Topic: How do I...
Hi
I have been playing for about 8-9 months now and probabbly got down the strumming . Now I need to learn how to pick....any suggestions or web sites i can go by?
- jerome.oneil
- Honoured Member
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Re: How do I...
Play scales. My flatpicking sucks, and I've been working on it hard. Play scales all the way across the fretboard. It will help.
Like all things, it's practice, practice, and then add some more practice just to mix it up a little. 
Someday we'll win this thing...
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Re: How do I...
ok great now I have to figure out what scales are.........lol
Thanx!
- cytania
- Senior Member
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Re: How do I...
I say Jerome you're way out, I say way out...
Scales have nothing to do with fingerpicking. What April needs is the basic clawhammer travis pick.
Just tried to find a simple lesson or video online and failed, all I'm getting are various pinch picks, arpeggios and complicated travis picks so here goes for an E chord
E----I---
B------M-
G--------
D--------
A--------
E---T--T--
Where T is thumb, I is index and M is middle finger ( I hope I got index and middle rightways round). Here's the same for an A chord.
E----I---
B------M-
G--------
D--------
A---T--T--
E--------
Notice how the thumb plays the root note of the chord which in the case of E and A is the corresponding string. Here's D;
E----I---
B------M-
G--------
D---T--T---
A-------
E--------
I'm showing the index and middle playing the outer strings but the could move inside so as to pick out more of the held strings.
If anyone can show me a link to a better lesson for this picking I'd be grateful as my diagrams suck (try pasting them into a document with a fixed width font).
This basic pick pattern will let you into a huge range of folk and country songs. There are many more pick patterns that may be better for particular songs but this is how to get started and gain speed and confidence. Keep practising it.
'The sound of the city seems to disappear'
Re: How do I...
When I started learnning to finger pick (I'm still learning), I bought one of those fake books with the melody line written out and practiced them as well as just arpegiating my chordes to get used to useing my fingures that way. It made it easier to start learning to play more coplex pieces of folk, classical and jazz. Takes a lot of practice to. It's a totally different way of playing but well worth it. Some great electric players even use their fingers like Robbie Krieger from the Doors and Buddy Guy. Good luck!!!!
"Nobody paints by ear so why would I play guitar by sight?" 
Re: How do I...
I don't think she said she was fingerpicking. . .? Maybe I'm thinking too close-mindedly with 'picking' and 'finger picking.' Are they the same thing? I've been play for about three months and my teacher says I'm very advanced for the amount of time I been playing. . . though I only do chords still.
- cytania
- Senior Member
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Re: How do I...
Even if April meant simply picking leads I'd still recommend getting a basic travis pick, you can do hundreds of songs with a decent fingerpick but picking out a lead line just gets you one.
'The sound of the city seems to disappear'
Re: How do I...
My appologies, I should have asked. What type of picking are you interested in?
"Nobody paints by ear so why would I play guitar by sight?"