# AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking Patterns ## Concept A fingerpicking pattern is a fixed sequence for the picking hand, repeated over every chord of a song: the left hand holds a chord, the right hand plays its strings one or a few at a time in an order that doesn't change. It's the fingerstyle equivalent of a [[AI Wiki - Music - Strumming Patterns|strumming pattern]], and the quickest way to turn the [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Open Chords|open chords]] Sébastien already knows into accompaniment that sounds arranged. Musically, these patterns are [[AI Wiki - Music - Arpeggios|arpeggios]]: the chord's notes played one after another. Wikipedia notes that fingerstyle makes it "easy to play arpeggios", and that's why patterns come first, before [[AI Wiki - Music - Travis Picking|Travis picking]] (where the thumb alternates on every beat) and long before [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerstyle Arranging|arranging melodies]]. ## The two rules behind every pattern **1. One finger per string (the PIMA "home position").** The thumb (p) covers the bass strings 6, 5 and 4; index (i) plays the G string, middle (m) the B string, ring (a) the high E string. With this assignment, a pattern written as letters works on any chord: "p-i-m-a" always means bass, G, B, high E. The finger names and hand position are covered in [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]]. **2. The thumb starts on the chord's root.** It's the only thing that changes between chords. | Chord | Thumb on beat 1 | Second bass note (beat 3) | |---|---|---| | E, Em, G | string 6 | string 4 | | A, Am, C | string 5 | string 4 | | D | string 4 | string 5 (open A, the fifth below) | ```chord columns: 4 --- symbol: C frets: x32010 fingers: x32010 title: C (bass on 5) --- symbol: G frets: 320003 fingers: 210003 title: G (bass on 6) --- symbol: Am frets: x02210 fingers: x02310 title: Am (bass on 5) --- symbol: Em frets: 022000 fingers: 023000 title: Em (bass on 6) --- symbol: D frets: xx0232 fingers: xx0132 title: D (bass on 4) --- symbol: A frets: x02220 fingers: x01230 title: A (bass on 5) --- symbol: E frets: 022100 fingers: 023100 title: E (bass on 6) ``` ## Patterns in 4/4 Seven patterns cover most [[AI Wiki - Music - Pop Music|pop]], [[AI Wiki - Music - Folk Music|folk]] and singer-songwriter accompaniment. Each is written on one chord; move it to any other chord by changing only the thumb's string. Count aloud; the thumb is always on a number. **Pattern 1: bass and pluck.** The simplest: the thumb on beats 1 and 3, three fingers plucking the top strings together on 2 and 4. It's a fingerpicked "[[AI Wiki - Music - Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar|boom-chick]]", and the right first pattern because there's no sequence to remember. ```chords {title: Pattern 1: bass and pluck (4/4, quarter notes) on G} {time: 4/4} {comment: ima = index, middle and ring pluck the top three strings together, like a small strum.} {start_of_tab} e|-------3-----------3-----| B|-------0-----------0-----| G|-------0-----------0-----| D|-------------0-----------| A|-------------------------| E|-3-----------------------| p ima p ima 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Pattern 2: p-i-m-i.** Thumb, then a back-and-forth between G and B strings, twice per bar. Steady and quiet; good under a voice. ```chords {title: Pattern 2: p-i-m-i (4/4, eighth notes) on Am} {time: 4/4} {comment: The thumb plays the root on beat 1 and the D string on beat 3.} {start_of_tab} e|-------------------------| B|-------1-----------1-----| G|----2-----2-----2-----2--| D|-------------2-----------| A|-0-----------------------| E|-------------------------| p i m i p i m i 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Pattern 3: p-i-m-a (rising).** The classic arpeggio upwards from the bass. Moving the thumb to the D string on beat 3 already hints at an alternating bass. ```chords {title: Pattern 3: p-i-m-a, rising (4/4) on C} {time: 4/4} {start_of_tab} e|----------0-----------0--| B|-------1-----------1-----| G|----0-----------0--------| D|-------------2-----------| A|-3-----------------------| E|-------------------------| p i m a p i m a 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Pattern 4: p-a-m-i (falling).** Same notes, other direction. Rising and falling sound surprisingly different; songs often mix them (rising in the first half of the bar, falling in the second). ```chords {title: Pattern 4: p-a-m-i, falling (4/4) on Am} {time: 4/4} {start_of_tab} e|----0-----------0--------| B|-------1-----------1-----| G|----------2-----------2--| D|-------------2-----------| A|-0-----------------------| E|-------------------------| p a m i p a m i 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Pattern 5: pinch and roll.