Again, keep in mind that at some point in the future you will want to vary the pattern in a variety of ways -- I think a basic notion to keep in mind is that the hearer will find the pattern soothing and interesting for awhile, and then will get bored -- most good players inject hammer-ons, pull-offs, move their fingers around, shift the patterns slightly or a lot, just to keep it from getting monotonous. However, sometimes you do want the patterns to stay in the background, or to keep a droning note -- for instance, often when you are backing the voice -- you want to support the voice, not distract the hearer from it. This usually comes under the heading of "taste"!!!

yours,

Peter T.