10 replies to this topic

[solidwalnut]

I have a new lesson posted, Fingerpicking Patterns Part 1. It's designed for the beginner and intermediate. Learning these simple patterns will equip you for playing many songs. Some songs will use these exactly. Some will only use them partially, and that's the beauty. You'll know the entire works so you can easily only play a part of it if you need.

Enjoy,

Steve

[Live Stone]

Thanks Steve:

Actually I am a beginner in fingerstyle. I love it and almost always have my acoustic in my hands. When I joined this forum I really got into hearing the wonderful sounds of fingerstyle. I appreciate the time and effort you put in for our education. I will be watching more closely for your lessons. Like we always say learning is an ongoing process and there is always something to be learned from different styles of playing and teachers. Excellent lesson. I hope to be able to improve greatly by watching you and of course practice. I simply have to quit being so lazy.

Again thanks

Danny

[carol m]

Thanks for this lesson Steve. I can't tell you how long (years) I have been trying to hear/see the different fingerstyle patterns that people use. Kirk has put up a few (and being able play them fast and accurate enough is a separate issue) but I really appreciate this insight into how its done. Thanks.

[kajwhite]

Thanks a lot Steve. I also really appreciate the time and effort you put in to helping beginners such as me. The most important thing for me is that it gives me some kind of direction which sometimes I sadly lack. I was listening to Tommy Emmanuel last night and he said that one of the most commen comments he hears from beginners is 'I keep playing the same thing over and over'. This to me is a good example of a loss of direction.

Anyways, please keep up the good work.

Have a good day.


Kevin

[knight46]

As always Steve a great lesson, thanks.

[eddiez152]

Steve,
Thank you for the nice lesson.

[crazyseoulsister]

Cool! I just took a sec and tried this and found that i can do do it! With practice I know I will be able to be very proficient! Thanks so much!!! I really appreciate it!

[pattianne]

Thanks Steve this lesson is great!!!

[rwjones3]

I am trying to pratice this with a metronome slowed way down. Couple of questions:
1) Each pattern is shown in 2 measures but is this actually 4 measures? I looks like the "A and B together" thingee happens twice per measure in your tab.
2) Is the thumb keeping straight time on the A and D strings? eg 1n2n3n4n as indicated by your tab or 1234 if the measures are halved.

Thanks, for the lesson. Please post more. This is the type stuff I would like to be able to play.

Robert

[solidwalnut]

rwjones3 said:

I am trying to pratice this with a metronome slowed way down. Couple of questions:
1) Each pattern is shown in 2 measures but is this actually 4 measures? I looks like the "A and B together" thingee happens twice per measure in your tab.
2) Is the thumb keeping straight time on the A and D strings? eg 1n2n3n4n as indicated by your tab or 1234 if the measures are halved.

Thanks, for the lesson. Please post more. This is the type stuff I would like to be able to play.

Robert

Excellent questions, Robert!

On 1):

You bring up a great point about TAB. TAB isn't originally designed to show timing and a time signature. Yes, there are tools and software out there that WILL show both (GuitarPro, which is what Kirk uses, for one), but that's not my intent with this TAB.

To answer your question, you can play this pattern no matter if this was two or four measures. If you think of it as two measures, then this is the same time signature as The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel. If you think of it in terms of four measures, then this is the same time signature as Dust in the Wind by Kansas. If you drop the measure symbol all together, you can get a timing of '1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a-3-e-and-a-4-e-and-a' and then this C chord is played in a similar pattern as found in Dreamboat Annie by Heart.

There was no intention of indicating timing or a certain song, only the pattern of strings and fingers. Actually, you might notice that I play the pattern three times and each time I end on the downbeat of the next pattern (on the A and B strings), rather than actually finishing out the fourth pattern Yah, you did notice that correctly. The A and B pluckings happen twice per measure in this TAB. What I had in mind was as the TAB indicates, which is two measures.

On 2):

The answer is also above. If you view the timing as indicated whereby two patterns equal one measure, then the thumb is keeping 1n2n3n4n on the A and D strings. If you look at it as four measures, then the E string plucks are on the 1 and 3 and the D string plucks are on the 2 and 4.

Again, this lesson isn't about a particular song, it's about a pattern. This pattern works in both time signatures, and the actual time between the fingers remains the same.

I hope this helps. Let me know if this is still confusing. The thing about the guitar is that you can easily learn how to play thinking mechanics and basic math rather than having to play strictly to a theory formula.

I'm glad this one is helpful to you! I have two more videos coming up shortly using this same theme.

Steve

[Aunt Doty]

Thanks for the lesson. I printed it so I can practice later!