are C D E F G A B C.
If you want to practice the C major scale to improve your technique and speed, you should start by playing the scale up and down the neck.
*About the fingering*. The number next to the notes show you the left-hand fingers you should use.
Number 1: index finger
Number 2: middle finger
Number 3: ring finger
Number 4: little finger
C Major Scale Exercise #1
C Major Scale Exercise #2
The C major Scale – For Writing Fingerstyle Melody –
In the following example, we are going to learn how to write a melody on guitar by using the notes of the C major scale.
So, how do we write a melody over chords?
There are three steps you must follow:
Step 1: Learn the C major scale
Step 2: Write a chord progression
Step 3: Simplify the chord progression
Step 4: Play the notes of the scale over the chords
Step 1. Learn the C major scale
Learn the notes of the C major scale in one position of the neck. Notice that the scale starts with the note G, but it is still considered a C major scale.
The reasons why we play the scale on the top three strings only is because we have to keep the 4th, 5th, and 6th string for the bass note of the chords.
Step 2. Write a Chord Progression
How do you write simple chord progressions?
You should know that chords come from scales. Each scale degree generates a chord.
Here’s how it works:
Write down the scale. In this example, we will take a look at the C major scale.
Select the first note of the scale, in this case, the note C. We will call this note the “Root note” of the chord.
A chord is built by stacking up to three notes of the scale. Once you recognize the root note, add the 3rd and 5th.
This is called “triad,” the most basic chord we have in music.
In the example below, we have the Root note C followed by the 3rd, the note E, and the 5th, the note G.
Play these three notes simultaneously to play a chord.
Do the same starting from each degree of the scale, and you end up with seven chords.
C major
D minor
E minor
F major
G major
A minor
B diminished
These are the chords from the C major scale/key.
Select some of the chords from the scale to come up with chord progressions.
The most common chord progression in music is the I V vi IV. If we go ahead with this option, we will play C, G, Am, and F major chord.
You can build other chord progressions such as:
I V
I vi ii V
I IV V
IV vi I V
I II III IV V
I III IV V
In this example, we will only refer to the I V vi IV chord progression.
Step 3. Simplify the Chord Progression
Make the chord progression simple by removing all the notes of the chord except the bass note (the lowest note of the chord.
Step 4. Play the Notes of the Scale Over the Chords
The last step is about playing the notes of the scale over the chord progression.
There is a basic fingerpicking rule that every guitar player follows to play fingerstyle chords easily.
This rule goes as follows:
Pluck the 6th, 5th and 4th string with the thumb, the 3rd string with the index finger, the 2nd string with the middle finger, and the 1st string with the ring finger.
A simple variation of this rule occurs when we change the set of strings plucked by the index, middle and ring finger.
In the example below, I am going to show you practical examples of this simple yet effective rule.
Exercise #1 – Picking Simple Chords
In this first exercise, I am going to show you how to apply the fingerpicking chords rule.
Learn these basic chords played with a simple fingerpicking pattern.
E minor chord: The thumb is on the low E string, index on the D string, middle on G string and ring on the B string.
Cadd9 chord: Thumb on A string, index on G string, middle on B string and ring on E string.
G major chord: Same as E minor chord.
D/F# chord: Same as E minor chord.
Exercise #2 – Picking Chord Together
In this example, I am going to show you how to pluck the strings simultaneously using the fingerstyle chord rule.
Notice that we are also going to combine chords and melody. The note indicated with the “cross” is played with the thumb slap percussive technique. Every time you see this note, strike the string with the right-hand thumb.
N.5 Simple Fingerstyle Song | Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace is one of the most simple yet beautiful songs that you can play on the guitar.
The remarkable thing about fingerpicking technique is that it allows you to combine chords and melody.
It is entirely up to the composer to decide how difficult the arrangement of the song should be.
In this lesson, I am going to show you a simple Amazing Grace fingerstyle arrangement for beginners that I am sure you will enjoy learning and playing.
Pluck the strings using the two fingerpicking rules we talked about at the beginning of this post, and play the melody as evenly as possible.
N.6 Learn a Fingerstyle Classical Piece in A minor
Fingerpicking guitar is the technique classical guitar player use to play classical music.
As you probably know, classical music is an extremely sophisticated style of music that challenges even the most talented guitar players.
Learning a Classical piece is an excellent way to improve your fingerstyle technique, as well as speed, control, musicality, and tone.
Today I am going to show you a fingerpicking classical piece in A minor called “Allegro” by Mauro Giuliani.
You can watch the video lesson and download the tab below.
Get the Tab Here.
