[homerbigal]

i have been trying to learn finger picking. my question is what fingers am i supposed to use for what strings?

thanks

[LeeB]

It of course depends on style , genre, and so on. The standard, and its a good place to start is your thumb is responsible for the 3base strings... E, A, D in standard tuning.
your index finger for the G- string
your middle finger for the B string
Your ring finger for the high E string.

If you search around you will see the letters P I M A used. ...
P=thumb
I= index
M=middle
A = ring

the letters come from either Spanish or Italian references.

I hope this makes some sense

[homerbigal]

yes it makes sense

i thought it was like that but i was not sure. i was trying to use my little finger but i am sure it will be much easier doing it the way that you have told me.

thanks

homerbigal

[allthumbs]

Your little finger will come into play at times as well as changing the fingers order if the note configuration is an odd one.

[justinthyme]

Good luck with it, homerbigal ... I'm just getting started with fingerpicking and it certainly opens up a whole new dimension of 'musicality'. How's it going for you?

[GotDeeBlues]

If the pinky comes into play on occasional odd changes, would it be detrimental while beginning to use it as in Thumb E,A, Index D, Middle G, Ring B and pinky E?