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This article is for the musician that
already knows the very basic of chords arrangements.
If you are two or three days into it, then this is for you.
But I can't read music! I
can't either. I have never seen a bluegrass band on
stage reading music. Play what you hear and what your
idea of what it should be. That's what makes it fun.
Click here
to print off a picture of a guitar neck to make notes on.
You will use this as a tool forever.
If you are looking to learn "finger
picking" then here's the place to get started. This
doesn't mean that once that you have read this article you
will be able to play anything that you want, but it does mean
that you will start to understand the fundamentals of playing.
No two musicians play exactly alike but they can sound very
similar. You and I might not hear the difference, but
experienced musicians can. As long as you are close,
then there is a good chance that others will not hear a
difference either. The main thing with playing music is
that you enjoy it, if you're happy then it is good. Ok,
here is how! In order for your
fingers to get used to picking certain strings when you need
them to, you must learn a roll. A roll is a pattern of
notes that your fingers pick in a certain order using
different strings. It starts somewhere and repeats
itself such as 123, 123, 123, 123. If that were three
strings on your guitar and you picked them each with a
different finger the same each time, you are using a roll.
Let's try it for real. Remember that you have six
strings and the bottom (smallest) is number 6. The
second is number 5. The next one up is number 4.
You are going to use your thumb (T) to pick number 4, your
pointer finger (P) will pick number 5 and your middle finger
(M) will pick number 6. Now place your pinky against the
body of the guitar to hold your hand in place over the
strings. This will help you to hit the strings more
accurately. With the proper finger (on the right
hand) and the proper string, play this sequence, (T)4,
(P)5,(M)6. Now do it again and again and again,
456, 456, 456, 456 until you are sick of it. It will
take quite a bit of practice to do it without going backwards
or something. As you get better you will start to
run them together like this 456456456456456456. There is
no beginning or end. Now you are doing a roll.
Take your left hand and use different chords so that you don't
drive your self crazy with the same sound. Click
here to hear an example. Now that you have heard it
in Garth's music "The Dance" go back and listen to
"Dust
In The Wind" Best
of Kansas [1999] and see if you can hear the roll in it.
Finger Picking The Guitar
Tune
with me!
This
doesn't sound much like the radio to me. No,
and it won't for a while either, but until your brain can tell
your fingers what to do and your fingers can tell your brain
what they did, then you need to practice to build your
coordination skills. You are not just playing and
instrument, you are learning to play your
body.
I
just don't have it in me. Give
it ten or forty years, you might be surprised. Think
about this, you know more now than you did before you started
reading this article. Just learn some tomorrow and you
will be there faster than you
think.
Now
I can pick 456 all day with the best of them. Now
what? I guess we could throw
an extra finger in there. This four finger roll is what
will get you going and on the road to learning more of what
you hear everyday from the big bands. It is not
necessary to use anymore fingers than four to pick
with. The pinky will always be a prop for the hand and
since there are no more fingers left, four will do just
fine. Here is the roll that you have been waiting
for, (T)1,(R)6,(P)4,(M)5. In this sequence
(R) = ring finger. Here it is in long hand.
Thumb picks the top string, the ring finger picks the 6th
string, the pointer finger picks the 4th string and the middle
finger picks the 5th string. Now just do it again and
again. Make sure that the proper finger is on the proper
string. As you get better (like in two days) run them
together so that you can't tell the beginning from the
end. It will be continuous. When you can
"1645" with the best of them, you can start learning
to stop the roll, start the roll over and pick octaves even
when changing chords. When your fingers are able to
follow the pattern, just keep the motion and change
chords. Now you can pick which ever strings that you
want as long as they are in that order. Move around to
different positions and chords and see what you
hear.
Listen
to the example above. Finger
Picking the Guitar
Tablature
is a form of sheet
music that can be read without knowing how to read
music. It simply shows the string and fret with the
order played. The internet is full of it.
What
are octaves. An octave is two notes ( example C or
D) that are the same but 8 notes apart either higher or
lower. When I say to pick octaves I mean pick two
strings at the same time that are far away from each other
that sound good. Example; the thumb will pick the top
string and at the same time one of the other fingers will pick
the 4th, 5th or 6th. It depends on what you need
in your song. Do it in this order, pick an octave and
start the roll on that note. Pick another octave and
roll another section. Pick an octave every time that you
change chords and every time that you need to emphasize a
note. In fact, your continuous roll is not continuous at
all, but you had to learn it that way to get you fingers to
work when you wanted them to. Listen
to the example above.
I
know that this doesn't make much sense, but keep working with
it. Once you learn this four finger roll then you will
be able to play about anything that you want. Your
fingers will just go where you want them and you will not even
have to think about it. It will be hard to explain to
someone else because it comes so
easy.
Finger
Picking the
Another
finger picking roll. Some
rolls are much slower and at a different tempo. For that
you might need one like this. The first note is an
octave or two notes (one on the bottom strings and one on the
top) where ever it sounds good. Then pick the others in
a pattern of four strings down and back up three. Like
this! If you have practiced the roll mentioned above
then your fingers will naturally fall into
place.
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