Finger Picking

Hi my name is Chris from Wales in the UK, just come back to GT after a long lay off,

I spend most of my time learning with LIsa McCormick I Iike her way of teaching as it feels very personal allmost like she is in the room. Iam working on level two finger picking style,Ihave the picking pattern down now without any problems, the trouble is every thing sounds the same , i cant find any books that use this pattern but if I change other music to this style it sounds boring. and allso where do you go after level two I have practiced hour upon hour to get this far and it seems like the door has closed, where is level three .

Regards

Chris

I know how your feel. There needs to be a selections of songs which you can go through after finishing level two.

I think GTricks will be working on this in the new year, but not sure if they are going to have fingerstyle selections.

Hey & welcome back!

Originally Posted by: chris.verrinder

Im working on level two finger picking style ...

[/quote]

Do you mean Guitar Fundamentals 2 or one of Lisa's fingerpicking series of tutorials?

[quote=chris.verrinder]

where do you go after level two I have practiced hour upon hour to get this far and it seems like the door has closed, where is level three

After you work through GF 1 & 2, then you can pick from Rock, Blues or Country style courses. Or you can continue to work through Lisa's catalog of lessons.

https://www.guitartricks.com/instructor.php?input=311296

Also, it sounds like you should start looking for songs to learn & play! If you already have some skills built with chord shapes & finger picking patterns under your command, then have a look through the song catalog for songs that use finger picking or that you like.

Here's a list of songs that feature acoustic guitar. Some use strumming, but there are finger picking songs in there too!

https://www.guitartricks.com/songs.php?input=acoustic

Here's a list of easy songs to help build your repertoire.

https://www.guitartricks.com/songs.php?input=beginners

Hope this helps. Please ask more if necessary & have fun!

Thanks for the reply, I think the problem is when you get to level two you start to make a good sound , I just love the base runs , and the different figures pull offs ect, but i just cant put this to other music yet and need to take it further,I just hope gt recognise this.

Regards

Chris

Originally Posted by: chris.verrinder

Thanks for the reply, I think the problem is when you get to level two you start to make a good sound , I just love the base runs , and the different figures pull offs ect, but i just cant put this to other music yet and need to take it further,I just hope gt recognise this.

Regards

Chris

Learning to fingerpick is more of the physical discipline of using more than a pick to strum/pick chords and notes. While what Lisa has taught you is good for learning the discpiline, you will need to start applying that skill to other music. So far, I am repeating what you've already said.

A pattern or patterns is not really what the discipline is about. Learning fingerpicking as a beginner fingerpicker is a matter of getting used to using multiple fingers to pluck/strum/pick notes. Getting used to doing that kind of thing.

Applying it means that you would now have to stretch yourself to learning other patterns not taught as part of a beginner lesson. Song lessons (such as what GT has) are a good way to start. Good examples are the lessons for James Taylor's Handy Man or Kansas Dust in the Wind (this one might be a stretch).

These will help you apply the skill and open you up to new patterns. In the end, what you are really doing is creating a melody with picking single notes. Like any song, how you pick the notes is a different as every song themselves. So, no single pattern would suffice.

If you've become comfortable with what you've learned so far, learning songs will help stretch that out..