This week in Kirk's Column: FINGER STYLES
by Kirk Lorange
http://www.lorange.kirk.net

Most of my articles are about the fretboard and finding notes, very few about how to get them ringing. I think this is because we all have our own way of doing just that, and there is no right or wrong way. In fact, the biggest factor in getting your own sound is the right hand technique you wind up adopting. Most players gravitate to one or the other -- plectrum or fingers -- and stick to it. Very few of us are adept at both. I can't play to save my butt holding a flat pick. I hate them and they hate me.

After 39 years of doing it, my right hand works quite well, although there is always room for improvement. Independence of finger movement is what we're always trying to perfect as finger-pickers and practice, of course, is the only way to get there.

But what to practice?

First of all, let's analyse the process. The design of the guitar and of the human hand puts the thumb in charge of the bass strings -- the thick ones -- and the index, ring and middle fingers in charge of the treble set. Generally speaking, that is.

I've always broken the process down into two possibilities: either the thumb and fingers are plucking together or they are alternating. The arrangement dictates which. You, the player, decide which you want to hear, as opposed to some finger-picking pattern taking over the part. Naturally, it's always easier to let a pattern take you away, adapting it to the chord changes -- and often this is exactly what you want -- but not always. Sometimes you want to play a specific bass line against a specific melody. This where this analysis comes into play.

Here's what I do:

First, I mentally set in concrete the chord progression. There is hardly any point even starting if you don't know the chord structure.

Second, I map out the bass line I want to hear. This will be my thumb part. I start with the bass line because it sets the foundation for everything else. They should be called boss lines, because they are.

Third, I look for the melody line and figure out where it sits with the bass line. This is where I look for "same time" or "alternate" plucks.

Fourth, when I have a framework of bass and melody set up, I look for other chord bits to add. These notes will add the flavour of the chord of the moment, and so I make sure they include the important notes of that chord. The most important factor in choosing these extra bits is availability of fingers. The thumb and whatever finger are busy with bass line and melody, that leaves two fingers to work with.

I work through the tune very slowly, building a part that is comfortable to play and retains the essence of the piece. When in doubt, I leave it out. By that I mean if I can't reach a particular note, or if it's too tricky for my hand, or it interferes with the flow, I don't bother. Empty space is always acceptable.

By the very nature of Music, repetition will come into this process. For example, the chord bits I incorporate will no doubt follow a pattern in the time-line. They might occupy the third beat of the bar. Or the bass line might have a melodic pattern which repeats with the new chords.

This process becomes easier and easier as time goes by, and independence of fingers becomes more accessible. Eventually, a part will fall into place almost immediately, and your right hand will have broken all patterns down into individual finger movements, all within your control.

As always, the main thing is to have fun with it.

Once again, if you're still having trouble knowing where all the notes are, visit http://lorange.kirk.net and read up on PlaneTalk, the book which divulges the trick to it all.

If you want to brush up on the basics, and have a closer look at some patterns to get your fingers working, go to:
http://guitarforbeginners.com

If you want to hear a bunch of finger style playing (all my tunes are), go to http://mp3.com/kirklorange. Most of my tunes are free downloads for the next while, so help yourselves.

Until next time, regards from Tamborine Mountain, overlooking Australia’s Gold Coast, where they’re having time trials for the Indy Cars as I write. The big race is on tomorrow - Kirk

Also from Kirk:
http://kirklorange.com
http://www.lorange.kirk.net
http://guitarforbeginners.com
http://yourmusicontheweb.com
http://mp3.com/kirklorange
http://bottleneckguitar.com