Finger picking frustration

[paulsblues12]

Hi All
I just wanted to share some frustration
Of finger picking.
Being a mainly strummer before i started to play slide guitar and wondered if any other player is frustrated
When trying to play finger picking style.
My ear knows it is a simple riff but my fingers seem to complicate the execution of playing the riff. Its driving me mad.

Keep sliding
Paul

[tomgiemza]

It is a tedious process (it was for me and I think it is for most people, except natural talents). Find a simple song to practice and play it really slow until all fingers will get it right, then try a little faster.

[oregonreso]

Start slow and simple. Maybe just thumb and index finger with an alternating pattern. Add the middle finger, again keeping it very slow and simple. Sounds boring (it is), but pays off. 

[mrstrellisofnwales]

You do have to persevere but it will eventually click and become more natural. I do think that some tutors tend to overthink it- such as attributing fingers to strings and regimenting rhythm patterns within a picked piece. And whilst it might be absolutely the right way to learn for some, we all learn differently.Muscle memory will kick in so that you can play without actually knowing what you’re doing or how you got there. Pick the right songs and keep going. FWIW I remember learning pieces in the evening and then carrying on into darkness to rely less and less on watching my hands so I was relying on memory, hearing and feel. That’s also how I learned slide.
Mrs T

[Michael Messer]

Yep....there is no shortcut, you just have to persevere until it starts to come naturally.

Try giving your thumb and first two fingers numbers - 1 (being the thumb), 2 and 3. Then practice playing patterns on the open strings or with a chord. Things like 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 and 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 and 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3. Do these patterns to a rhythm so they are musical and not just finger exercises. Then try doing those patterns on different strings. You do just have to put the time in until it feels natural.

Have fun!

Shine On
Michael

[slide496]

It's been a long time but I went through that when I started playing and I did not strum before, so I also had to learn to make chords.

At that time I wanted to learn Elizabeth Cotton and Missippi John Hurt type songs and the person who was willing to do that insisted that I prove that I could play fingerstyle at all. He had me hold a chord and then play some configurations that he wrote down - in my case they were alternating bass patterns with both bass and treble, but no melody. When I was able to do that he taught me a couple of folk songs like Freight Train and Railroad Bill. During that "learning fingerstyle session" he played what he wrote down and had me attempt to copy what he did as best as possible.

I was pretty determined to learn that so I could get to learn the songs although I was worried that I would not be able to do it so I also wanted to prove to myself and him that I could...

Harriet

[stevie2sticks]

Paulsblues12

it’s a “wax on wax off” moment. No easy short cuts.

Enjoy the journey.
Steve

[mitchfit]

cliché theater-- the band conductor is headed to a practice for the orchestra's weekend concert when he's asked by a visitor for instructions on how to get to Carnegie Hall. he thinks a while and responds, "practice, practice, practice".

it is a matter of innate ability and inspiration. even those endowed with both will never learn enough on a guitar to be dangerous without the 3X practice clause mentioned above. follow MM's advice above and when a picking pattern becomes instinct, add any three chords you are drawn to into the mix to keep yourself from being bored to tears. especially for slide playing, eventually picking two harmonically spaced notes at the same time creates a strong lead line. also, mixing different picking patterns into the same tune will result in more depth of song structure.

as slide496 pointed out above, you've gotta really want it to make it happen.

if you master the basics, you will start to play faster than your [my] thinking processes can keep up with. that is when the muscle memory from practice overdose will kick in.

create the future you desire.



mitchfit

[paulsblues12]

Thank you all
Im slowly getting there,
I will apply the advice and encouragement
That you have all given me.

Keep sliding
Paul

[Michael Messer]

Something I should add to this thread is that I think I would struggle to learn these things if I were doing it now. I was lucky because I learned a lot of this stuff by osmosis at a time in my life when I didn't even know I was learning it.

Just keep on practicing and it will come. I can say this with confidence because I have taught hundreds of people over the decades, and I have seen the results of what hard work and dedication can achieve.

Shine On
Michael

[tigercubt20]

i cant remember how difficult it must be to learn to fingerpick, but for an acoustic player, it provides the most you can get from acoustic, and acoustic slide playing. its worth the patience and practice. perseverance furthers. when i was very young i expressed the desire to play the guitar, mother bless her got me a second hand kimbara classical guitar, and booked me in for classical guitar lessons, not quite what i expected. i had no choice but to do my best. it taught me to fingerpick. not the style of music i play now.but it gave me complete independance of fingers and thumb. stick with it, it will be worth the effort. jim.

[paulsblues12]

Hi All,

Quick update im winning the finger pick frustration.
I managed one bar blues shuffle yay. Lol

Keep sliding
Paul

[richclough]

One caution from me. Little and often is best. Don't spend hours at it. Pick it up for 15-20 minutes, then put it down again. Go off and do something else. This gives your unconscious brain some time to bed in the muscle memories.

It's very easy to get too focussed, to get tense, hunch over the guitar and get some really, really bad habits that will screw you up longer term. Take breaks, stretch. Set a timer.

[alderburypicker]

IIRC it was a book by Roger Evans - Fingerpicking Styles for Guitar - that showed me how to do it. I just looked and you can pick up a copy on eBay etc.

Beyond that - string muting at the bridge and not being too picky about how many strings brushed by thumb on beats 2 & 4

[apay1]

Hi Paul,

I suggest that you play fingerpicking using only thumb and index of you right hand (your left hand if you're lefty). And if possible, try to use fingerpicks on both. This is the way Reverend Gary Davis used to play and I started to do so when I mainly played on twelve string guitars, to avoid too much confusion in my picking. Now I use it almost always, on 6 and 12 string guitars and it gives a much better "Blues feeling" !

Hope this helps...

Antoine.