How to Learn Using Picking Patterns

Now with all this in mind, let's now talk a little bit about HOW to use finger picking patterns to help you learn finger picking.  There’s many, many finger picking patterns that can be learned.  It would be impossible to list them all on any web site. What you will need to do is to learn as many of these finger picking patterns as you possible can so as to give variety to your music.  I've known some artists who use the same picking pattern (Travis) for every song.  Please don't do that!  That's down right annoying!  What we're after here is MORE DIMENSION AND MORE VARIATION!!!  Of course you have to start somewhere.  Learning one picking pattern at a time is how it's done.  Make it your goal though to learn a large variety of picking patterns.  

What will happen is that over time you will be able to call those picking patterns up at will, as you vary your approach to different chord progressions and guitar licks.  As you improve in the art of finger picking guitar, you will be able to do this and give very little thought to what you are actually doing or what exact pattern you used at the time. You will actually "feel" the need to change to a certain picking pattern to make it flow correctly through a section of music.  In time your finger picking will become not just a mechanical exercise but second nature and most importantly, it will become a musical expression.  Your finger style guitar work should and will become a way you give of your feelings - give of your heart.  That's what is known as ... MUSIC! 

This can all be accomplished by making those connections in the brain.  This is how it's possible for an artist to concentrate on singing and lyrics as they're finger picking guitar.  Those complicated picking pattern connections must become so deeply planted (or burned) into your brain that you will be able to play them and sing your song at the same time.  Please remember this very important point!  When you're singing, you want to be concentrating on the lyrics and the feelings expressed in those lyrics more than the guitar work itself.  That is where the skill comes in.  Those connections need to be very strong and so that is where the practice comes in.  Through repetition and practice those connections will become stronger and stronger.  If you don't practice you can actually loose those connections you once had.  Gordon Lightfoot once said that if he doesn't practice at least a half hour a day he begins to 'lose it.'  

If you want your music to become an expression of feelings rather than just a mechanical exercise then your going to have to work at it.  You are going to have to practice and your going to have to be serious about it. After all, that’s what music is all about!  Music is an expression of emotion and feelings.  It takes practice to get to that level and to 'KEEP it.'  Once you can concentrate on the singing and not the finger picking guitar work, then you will have made it to that level.  Those connections will be so strong that they will be able to almost "take over" with very little "thinking" on your part.  You will have LEARNED to finger pick guitar the way I would like to see you do it.  And you can do it!  You can learn how to finger pickas well as the masters if you put your mind to it, AND I want to help you do that.