** A **pinch** is the thumb and a finger (usually a) plucking together. It accents beat 1 and puts a top note above the bass, which is where a melody will later go. The Premier Guitar and Guitar World Travis lessons both use pinches to put melody notes over the bass. ```chords {title: Pattern 5: pinch and roll (4/4) on Em} {time: 4/4} {comment: pa = thumb and ring finger together on beat 1.} {start_of_tab} e|-0-----------------------| B|-------0-----------0-----| G|----0-----0-----0-----0--| D|-------------2-----------| A|-------------------------| E|-0-----------------------| pa i m i p i m i 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` ## Patterns in 3/4 and 6/8 Waltzes and many folk ballads are in three. The bar has three beats; the thumb takes beat 1. **Pattern 6: bass-pluck-pluck.** The fingerstyle waltz: "oom-pah-pah". Alternate the bass from bar to bar (root, then fifth) to keep it moving. ```chords {title: Pattern 6: waltz, bass-pluck-pluck (3/4) on D} {time: 3/4} {comment: Bar 1: root (D string). Bar 2: the fifth below (open A string).} {start_of_tab} e|-------2-----2-----|-------2-----2-----| B|-------3-----3-----|-------3-----3-----| G|-------2-----2-----|-------2-----2-----| D|-0-----------------|-------------------| A|-------------------|-0-----------------| E|-------------------|-------------------| p ima ima p ima ima 1 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 2 & 3 & {end_of_tab} ``` **Pattern 7: p-i-m-a-m-i.** Six even eighth notes, up and back down. In 3/4 it's counted "1 & 2 & 3 &"; the same six notes in 6/8 ("1 2 3 4 5 6", with stresses on 1 and 4) are the sound of "House of the Rising Sun" arrangements. The hub article [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]] shows it on Am in 6/8. ```chords {title: Pattern 7: p-i-m-a-m-i (3/4) on G} {time: 3/4} {start_of_tab} e|----------3--------|----------3--------| B|-------0-----0-----|-------0-----0-----| G|----0-----------0--|----0-----------0--| D|-------------------|-0-----------------| A|-------------------|-------------------| E|-3-----------------|-------------------| p i m a m i p i m a m i 1 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 2 & 3 & {end_of_tab} ``` See [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]] for how 3/4 and 6/8 differ: both have six eighth notes per bar, grouped 2+2+2 and 3+3. ## Putting a pattern on a progression The real skill is keeping the pattern going while the chords change. Take a four-chord progression ([[AI Wiki - Music - Common Chord Progressions]]) and play one bar of the pattern per chord. Here the pinch pattern runs through C-G-Am-Em (I-V-vi-iii in C): ```chords {title: Pinch pattern through C - G - Am - Em} {time: 4/4} {comment: Pattern pa-i-m-i-p-i-m-i. The thumb takes the root on 1 and the D string on 3 on every chord.} {start_of_tab} e|-0-----------------------|-3-----------------------| B|-------1-----------1-----|-------0-----------0-----| G|----0-----0-----0-----0--|----0-----0-----0-----0--| D|-------------2-----------|-------------0-----------| A|-3-----------------------|-------------------------| E|-------------------------|-3-----------------------| C G 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & e|-0-----------------------|-0-----------------------| B|-------1-----------1-----|-------0-----------0-----| G|----2-----2-----2-----2--|----0-----0-----0-----0--| D|-------------2-----------|-------------2-----------| A|-0-----------------------|-------------------------| E|-------------------------|-0-----------------------| Am Em 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` Practical tips for the changes: - **The last note before a change can be an open string.** In most patterns the final "and" of the bar is on the open G or B string, which buys the fretting hand an eighth note to move ([[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Chord Transitions]]). - **Find the next bass string before beat 1.** Look at (or feel for) the thumb's string while the fingers finish the bar. - **Fewer chords per bar at first.** Two bars per chord halves the number of changes. ## Choosing and varying patterns - **Match the song's subdivision.** Pattern 1 (quarter notes) suits slow songs and beginners; eighth-note patterns (2-5) suit most pop and folk; for 6/8 songs use six-note patterns. - **Match the energy.** Plucks and pinches are louder and more rhythmic; single-note rolls (p-i-m-i) are softer. - **Vary it in the chorus.** Same chords, denser pattern (or switch to strumming) to lift a section. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Song Form and Structure]]. - **Turn a strumming song into a fingerpicked one.