How to cleanup fingerpicking?

I played guitar for years, but that was over a decade ago. I picked up a uke a few months ago and I've been doing a lot of fingerpicking. I was always a lazy guitar player, and playing electric covers that up some, but I've found I'm pretty bad at playing cleanly.

What are the techniques for keeping strings you're not playing quiet? I think it's mostly when I lift my left finger off a string that I get an unwanted, open string ringing. If I play slow enough, I can keep my finger on the open string long enough to keep it from ringing, but I'm hoping there's a better way.

Besides UU, I use these tutorials on YouTube.....but I have a looooooooong way to go with fingerpicking.

I stop and redo it til it's right or go slower. If you keep going, it re-enforces the mistake. I'm an old guitar player also, it took a while for the fingerpicking getting used to the narrower fretboard. You can also dampen the strings a bit with the heel of the right hand.

I have been trying to improve my finger style as well on both guitar and ukulele. I got a couple books on Travis style picking and what I have found helpful is to divorce music from the equation and focus on the pattern. Most finger style songs are based around one, two or three basic patterns and I have found that once I figure out a pattern being used, the best thing is to mute the strings with my fret hand and just practice that pattern with my picking hand until it feels comfortable and relaxed at 1/2 speed and then slowly speed it up. Trying to learn both the notes and the pattern is usually a frustrating experience for me. The trick to playing cleanly is memorize the pattern and then focus on staying relaxed while you play it. Nothing screws up your precision like tensing up.

Hope that helps!

sactonortherncal said:

... I think it's mostly when I lift my left finger off a string that I get an unwanted, open string ringing. If I play slow enough, I can keep my finger on the open string long enough to keep it from ringing, but I'm hoping there's a better way.

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Coming from guitar, you might be using more pressure than necessary when you fret. Try pressing with the lightest possibly touch--that might help to reduce the "after ring." Wash your hands before playing and wipe down the strings after playing to reduce any stickiness that might be contributing to the issue.

That said, when I first started playing, I definitely experienced the severe "after ring" that you describe. A light touch and changing to fluorocarbon strings reduced the problem significantly. I finally stopped thinking about it and at some point, I realized it was no longer noticing the issue. I don't know exactly what I did, but I'm guessing I gradually improved my fretting technique. I bet the same thing will happen for you.

One thing to note: There are times when a player intends for the string to ring after the fretting finger is lifted--it's called a pull-off or hammer-off. So, to some extent, some ringing is expected and normal.

cantsing said:

you might be using more pressure than necessary when you fret.

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Don't want to derail the thread, but thanks for solving the mystery of how I manage to bend the C string when I play E minor.

One of the most important tips before you even get into technique - well shaped nails that are filed as smooth as they can be

I have a classical guitar background, and so I tend to look for the most economy in finger movement when playing. I don't lift a left hand finger unless I have to... I try and arrange the left hand fingering to take advantage of sliding up and down a string. That cuts down on the extra movements that might make unintended sounds. When you lift your finger off a string, try not to pull it to the side. Try to lift your finger straight up off the string so you are not plucking it.

–Lori

librainian said:

I have been trying to improve my finger style as well on both guitar and ukulele. I got a couple books on Travis style picking and what I have found helpful is to divorce music from the equation and focus on the pattern. Most finger style songs are based around one, two or three basic patterns and I have found that once I figure out a pattern being used, the best thing is to mute the strings with my fret hand and just practice that pattern with my picking hand until it feels comfortable and relaxed at 1/2 speed and then slowly speed it up. Trying to learn both the notes and the pattern is usually a frustrating experience for me. The trick to playing cleanly is memorize the pattern and then focus on staying relaxed while you play it. Nothing screws up your precision like tensing up.

Hope that helps!

Click to expand...

Great post.

My question then to this thread is:

Are there any equivalent concise written exercises for ukulele similar to the Guliani guitar exercises, which assist in fingerpicking string patterns?

Kev's Fingerstyle Ukelele? It's not bad.

My Uke teacher put me onto a set from something called Marlow Ukelele Group, here's a link:

http://www.marlowuke.co.uk/books/picking.pdf