Six Strings
In this section: Techniques
Techniques

Fingerpicking

You pluck the strings with your thumb and fingers instead of a pick: the thumb handles the bass, your index, middle and ring fingers play the high strings. One guitar plays the bass, the accompaniment and sometimes the melody.

Notation
p, i, m, a above or below the notes
Hand
Picking hand
Difficulty
Beginner
Style
Folk, country, blues, acoustic pop

Listen

e|-----------------------------------|
B|-----0-------1-------0-------3---0-|
G|---0---0---0---0---0---0---2---2-0-|
D|-------------------------0---------|
A|---------3-------------------------|
E|-0---------------3---------------0-|

What it’s for

With a pick, you play one string or strum them all. With your fingers, each finger has its own string, and several notes can sound at once or one after the other. The tone is softer and rounder, and the notes ring over each other like a harp.

It’s the sound of folk guitar and acoustic blues. Your thumb keeps time on the bass strings while your fingers outline the chord or a melody: it sounds like two guitars. Merle Travis gave his name to Travis picking, and Chet Atkins took it a long way. Before them, Mississippi John Hurt was already playing his blues over an alternating thumb bass, and Elizabeth Cotten’s “Freight Train” is still a classic of the style. Today, Tommy Emmanuel is one of its great masters.

Fingerpicking starts with simple arpeggios and goes all the way to arrangements where one guitar plays everything.

How to do it

  1. Rest your forearm on the top edge of the body, your hand over the soundhole or a little toward the bridge, wrist relaxed.
  2. Give each finger a string: the thumb (p) plays the bass strings, low E, A and D; the index (i) the G string; the middle (m) the B string; the ring finger (a) the high E.
  3. Your thumb pushes its string down, toward the floor. Your fingers pull theirs toward your palm, upward, never outward.
  4. Keep your thumb ahead of your fingers, toward the neck: it shouldn’t bump into your index.
  5. Let the notes ring over each other: your fretting hand holds the chord until the change.
EADGBEpima

Fingerstyle picking hand: p, i, m, a

  1. Your thumb (p) plays the bass notes on the three lowest strings, a little ahead of your other fingers. It pushes the string toward the higher strings (arrow).
  2. Your index (i) plays the G string.
  3. Your middle finger (m) plays the B string.
  4. Your ring finger (a) plays the high E. Your fingers pull the string toward your palm (arrows), without lifting it.

The letters come from Spanish: pulgar, índice, medio, anular. Your pinky doesn’t play: let it rest, relaxed.

Alternating bass and Travis picking

Your thumb plays on every beat, alternating between two bass notes of the chord: the root, then another chord tone on a nearby string. Your fingers play between the thumb strokes. On beat one, the thumb and middle finger often play together: that’s the pinch.

  • C: A string 3rd fret, then D string 2nd fret.
  • G: low E 3rd fret, then open D.
  • Am: open A, then D string 2nd fret.
  • E: open low E, then D string 2nd fret.
  • D: open D, then G string 2nd fret (your fingers move over to the B and high E).

In tab, the letters p, i, m and a show which finger to use, above or below the notes. Stacked notes are played together.

Examples

The example at the top of the page plays the p i m i pattern (thumb, index, middle, index) over Em, C, G and D, two chords per bar, then a final pinch on Em. Your thumb changes bass note with every chord: open low E, A string 3rd fret, low E 3rd fret, open D.

At the intermediate level, Travis picking over G, C, D and G. Your thumb plays every beat, alternating two bass notes; on beat one, it pinches with the middle finger. Your index and middle fingers slip their notes in between the bass notes, and your ring finger adds a high note at the end of the bar.

e|---------------3---------------0-2-----2-------2-3-|
B|-0-----0---------1-----1-----------3-------3-----0-|
G|---0-------0-------0-------0---------2-------2---0-|
D|-----0-------0-------2-------2---0-------0-------0-|
A|-----------------3-------3-----------------------2-|
E|-3-------3---------------------------------------3-|

At the advanced level, a syncopated melody over the alternating bass, on C, G7 and C. The melody (E, G, E; F, D, B; C, E, G) sometimes lands with the bass, as a pinch, and sometimes between two bass notes. Your thumb doesn’t change a thing.

