Finger style guitar. Fnaar
Discussion
Like so many, when I first picked up the guitar, thirty odd years ago, I wanted to be Jimi Page, Jimmy Hendrix, Jimmy Greaves, ok not Jimmy Greaves but years of working on my fretting hand paid off but I always had a doubt in the back of my mind when I heard Bert Jansch, john Martyn etc. It sounded impossibly complicated to me but really all that happened was I'd failed to develop my picking hand.
Roll on the lockdown & with nothing to do for a couple of weeks, I decided to put some proper effort into learning. Undoing years of strumming & lead habits was tough but I stuck with it & now can Travis pick pretty well, I've nailed The Boxer, Kathy's song, Anji, Streets of London, Hearbeats & a few others.
Anyone else into it? And if so, any tips on taking it up a level? Travis picking is ground floor level in my mind. I may be worng about that but wondering where to go next with it & I'm hungry for more, it's such a lovely form of guitar to my ears.
Roll on the lockdown & with nothing to do for a couple of weeks, I decided to put some proper effort into learning. Undoing years of strumming & lead habits was tough but I stuck with it & now can Travis pick pretty well, I've nailed The Boxer, Kathy's song, Anji, Streets of London, Hearbeats & a few others.
Anyone else into it? And if so, any tips on taking it up a level? Travis picking is ground floor level in my mind. I may be worng about that but wondering where to go next with it & I'm hungry for more, it's such a lovely form of guitar to my ears.
I’d love to have the time to get better at it. I would love to play most of the songs on the American Pie album. As you say, unlearning the bad technique you already have is a stumbling block. Hopefully there will be some point in my life when I have time to do it before arthritis sets in 

The other problem I have is that songs I can fingerpick tend to go to pieces when I sing and I end up reverting to just playing the chords. But again, it's just practice, when I first started singing and playing strumming the chords went to pot. All of it is just practice at the end of the day.
Glad to heat that you're trying, and succeeding!
I come from completely the opposite direction; in 56 years of playing, I've never mastered a plectrum! Everything I play is finger-picked, even the rock classics that we used to play in the band.
I started with the likes of the Boxer, Man of the World and then Davey Graham, moving on years later to Knopfler etc. The last open mike night at the pub, I did a solo slot with Substitute and Won't Get Fooled Again (melody and bass lines and evryfink) and am now listening more to Brothers in Arms to see if I can get to grips with it.
I come from completely the opposite direction; in 56 years of playing, I've never mastered a plectrum! Everything I play is finger-picked, even the rock classics that we used to play in the band.
I started with the likes of the Boxer, Man of the World and then Davey Graham, moving on years later to Knopfler etc. The last open mike night at the pub, I did a solo slot with Substitute and Won't Get Fooled Again (melody and bass lines and evryfink) and am now listening more to Brothers in Arms to see if I can get to grips with it.
I started out when I was 18 (52 y.o. now) with Spanish classical "pima" fingerpicking, but then discovered Led Zeppelin so plectrum was required. I can still do Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and Bron-Yr-Aur, but only because they use versions of the Spanish style.
I tried Travis style a couple of years ago, and sort of got to grips with it but f
k me it took concentration. I've lots of time for those that can easily do Weedon / Travis / Knopfler fingerpicking.
I tried Travis style a couple of years ago, and sort of got to grips with it but f

I did a few years of classical training, and still enjoy playing some of those pieces. I put them into my gigs now and then. There's one called 'Classical Gas' that I do which really impresses people, although it's not horribly difficult. I find 'Cavatina' much more of a challenge to play really well.
I'm going to take a guess that picking is similar to what drummers call independence of limbs, reaching a point where you can control your fingers individually & without conscious input. That's how it feels to me at least but it was hard to get there. I can only liken it to learning to drive where you can't coordinate the clutch, gears & accelerator for what seems like forever but when you finally can, you wonder how you couldn't before.
That said, a new song with a challenging or varying picking pattern feels like starting again. I'm learning Never going back again & it has something like seven or eight different patterns within it together with barrres held throughout & it's definitely a big hill to climb.
That said, a new song with a challenging or varying picking pattern feels like starting again. I'm learning Never going back again & it has something like seven or eight different patterns within it together with barrres held throughout & it's definitely a big hill to climb.
I was obsessed with Nick Drake for a time in my late teens - Cello Song is a good one, very satisfying to play. No youtube in those days of course, but there's a few tutorials on how to play it on there now.
Also well worth checking out Nathaniel Murphy's videos on youtube, he can really play any style but his fingerpicking stuff is incredible.
Also this Danny Gatton lesson is a hive of information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqqbFmgOFHs
Also well worth checking out Nathaniel Murphy's videos on youtube, he can really play any style but his fingerpicking stuff is incredible.
Also this Danny Gatton lesson is a hive of information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqqbFmgOFHs
When I started out decades ago the handful of lessons I had at school were fingerpicking classical. I can still do a bit now and teach myself a somethings, I also do some accompanying a singer, but then I see Tommy Emmanuel and get depressed…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk
languagetimothy said:
When I started out decades ago the handful of lessons I had at school were fingerpicking classical. I can still do a bit now and teach myself a somethings, I also do some accompanying a singer, but then I see Tommy Emmanuel and get depressed…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk
He's an extraordinary player, but I do wonder whether he sort of hangs himself with his own rope sometimes. That's a great piece as it was originally written, not sure it needs to be on steroids. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk
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