Learning to finger pick?

Question

i can't afford a teacher so I'm trying to teach myself. What are some good easy patterns to start learning with?

Answer 1

I've been playing in Chet Atkins's style for so long I take for granted that fingerstyle is not for everyone. Don't forget to use the little finger in upward strokes as well as for slides and hammer-ons.

The sixth and the fifth strings are usually reserved for the right thumb to attack while the D, G, B, and E strings are reserved for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers in that order.

For Flamenco action, experiment the technique called "fanning" the strings. Going down the strings, begin with the little finger with each succeeding finger following afterward. Try the upward approach by starting with the little finger, following with each finger in succession. The E chord works well with this technique.

Answer 2

Try exercises like: Open on Low E and then hold on the first fret and pick, and then on the second fret, and pick, and then on the third fret, and pick, and then on the fourth fret, and pick.

And go in order with your fingers. Do this for all the strings.

Also, just start practicing the intros to songs, like, We're So Starving and the beginning of Seven Nation Army (Panic at the Disco and White Stripes.)

GL!

Answer 3

Frankly, any guidance you get here will be pretty useless.  It's not something you can teach on Yahoo! answers.

Your first step ought to be to find a teacher who can ensure that your fundamentals are correct.  If you are making tiny errors in fingering or hand position, you could wreck your potential and run a risk of carpal tunnel or other chronic repetitive motion injuries.  A good friend of mine--a self-taught guitarist--had to have surgery on both wrists last summer, and she's the latest of many self-taught guitarists who've needed such treatment.  Don't wreck yourself--find a teacher for at least a dozen lessons and get your fundamentals ironed out.

After that, you'll need to surf the web to find finger-picking websites, or shop ebay or a used bookseller for books or videos.  Just about all of them are commendable; find the ones you like and use them, re-sell the rest.

Answer 4

I like travis picking. If you consider the top (low) E as #1, and the bottom E as #6, travis picking would look like this. Play a C Chord, then:

2 - 4 - 3 - 5

1 - 4 - 3 - 5

2 - 4 - 3 - 5

1 - 4 - 3 - 5

it's a pretty basic finger picking pattern but used in lots of folk music.