e|-0-----3-----0---1---------------------0-----3---0-|
B|-----------1---1-------3-----0---1-------------1-1-|
G|---0---------------0-------0---0---0-------0-----0-|
D|-----2-------2-------0-------0-------2-------2---2-|
A|-3-------3-----------------------3-------3-------3-|
E|-----------------3-------3-------------------------|

Licks

Folk. A p i m a m i arpeggio in 6/8 over G, Cadd9, D/F# and G, very common in folk and acoustic pop. Your fretting-hand ring finger stays on the B string at the 3rd fret from one chord to the next: the middle note doesn’t move, and the arpeggio flows.

Loop it in the Studio →
e|-------3-----------3-----------2-----3-|
B|-----3---3-------3---3-------3---3---3-|
G|---0-------0---0-------0---2-------2-0-|
D|-------------------------------------0-|
A|-------------3-----------------------2-|
E|-3-----------------------2-----------3-|

Country. Country picking, Merle Travis style: the bass muted by your palm, dull and steady, and the high notes ringing clear on top. Over E, A, B7, then E.

Loop it in the Studio →
       PM  PM  PM      PM  PM  PM      PM  PM  PM
e|-------0---------------0---------------2---------0-|
B|-0-------------0-2-------------2-0-------------0-0-|
G|---1-------1-------2-------2-------2-------2-----1-|
D|-----2-------2-----------------------1-------1---2-|
A|-----------------0-------0-------2-------2-------2-|
E|-0-------0-----------0-------0-------------------0-|

Blues. Fingerpicked acoustic blues with a monotonic bass: your thumb pounds the open low E on every beat, without alternating, and the melody runs on top in swung eighths. G, then G#: the blue third, between minor and major.

Loop it in the Studio →
e|-3-0---------------------0-|
B|-------3-0-------0-------0-|
G|-----------0---1---0-----1-|
D|-----------------------2-2-|
A|---------------------------|
E|-0---0---0---0---0---0---0-|

Practice routine

Thumb first. Metronome at 50 bpm, one bass note per click, over C: A, D, A, D. Then over G: low E, D, low E, D.

  • Once your thumb runs on autopilot, add your index on the G string between the clicks (“1 and 2 and…”);
  • then alternate index and middle between the bass notes, and add the thumb-and-middle pinch on beat one: that’s the intermediate example;
  • then switch between C and G without stopping your picking hand, two bars each.

Only go up 5 bpm after a clean minute. Goal: full Travis picking at 100 bpm, while talking or thinking about something else.

Common mistakes

Your thumb stumbles as soon as your fingers come in? It’s following your fingers instead of leading them. Go back to the thumb alone, then try again with a single finger: the thumb is the metronome, it never stops.

The bass drowns everything out? Your thumb is hitting too hard. Play it a little softer than your fingers: the melody and the high notes should come through on top.

The string slaps against the frets? Your finger is pulling outward. Pull toward your palm, upward.

Stopping at every chord change? Your fretting hand is late, and your picking hand waits for it. Keep your picking hand going: a slightly messy bass note beats a hole in the rhythm.

Variations

Monotonic bass. Your thumb plays the same bass note on every beat, without alternating. Simpler, and very effective in blues.

Muted bass. The edge of your hand rests on the low strings near the bridge: the bass turns dull and percussive, the high notes stay clear. That’s the country picking sound. See palm muting.

Thumbpick. Merle Travis and Chet Atkins played with a thumbpick: the bass comes out louder and sharper. A flat pick held between thumb and index, with your middle and ring fingers, gives you hybrid picking.

With percussion. Your thumb keeps the bass going, and your hand slaps the strings on beats 2 and 4: see percussive fingerstyle.

Acoustic or electric

On an acoustic, fingerpicking is right at home. With the pads of your fingers, the tone is round and soft; with a bit of nail, it’s brighter and carries farther. On a nylon-string classical guitar, the sound is softer still, and classical technique often takes over.

On an electric, fingerstyle works great with a clean tone: Mark Knopfler plays this way, without a pick. The light strings call for a lighter touch, and a palm-muted bass sounds especially good.

Going further