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Fingerpicking 101I belong to several on-line forums related to guitar playing, and recently responded to a young man who was
having trouble getting started using the alternating thumb style of playing. There is one school of thought that says
"Learn the bass part first, then add the melody." Below are my thoughts on this. Thinman, a frustrated picker:
I have been trying for ever, it seems, to get a groove going with the alternate thumb bass
part when playing Blues fingerstyle. Single string bass lines are no problem but anyhing else is a disaster.To quote Monty
Python's T.F. Gumby " My brain hurts!" Any suggestions? dBerch
answers:
Hi Thinman. I had the same problem. And no offense, but I have to disagree with the folks who tell
you to get the thumb part down first. That did not work for me at all and only added to my frustration.
What worked
for me was to sit down with the tab and work on one measure at a time. The thumb and fingers have to work together, and that
won't come, at least it didn't for me, if you practice those parts separately.
Start with the first measre and
play it as slow as necessary to get it right. I'm talking SLOW. 30 seconds for one measure is OK, if you're plaing it RIGHT.
When you can get through that first measure at any speed, repeat it back to back until it flows, but keep it slow. Doesn't
matter how slow! Timing and feel are FAR more important than speed at this point.
Then work on the next measure
in the same way. When you can repeat it fluidly at any speed, put the two together
When I first started learning
alternating thumb, those first measures took forever! Whole eveings were devoted to single measures. Don't get discouraged!
It takes time, but man, is it worth it.
Here's what I sound like now: Saturday Night Rub
Another technique that works really well for me is this: Don't over-practice.
What I mean by that is if you start to get frustrated, put your guitar away and go do something else. Practice should be fun!
The learning you've done takes time to 'settle in' - trust me I know. Come back to your guitar an hour or a day later and
try again. You'll be surprised at the difference. I've used this technique a lot. Even today, when I reach a difficult passage
in a new song, I'll slow it WAY down, play it right 10 - 20 times and put my guitar away. The next day it's usually MUCH better,
easier, and faster. This is also an effective way to practice when you don't have much time for it.
Hope all this
helps some, and let us know how it goes!
Oh, and a BIG  for LittleBrother's
lessons. He is a WONDERFUL teacher and his lessons are very reasonably priced. David
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