Strumming and finger picking… which finger?

[jorgemac]

If you look at your tablature you can see how the strumming pattern is broken down in each measure of music. If you are new to tablature go online and learn how to read tabs. But Tony always breaks down the strumming patters and which direction your pick should going when striking the strings. This week almost all of the chords started with a bass note as the 1st strum/pick and then on beat 2 you actually started strumming the chord beat 3 is another bass note, beat 4 is the chords strum again. Last Monday is a good one to practice on as a simple way of playing a measure.

[robarov]

Thanks Jorgemac, appreciate the advice. I have noticed that he does break down the strumming very well… I was looking at the actual fingering… i.e. using the index on high E and Middle on B string… this element of the strum doesn’t get covered every time and I was wondering if he doesn’t think it’s important… I’m finding myself spending a lot of time on this and it would be good if I can focus more on the other stuff

[petelanger]

@robarov am I understanding the question what fingers should you strum with? In my 16 months with TAC I have not seen Tony ever strum with his fingers.

We are either

1. Fingerpicking and he is quite specific with the fingering or pinching technique

2. Strumming with a plectrum

Sometimes he will tell us to do what works for us.

I hope this answers your question. Other teachers may teach how to strum using your fingers but TAC does not. There are so many different ways to use your fingers on a guitar and many people develop their own styles, I think Tony probably avoids this topic on purpose as it would be quite the rabbit hole.

[robarov]

Thanks Pete

[robarov]

H thanks Pete.. sorry my message was unclear.. it is about finger picking.. and the use of index, then middle on side of the exercises… is the index always used on the high E and middle on the B?.. sometimes he doesn’t specify

[Skyman911]

A lot of what Tony does is classic “Travis Picking”. In a nutshell, the thumb is dedicated to the low E, A D strings. The index finger is dedicated to the G, the middle to the B and the ring to the high E. This isn’t gospel however, and string positions can be modified to a particular song or fingerpicking pattern. A basic Travis Picking pattern would be thumb, index, thumb, ring.

[robarov]

Thanks very much.. very helpful and clear

[jorgemac]

The first rule of music is If it sounds good, it is good. Fundamental finger picking is as described index, middle ring and sometimes pinky are assigned treble strings to generally pick. If you aren’t comfortable with the 3 finger approach modify it to fit what you are trying to accomplish. Sometimes my thumb is down on the G string and I’m using the middle and ring or sometime only the middle finger, especially with 2 or 3 string brush up stokes. I trained with the 3 finger method but I don’t feel locked into using it in a ” book style” format. I use the pick and 2 finger picking a lot. These Hotel California exercises can be done finger style also and the tone is completely different from using a pick. I have been practicing this song, since the last time it came around in almost exclusively finger style. It seems to suit my ears just fine, but have many many hours into trying to learn this style. On Songster there is a Hotel California finger style version that is fun to practice with.

[robarov]

Thanks Jorgemac