Learn how to play 5 Fingerstyle Patterns in 4:4 Time on the guitar - and a cool way of practicing them!
I confess I shouldn’t be studying this module yet, but couldn’t help myself.
I have to say that this is the best fingerstyle lesson Justin has produced thus far. I still struggle with Happy Birthday let alone the Rolling Chords and Greensleeves but this lesson is amazing. Fingers are moving more smoothly, no problem with the chord changes, loving it thank you Justin
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I really am enjoying this lesson as well.
Just wondering about when to change chords to let the last note of the bar ring for long enough? I think the change needs to be as you play the bass note of the next bar?
Or are my changes just too slow?!!
Thanks
Ben
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Hi Ben,
I think it can really depend on the chord or the picking pattern. Ideally yes the change should be immediately on the one count. Some changes (say Dm to E) you have half a beat after picking the root note to make sure your fingers are in place before you have to pick the next note.
I take it very slow and always remember the anchor fingers to aid the changes.
It’s early days, but getting smoother, and I wish you luck on your journey.
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I asked the team to sort out a PDF file and I’ll upload it as soon as possible! 
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I’ve been working on fingerstyle for some time now, but as part of my practice schedule I’ve been looking at every new lesson, whenever they are posted, no matter what level they are aimed at because there is Always something useful and helpful.
For me in this lesson it was the reminder about tone:
So I spent a good ten minutes playing these patterns, really slowly, completely focused and picking in different distances form the bridge and really thinking about how it sounds.
This tied in nicely with other stuff I’ve been looking at this week about BB King’s tone, and his mastery of finding the sweetspot.
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The Guitar Pro file needs some minor corrections. The repeats are set up for 2x, with free text saying “4x”. Simple to correct the file to repeat 4 times (which automatically adds the “4x” text).
I was surprised when it kept skipping to the next pattern too soon.
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Like Justin, my little finger seems very short. I’ve tried using my little finger as an anchor, but my whole hand gets stressed out very quickly. I can touch my little finger to the pickguard and pluck with 2,3,4 fingers, but it makes my hand feel cramped, and I can’t keep it up for long.
I don’t know whether I should persist in the hope it gets better, or just keep my hand floating above the fretboard, which is much more comfortable.
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This happened to me too and it was clear from the beginning that pinky as anchor finger was out of question. I also developed tension in my wrist anytime with fingerpicking patterns and developing speed was impossible. What I did: I got inspired from the guitarists I admire on youtube videos, I over observed their fingerpicking and I tried to work out my way. It took many months of slow practice, I also used a mirror to observe my hand from a different point of view. And…I don’t know maybe this will sound silly…I put on Ana Vidovic Asturias on YouTube and while observing her I fingerpicked randomly along with it, not really aiming for anything objective but just get that relaxed feeling through speed…it still makes me smile when I think of it. …but it kind of worked and now my fingerpicking is tensionfree
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Right-Hand Technique: the most valuable concept you need to know🌟 - YouTube this also helped a lot because it shows the anatomy of our fingers and where the correct movement comes from . Hope it helps.
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I have a question about the chord progression used in the 5 Fingerstyle Patterns lesson:
What key is this in?
The chords are Am C Dm E
These sound really nice together. I’m also working through the Strumming course and decided to use this progression in that course’s exercises to make them more interesting while helping me get better at making the changes (which is working great as an approach).
To figure out what the key is I wrote every natural note’s major and minor scale and each key’s chords - I can’t figure it out! Maybe they aren’t in a key? Any help would be appreciated (even if it’s a hint and not the complete answer).
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I could be wrong, but it looks like the key of A minor, with E major being a borrowed chord. I have seen that sometimes the 5 chord in a minor key is replaced by its major version, which emphasizes the return to the tonic. So Em is replaced by E, which precedes Am in this progression.
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Am is the closest I got / interesting to learn about substituting the major 5th, that’s good to know, and sounds great!
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When doing the practice with Guitar Pro, I noticed the GP file was wrong - it said it loops 4x but it’s only set to loop twice.
Here is an updated file I edited with correct looping.
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Hi there. I play much better using my little finger as an anchor, but after just one song it really aches……is this something you have to persist with and strengthen it???
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Hi @Craigward, I’m guessing you’re pressing down too hard with the anchor pinky. You really should just let it rest lightly on the guitar. The purpose of the anchor is just to orient your hand position relative to the guitar/strings and you only need to be touching the guitar to achieve this.
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Thanks pal
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Did the PDF file of the patterns ever get posted? I’m not seeing it in the resources tab.
[mod note - not yet, I have raised it again with the team]
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Hi everyone……I have learned all the patterns pretty well. Could I just ask, are the first 2 patterns just a basic way of getting the basics right and it is the 3 more complexed patterns we use for songs?
Also I am much better at the very last one taught and feel most confident with that one, but when I play songs I just stick with that one….is it better using different patterns with different songs or even using 2 different patterns for one song?
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