N.7 Travis Picking Fingerstyle Technique
With the Travis picking technique the right-hand thumb plucks two bass notes on a steady beat while the index, middle and ring finger play the accompaniment on the top strings.
The Travis technique was popularized by the American singer-songwriter Merle Travis, who uniquely mastered this technique.
Today I am going to show you a few examples on how to get started with the Travis picking technique.
How to Play Travis Picking on Guitar
With the Travis technique, the thumb plucks two bass notes.
The very first step to getting this technique right is learning the thumb movement.
Pluck the strings with the side of the thumb and keep your hand close to the strings.
This is a fundamental bass line in a Travis style played entirely with the thumb.
Basics and Variations of Travis Picking Technique
Once you are done learning the bass line, you can then add the accompaniment which will be played on the top three strings by the fingers.
Notice that Merle Travis only used his index finger.
How crazy!
8. Fingerstyle classical song. Asturias
Asturias is one of the most popular fingerstyle songs on Classical guitar.
So many guitar players started playing guitar after they heard the main theme of this fantastic classical piece.
Isaac Albeniz composed Asturias. The first arrangement was written for piano in G minor key.
Many transcribed this piece for Classical guitar, but Segovia transcription remains the most popular. He also changed the key in E minor to suit the guitar range.
In this lesson, I am going to show you how to play the first theme of Asturias on fingerpicking guitar.
Again, another classical piece that will improve your technique and musicality as well as tone, control, and overall playing.
A good fingerpicking warm-up prepares your fingers and mind for a good rehearsal; this is why it should be done before you dive into your favorite songs and exercises.
In this section, I am going to walk you through three things you can use to successfully warm-up your fingers.
1. Scales.
2. Arpeggios.
3. Symmetrical exercises.
1. Fingerstyle Warm-Up with Scales
Warming up with scales is probably the number one thing that most guitar players do.
Every time I grab my guitar, I play a couple of scales up and down the neck. It helps my fingers to get going and focus on what I have to play in the session.
Music scales are incredibly beneficial for both technique and music theory. Nearly all the music written in Western music comes from scales: intervals, harmony, chord progressions, improvisation, and composition.
Let me show you three different scale figure you could use for your fingerpicking warm-up with scales.
Figure 1. Vertical Fingerpicking Scale
The vertical scale is played in one position of the neck between three and five frets.
This is example number 1.
The fingerpicking pattern is: i-m-i-m (index, middle), but there are plenty of different variations such as m-i-m-i, i-a-i-a, i-m-a-i-m-a.
Figure 2. Fingerpicking scale over two octaves
In this example, we are going to play the scale over six strings. For this reason, the exercise is more difficult because the scale is played over two octaves.
Check the example below.
Figure 3. Horizontal Warm-up Scales
Another way to warm-up using scales is by playing them horizontally.
This is an excellent fingerpicking guitar exercise for both warm-up and fretboard memorization.
In this example, I am going to show you how to play an E major scale horizontally.
2. Fingerstyle Warm-up with Arpeggios
An arpeggio is a right-hand fingers pattern that repeats itself.
The P i m a is one of the most popular fingerpicking patterns on guitar. Such patterns can be used to play chords, and they represent a tremendous warm-up tool.
In this section, I am going to show you the three most popular fingerpicking arpeggios every guitar player use for warm-ups.
How to name the fingers
Before we get started, learn the picking hand finger’s name.
The letter “P” – Thumb
The letter “i” – index
The letter “m” – middle
The letter “a” – ring
Fingerpicking Arpeggio #1
In this first example, we are going to warm-up the fingers with a simple chord progression in C major using the P i m a m i fingerpicking pattern.
This simple arpeggio is played with six notes.
The chord progression goes as follows: G | D | Em | C |.
Fingerpicking Arpeggio #2
In this example, we are going to have a look at a fingerpicking pattern played with eight notes.
This pattern is perfect for warm-up your right hand, and it is used a lot by many fingerstyle players.
The patter goes as follows: P i m i a i m i.
3. Symmetrical Exercises
One of the most common warm-up exercises is the one I call “Symmetrical exercise.”
Almost every guitar player is familiar with this type of warm-up because it is virtually the very first thing we practice when we start learning guitar.
This type of warm-up works for many different reasons.
Coordination
Speed
Control
Stretch
Plucking
Timing
Let me show you a few fingerpicking guitar exercises.
Symmetrical Exercise #1 – Two Notes per String
In this example, we are going to play two frets on each string, starting with the low E string.
The left-hand patter is 1 -2 on one string and 1-3 on the other string.
