You’ll notice p–i–m–a markings in the
music. These are abbreviations used by
classical guitarists to indicate picking-hand fingering. The letters come from the
Spanish words for thumb (pulgar), index
(indice), middle (medio), and ring (anular)
fingers. When practicing the exercises in
this lesson, it’s important to adhere to these
notated fingerings.
For variety, develop your own drills
using ascending p–i–m–a arpeggios. Keep
the fretting-hand part simple and listen
carefully to the volume of each note. Strive
for an even, ringing sound with a uniform
attack on each string.
The next step is to incorporate descending arpeggios into the mix, as in Fig. 2. We
also break up the rhythm just a bit, add an
alternating bass, and—this is an important
move—introduce a squeeze between the
thumb and ring finger, which happens on
the downbeat of each measure. Again, watch
the p–i–m–a markings and also check out
the subtle B to D move on the 2nd string
in measure 3 (Em7). After several passes
through this phrase, craft a few variations of
your own, using a similar descending and
ascending picking pattern that incorporates
a p–a squeeze and an alternating p bass.
So far, our well-mannered examples
have used rhythmic patterns that repeat
in every measure. Sometimes fingerpicking is like that—a pattern cycles again and
again. But fortunately, music isn’t always
that tidy. When rhythms vary, you need to
have enough control over your fingers that
they’ll respond to your commands. Fig.
3 is designed to break up any predictable
Assume the Position
We’ll explore various picking-hand
techniques with photos in upcoming lessons, but to get you started,
here’s a fundamental playing position
adapted from classical guitar. Begin
by simultaneously resting your thumb
and three fingertips on the top four
strings. Press in a little to feel the
resistance of the strings against your
digits. As you look down on your fingers, gently slide them back and
forth along the strings until you see an “X” formed by your thumb and
index finger. This picking “grip” allows your thumb to swing freely as you
play downstrokes, and keeps it from getting entangled with your fingers
as they pluck upward toward your palm.
Now, check your wrist. It should be relaxed and arched just enough to
allow your forearm muscles to engage with those in the top of your hand.
If your wrist is dropped too low, you limit most of the picking motion
to your hand and finger muscles. If your wrist is too arched or turned
severely to one side or the other, you tense up and lose power and dexterity. The goal is to have everything from your elbow to your fingertips
working as one integrated system that’s loose and limber.
Photo by Sandy Mueller
patterns, so your fingers can’t fall back on
muscle memory to execute each measure.
Such “freestyle” fingerpicking takes practice,
but can yield big dividends in your music.
As with the previous examples, once you’ve
got the hang of this, develop similar exercises of your own.
Now that all four fingers are warmed up,
it’s time to tackle a basic tremolo exercise.
In Fig. 4, the ring, middle, and index fingers play three notes against each quarter-note thumbstroke. Here we have a descending bass line against the rippling melody,
but you can also flip this passage around
and ascend on the bass. Try it.
Next month, we’ll look at another aspect
of fingerstyle technique—developing
fret-ting-finger independence. See you then.
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Fig. 3
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