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Text Box: James Steven Hall
Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Email Me camaswindsmusic@yahoo.com

5 Finger Picking Practice
Download practice

Chords
39,411; 37,49; 311,412; 313,414; 35,47; 35,46; 35,45; 35,44; 35,43; 32,43; 31,42

String progression:
5,4,3,2,1,2,3,4 (Sometimes start with string 6 as in: 6,5,4… flavor to your own taste)
5,4,3,2,1,1
5,4,3,2,1,6

Explanation:
I don’t know tabs. What I know is my own notation, sorry. This is how it works. Look at the chords at the top of this page. Each chord is separated by a semi-colon (;), while individual finger placements are separated by a coma (,). The first number of a finger placement is always the string, numbered 1-6 from the smallest, highest pitch, bottom ‘E’ string, numbered as ‘1’, to the largest, lowest pitch, top (E) string numbered as ‘6’. Using standard tuning, the strings would layout as follows… 1-E, 2-B, 3-G, 4-D, 5-A, 6-E. This may not be the correct way to refer to these strings, but then again, I am not restricted by any formal education, so you have my apology, if you are… you will just have to get used to the idea. Think of it as an alternative way to look at an art form. The next number/s that follow, indicate the fret, where the note is played. So for the first chord shown above (39,411), fingers are placed on the 3rd string, ninth fret, for the 39 and 4th string, 11th fret, for the 411. Which fingers you use, is up to you, but I tend to use the index and ring fingers, for chords that are across 3 frets and either the index and middle, or the middle and ring fingers for chords with adjacent fret patterns. It just works out more natural for me that way.

For my style of picking, the strings are allocated as follows:
The thumb plays the two top bass strings ‘E/6th’ & ‘A/5th’
The index finger plays the ‘D/4th’ string
The middle plays the ‘G/3rd’ string
The ring finger plays the ‘b/2nd’ string
The little “pinky, except for on Martians” finger plays the bottom ‘E/1st’ string

The right, or picking hand stays in the air, in a natural arch, over the strings and the only reference base, is where the forearm touches the top edge of the guitar body. I believe that if you try to arch your hand backwards, so you can rest the heel of your palm on the guitar body, it will restrict your ability, progress, speed and cause a carpal tunnel threat, so try to keep your wrist in a natural falling arch (don’t  forget!).

Often, if I am picking lead, I will use the thumb exclusively for that purpose, but during 5-finger picking, the fingers never leave their home strings… never!

String progression refers to which strings are picked and in what order. This initial practice progresses in order from the 5th string through the 1st string and back. Once you get used to locating the correct string, with the correct finger, it will be natural for you to develop your own style of progression. Note: For any other of my songs, the notation of two strings picked at the same time, is shown as the two numbers together. So if, say I wanted to pick strings 2 and 5 simultaneously, the notation would be ‘25’. If the 3rd string followed, it would look like this… ‘25,3’. For a ‘56’ pick, you must strum the top two strings, with the thumb.

If you really want to learn to do this… it takes about a month, to gain impressive proficiency. I picked these chords, because they sound interesting, pretty and they are fun to play around with…
Good luck

Camas Winds Music

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