** Any song from a chord sheet works: pick a pattern with the right number of beats per bar and play one bar per chord symbol. ## Technique notes - **Free stroke** for all of these: the finger plucks and moves up into the palm without touching the next string. Bradford Werner notes that arpeggio works are "generally free stroke"; the alternative, rest stroke, is for melody notes ([[AI Wiki - Music - Classical Guitar Technique]]). - **Plant the fingers.** Before the pattern starts, rest i, m and a lightly on their strings and the thumb on the bass. It anchors the hand and teaches the distances. - **Pluck from the big knuckle**, not by pulling the fingertip outwards; the string should vibrate parallel to the top, not slap the frets. - **Even volume.** Record yourself: the thumb is usually too loud and the ring finger too weak ([[AI Wiki - Music - Recording Yourself]]). - **Let the strings ring.** Keep the full chord fretted for the whole bar unless the song asks for silence. ## How to practise 1. One pattern, one chord, metronome at 60 bpm, until five clean repeats in a row. 2. Same pattern on all seven open chords, checking the thumb's string each time. 3. Two chords that share a bass string (C and Am), then two that don't (C and G). 4. A full four-chord progression, two bars each, then one bar each. 5. Add tempo in small steps ([[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building]]). In the Music Practice plugin, each pattern works as its own technique note with a mastery level, so the plugin brings back the one that's going rusty. Classical method books do the same with open-string arpeggio drills, e.g. Giuliani's 120 arpeggio studies, which Werner includes in his technique book. ## Common mistakes - **Thumb on the wrong string** (low E under a C chord): learn the table. - **Fingers wandering between strings.** Keep the one-finger-per-string assignment until it's automatic. - **Rushing the change**, so the pattern gets a hiccup on beat 1. Better to play the open strings than to stop. - **Speeding up on the easy chord, slowing down on the hard one.** The metronome exposes it. - **Pattern too busy for the song.** Fingerpicking under a voice usually wants fewer notes, not more. ## Key Points - A pattern is a fixed right-hand order repeated over each chord; PIMA home position: p on 6-5-4, i on G, m on B, a on high E. - Only the thumb's string changes between chords: 6 for E/Em/G, 5 for A/Am/C, 4 for D. - 4/4 patterns: bass-pluck, p-i-m-i, p-i-m-a, p-a-m-i, pinch and roll; 3/4 patterns: bass-pluck-pluck, p-i-m-a-m-i. - A pinch (thumb plus finger together) accents the beat and prepares melody playing and Travis picking. - Keep the pattern going through chord changes; open strings at the end of the bar buy time. ## Open Questions - Which patterns fit the songs on Sébastien's current list? - Pattern first or song first? Probably both: one pattern drilled, then immediately used in a song. ## References - Wikipedia, "Fingerstyle guitar": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerstyle_guitar - Wikipedia, "Classical guitar technique" (PIMA, free and rest strokes): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_guitar_technique - Bradford Werner, "Lesson of the Week: rest or free stroke", This Is Classical Guitar: https://www.thisisclassicalguitar.com/lesson-rest-or-free-stroke/ - Tom Monda, "Twang 101: Travis Picking Essentials", Premier Guitar (2013): https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/19838-twang-101-travis-picking-essentials - Mike Dawes, "Travis picking: how to fingerpick like Merle Travis", Guitar World (2019): https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/how-fingerpick-merle-travis ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Travis Picking]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Classical Guitar Technique]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerstyle Arranging]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Arpeggios]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Open Chords]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Strumming Patterns]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Chord Transitions]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Common Chord Progressions]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Arranging Songs]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Harmonics]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Hybrid Picking]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Percussive Fingerstyle]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Guitar Tab]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Beginner Songs by Chord Set]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Nails, Fingerpicks and Thumbpicks]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Sixteenth-Note Rhythms]]