One of my favorite ways of playing acoustic guitar is country-blues fingerpickin'. Also known as Cotten pickin' (after Elizabeth Cotten) or Travis pickin' (after Merle Travis). The style consists of a steady bass line played with the thumb, accompanied by a syncopated melody line played with the fingers. The combination of the driving bass and the melody that seems to float in space over it creates a sense of movement and lets a solo guitar sound like more than a solo guitar.
The best way to learn a technique is to learn songs in that technique, so that's what this lesson is for. A good song to start with is Oh When the Saints, because it has a simple melody that we all recognize, but still has a lot of room for elaboration. That way, we can start simple and add embellishments as we go along.
The alternating bass
The most important part of playing the fingerpickin' style is to maintain the steady alternating bass with the thumb. To start, try holding down a C chord with your left hand and just play the fifth and fourth strings alternately in rhythm. Back and forth, fifth string, fourth string, THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump. With your right palm, you can dampen the strings a little bit to give it a more forceful sound. And don't hold back; make sure that thumb-playing is forceful. Remember, this has to provide both the rhythm and bass line.
Now switch to a G chord. Play the sixth string and the fourth string, or the sixth and fifth, or mix it up, as in the example below. Remember to finger the whole chord, not just the bass strings. This will come in handy when you start adding the melody line.
Here you can listen to my alternating bass audio lesson.
C +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+ |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |---------2======---------2======|---------2======---------2======| |-3======---------3======--------|-3======---------3======--------| +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+ G +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+ |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |---------0======---------0======|---------0======---------0======| |-----------------2======--------|-----------------2======--------| +-3======------------------------+-3======------------------------+
Oh When the Saints Go Marching In
Got that steady bass-line down? It's not rocket science, but you should practice it until you can do it without thinking about it. Now comes the tricky part, though. It's time to add a melody line on top of it. It's time for the saints to come marching in!
I love this song. It just reminds me of good times. This arrangement is about as simple as it can get. A basic chord progression and minimal syncopation. It still sounds good, though, and we can use it as a base for more complicated versions.
Some important points to remember:
- Keep that steady bass.
- Keep the chords fingered. Play the melody line by adding your left hand's pinky finger or moving your index finger.
- Start slow. As you become more comfortable, increase the speed.
- Keep the steady bass.
- And last but not least... keep that steady bass.
You can hear me playing the easy arrangement of Oh When the Saints.
And now, the tablature
C +--------------------------------+-0======-1======-3======--------+--------------------------------+ |-------------------------1======|--------------------------------|-------------------------1======| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |---------2======---------2======|---------2======---------2======|---------2======---------2======| |-3======---------3======--------|-3======---------3======--------|-3======---------3======--------| +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+--------------------------------+ +-0======-1======-3======--------+--------------------------------+-0======-1======-3======--------+ |--------------------------------|-------------------------1======|--------------------------------| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |---------2======---------2======|---------2======---------2======|---------2======---------2======| |-3======---------3======--------|-3======---------3======--------|-3======---------3======--------| +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+--------------------------------+ G +-0==============----------------+-0==============----------------+-------------------------0======+ |-----------------1==============|-----------------3==============|--------------------------------| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |---------2======---------2======|---------2======---------0======|---------0======---------0======| |-3======---------3======--------|-3======------------------------|--------------------------------| +--------------------------------+-----------------3======--------+-3======---------3======--------+ C G +-0======------------------------+--------------------------------+-0==============-3==============+ |---------3======-1======--------|-------------------------1======|--------------------------------| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |---------0======---------2======|---------2======---------2======|---------2======---------0======| |-----------------3======--------|-3======---------3======--------|-3======------------------------| +-3======------------------------+--------------------------------+-----------------3======--------+ G7 +-3======-1======----------------+---------1======-0======-1======+-3==============-0==============+ |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| |---------0======---------0======|---------0======---------0======|---------0======---------0======| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| +-3======---------3======--------+-3======---------3======--------+-3======---------3======--------+ C +--------------------------------+--------------------------------+-0==============================+ |-1==============-3==============|-1==============================|-1==============================| |--------------------------------|--------------------------------|-0==============================| |---------0======----------------|---------2======---------2======|-2==============================| |--------------------------------|-3======---------3======--------|-3==============================| +-3======---------3======--------+--------------------------------+--------------------------------+
What's next
Next, we will start expanding on the points covered in this lesson. We can add synchopation, maybe a more complicated chord progression, a more varied bass line, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and so on. That's one of the amazing things about playing guitar: there is always another thing to learn. I hope you had fun this lesson, and I look forward to lots more.
Reference
There are a lot of great books about fingerpicking guitar out there. Here are a couple of my favorites.
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Fingerpicking Styles for Guitar
by Happy Traum - a classic and the first fingerpicking book I ever bought. I found mine at a yard sale, and it changed my life forever.
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Folk and Blues Fingerstyle Guitar
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