There are three things you MUST follow when practicing this fingerpicking warm-up.
Number 1: Keep the left-hand thumb down behind the guitar neck.
Number 2: Learn space between the bottom neck and the palm of your hand.
Number 3: Pluck the strings with the index and middle finger close to the soundhole.
Symmetrical Exercise #2 – The Spider Warm-Up
The spider warm-up pattern is one of my favorite.
It consists of playing four notes on two strings alternating each note.
You can start with two strings only and build up to six strings when you feel ready.
This warm-up exercise looks like that.
10. Fingerpicking Blues
The Blues is one of the most popular styles of music of all times.
We are going to combine chords and melody and make this lesson exciting and fun to play.
But before we get started, I should show you the fundamentals of fingerpicking blues.
There are only four things you have to know about the Blues.
1. The Blues chords.
2. The Blues structure.
3. The Blues scale.
4. How to play a simple blues on acoustic guitar.
1. The Blues Chords
The Blues is mainly played with Dominant 7th chords.
We are going to use a simple Dominant 7th chord shape that works perfectly with fingerpicking guitar.
In the chord diagrams below, you can learn how to play the three chords we need to play a Fingerpicking Blues in A.
The chords we are going to learn are:
A7
D7
E7
With these fingerpicking Blues chords, you will only pluck the strings with the dots.
For the A7 chord pluck the 6th, 4th, and 3rd string for the D7 and E7 pluck the 5th, 4th, and 3rd string.
The Blues chords you are about to learn are also called the “173” and the “137” chord. The numbers refer to the chord’s degrees. In the 173 chord, we are playing the Root note, minor 7th, and major 3rd. In the 137, we will play the Root note, major 3rd, and minor 7th.
2. The Blues Structure
The most common Blues structure is the 12-Bar Blues. This is a twelve-bar chord progression repeated over and over.
When you write it down, it looks like something like that.
Each bar (also called measure) is four beats long. The symbol you see on bar number 4, 6, and 8 is a repeat sign, and it means that the A7 chord is played over that bar too.
Play each chord one time and let it ring out for four counts.
3. The Blues Scale
When you play a simple 12-Bar Blues, you can solo with a bunch of different scales.
The most popular scale used in Blues is the Minor Pentatonic scale.
The Minor Pentatonic scale is a progression of five notes from the Natural Minor scale. It is a simple scale to memorize on guitar, and it is easy to implement in a Blues.
The difference between the A minor natural scale and the A minor Pentatonic scale is that the Pentatonic is a scale of five notes only.
Notice how with the minor Pentatonic the II and IV degree of the scale are missing.
Which Pentatonic Shape is Good for Blues
In this lesson, I am going to show you how to write a simple Blues melody using one Pentatonic shape only.
We are going to use the Pentatonic shape number 1, which is the one starting from the root note of the scale.
Learn the Minor Pentatonic scale below.
The notes in the red box are the ones we are going to use to write the fingerpicking blues melody.
4. How to Play a Simple Blues on Guitar
Let me show you how to play a simple Blues on guitar.
We are going to combine chords and melody.
The goal for this lesson is to alternate a blues chord with a few notes from the Pentatonic scale.
This is the Blues melody I wrote for this fingerpicking guitar lesson.
This is one of the best fingerpicking guitar exercises that beginner can practice for control and speed.
This Spanish song is based on one of the most popular Spanish chord progression, Em | D | C | B7 |
The fingerpicking pattern we are going to learn goes as follows: P m i P m i P m.
12. Percussive Fingerstyle
Percussive fingerstyle is considered one of the most thrilling modern guitar techniques of all time.
With this technique, you can use the guitar as a drum kit and add groove to the chords you play.
There are a lot of different ways of playing percussive fingerstyle guitar.
In this lesson, we are going to explore a simple percussive technique called “Thumb slap.”
The Thumb slap technique
With this slapping thumb technique, you are going to strike the string with the side of your picking thumb. This sound is similar to the snare-drum of a standard drum kit.
There are three steps you should follow to get this technique right.
Step 1: Pluck a chord.
Step 2. Move the thumb away from the strings to create momentum and power.
Step 3. Strike the string with the side of the thumb. The string should be the same as the bass note of the chord.
Thumb Slap Exercise #1
In this first example, we are going to play a simple chord progression in E minor.
The slapping thumb technique is indicated with a cross.
Notice how the slapped string corresponds to the bass note of the chord.
Thumb Slap Exercise #2
Let’s Wrap This Up
Use the fingerpicking guitar exercises in this lesson to improve your technique and become better at playing guitar.
Each lesson can be customized based on your level.
