The Fingerpicking Engine
BY RICHARD GILEWITZ
Once touted as one of the strangest men in
acoustic music, fingerstyle guitarist Richard
Gilewitz lives up to this depiction with his rous-
ing performances filled with amazing chops,
humor, and a history of the acoustic guitar
from blues to folk, traditional to classical, and
all points in between. For more information,
visit richardgilewitz.com.
CHOPS: Intermediate
THEORY: Beginner
LESSON OVERVIEW:
• Develop basic right-hand
finger independence
• Create accompaniment
patterns using forward and
backward rolls
• Learn your own fingerpicking
system
As my students cultivate their own fingerpicking system, I try to convince them
to first focus on themselves, then the music
in front of them. I encourage them to tune
into their breathing, their body postures,
and any tension that might be building
up in order to learn how to relax during
the development of a piece or during an
exercise. Only then, as they relax, can their
entire attention be focused and devoted to
learning. Even while they work extensively
with a metronome at different speeds to
develop a groove, I want them to remain
calm and not stressed out.
Let’s get on to revving up your finger-
picking engine. Your transmission is made
up of a basic language of picking patterns
with a positional system used to create
group landing points, and most importantly,
a borrowing system that eliminates using
the same picking finger twice in a row.
Fig. 1
™ ™ 34 &
A‹
˙™
‰ oejoeoeoeoe
˙™
™™
p
i
m
a
m
i
p
i
m
a
m
i
To hear sound clips of
these examples, head to
premierguitar.com/nov2011
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™˙ 0
0
0
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
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Fingerpicking, or fingerstyle guitar as it’s commonly called, is basically plucking
the strings with bare fingers, fingernails,
and on occasion, with the aid of picks. I
began fingerpicking early in my career and
after throwing away my fingerpicks—once
referred to by a colleague as my Freddy
Krueger Starter Set—I found myself playing
with more fluid movements and power. This
came along with the discovery of my ability
to create three-dimensional dynamic effects.
If you find yourself among the players
who still lack a system for fingerpicking
that prevents you from producing these
sounds, perhaps your “fingerpicking engine”
needs a tune-up. Is your tone production
often weak? Do you use the same finger
twice in a row to pluck the same string,
creating not only a hiccup in the music, but
also a tense feeling in your hands and the
rest of your body? Then you have come to
the right place.
˙™
‰ oe #j
p
i
™
™˙ 0
1
oeoeoeoe
m
0
a
0
m
0
i
1
Fig. 3
™ ™ 44 &
p
C
mp i
oe
oeoeoe
™
™˙ 3
1
0
2
pipm
oeoeoeoe
1
0
2
3
˙™
‰ oe #j
oeoeoeoe
™™
p
2
i
1
m
0
a
0
m
0
i
1
™
™
G
pmp i
oe
oeoeoe
0
0
0
3
™™
pipm
oe
oeoeoe
0
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0
