Chord Req: Guitar method

Subject: Chord Req: Guitar picking? Any ideas?
From: clairerise
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 05:23 AM

Anyone got tips for picking up finger-picking. keep watching leonard cohen in envy and others and so want to do the same. i just don't know where to start. im a good strummer but picking im not brilliant at.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: Leadfingers
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 07:47 AM

Where are you ?? If you have a local Open Mike or Singaround , get along and talk to the guitarists there ! If you are in UK , PM me !

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: GUEST,Alley
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 09:40 AM

Sounds like we are in the same boat. I, too, can strum, however, fingerpicking is very different. There are threads posted regarding fingerpicking, however, reading about it and being shown are two different things. In my last lesson, we started working on fingerpicking. I've been practicing all week. For what it's worth, my instructor told me to extend the right thrumb out, and keep the other fingers tucked under the palm of your hand. Also, when picking, think about pulling your fingers back from the knuckles rather than the tips of the fingers, and pull the fingers toward the palm of your hand. Do I make any sense? Good luck.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: GUEST,Danks
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 10:59 AM

It amazes me that people don't just have few guitar lessons! Of course, you've got to find the right one!

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: GUEST,M.Ted
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 12:20 PM

You need to be shown how to hold your hand, and you need someone to show you how to do the finger movements--the concept is very simple, so it doesn't take long for someone to show you, but it requires a lot of practice, meaning repetition, to get it down and polished--The personal demonstration (or, failing that, a good instructional video) is absolutely necessary--

Also, there are a number of different styles of finger picking, you should get them sorted out in your mind and settle on the one you want to learn before starting out--

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: Hand-Pulled Boy
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 12:21 PM

Put your plectrum away then you've got no choice but to use your fingers. You'll soon learn.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: clairerise
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 12:51 PM

Ok many thanks for all your advice. Will take all advice but lessons. sorry aren't they just so boring though.

again many thanks. will seek out instructional videos and also scrap the plectrum for awhile.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: GUEST,M.Ted
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 01:11 PM

You don't need to take formal lessons, Clarerise, you just need someone to show you what to do, and then practice-

I recommend just walking up to someone who you like, after a show and saying, "Can you show me how you do that?" More often than not, you'll get a demonstration and a little bit of personal instruction, and it will definitely not be boring--

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: Danks
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 01:25 PM

Why not take lessons!!! It will get you to where you want to be so much quicker!! I would say that nearly all the greatest fingerstyle guitarists had lessons - even Paco de Lucia! Don't think, " I just want a few simple patterns, and then I'll be on my way ". If you had half a dozen lessons from a good classical teacher - who should know the best - and quickest - way to get your technique on the right track, then you really will be heading down the right road. Instructional videos are great, BUT, get the basics from a good teacher first!

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: Wesley S
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 01:32 PM

There are video tapes and DVD's available for beginners. I like the ones available through www.homespuntapes.com

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 02:45 PM

What I tell beginning guitar students for learning how to use the thumb on alternate beats is to: finger a C chord. Now, with your right hand play the A string with your thumb, next play the B string with your middle finger, Play the A string with your thumb again, then, play the G string with you index finger. That's a simple Travis picking kind of pattern. Just repeat at a speed you're comfortable with, and you can speed up gradually. When you get tired to the C chord, change to another chord and figure out what strings you want to play in that pattern. I, too, never took lessons. I have taught them. The exercise was something I read in Sing Out, written out by Michael Cooney a long time ago, but he should still get the credit.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: GUEST,M.Ted
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 03:16 PM

With all due respect, Phil, that's a nice beginning excercise for a basic fingerpicking style, but that's not Travis picking--Travis picking only uses the index finger, and that finger plays the melody and an occasional chord--

As I said, there are a lot of different fingerpicking styles--find the one you like-

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: Willow
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 03:22 PM

I bent Archie Fisher's ear about this at the Chester festival sometime in the 80s.I had no problems playing arpeggios but the alternating thumb eluded me. He recommended going into a dropped D tuning which I did and found that it gave a real meaty effect.
   Many years further down the line I,ve come to find, after meeting many different guitarists, that people use whatever methods they find most comfortable and it helps to be flexible.Many players anchor the little finger to the guitar but this feels uncomfortable to me but 1 rule I do tend to follow is that my thumb plays the bass strings E,A & D,my first finger plays the G, my middle finger the B and my ring finger the top E.
   Meeting other players and talking and playing with them is a great way to pick up tips and I sometimes wish I'd done it sooner than I did.
   One last thing, practice, practice and then practice some more
   
Good luck with it and don't give in. You may come up against obstacles but persevere and you'll find your own way round them.
Cheers
Willow

Subject: RE: Chord Req: Guitar method
From: GUEST,Larry Meyer
Date: 14 Apr 06 - 03:56 PM

If you're starting out with bare fingertips, results can be disappointing. Try using a thumbpick and metal fingerpicks to start with. You get better volume and precision. Otherwise your nails must be right length for clean sound. I finger picked for 2 years or so with metal fingerpicks before I switched to just nails. And still use them for banjo.

Right hand position is critical. Put your hand flat on table, palm down. Stick your thumb out at right angle to fingers. Lift hand from table and let your fingers drop straight down. Then swing your thumb down to your index finger. That's how your right hand should look on the strings. Your four fingers should point straight into the soundhole, while your thumb runs parallel to the strings. I now use 3 fingers, but when I break a nail, I'll leave off using that finger and hit the string I normally hit with that finger with the next finger. Fingers pick up. Thumb picks down. Generally, they alternate: thumb on bass and the 3 fingers on 3 treble strings. For starters, just use thumb and index finger. Finger a D chord: Thumb on 5 string, index on 1 string, thumb on 4 string, index on 2 string. When you can do that, add middle finger: T, Index, T, middle finger. It's all repetition and muscle memory.

I taught my daughter to do a pretty good travis within a month of starting on the guitar. There are dozens of complex patterns, involving syncopation, plucks, and pinches.

Keep your chords simple. Finger picking can make 3 simple chords sound like a whole bunch more. Don't mess with barre chords, for example. A is a good key for finger picking as chord changes can be done fast.