Fingerpicking my Ukulele

tomzilla

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I was wondering what tips anybody had on the best way which i could fingerpick on my Ukulele as i have tried one but its just not working for me.
 
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I was wondering what tips anybody had on the best way which i could fingerpick on my Ukulele as i have tried one but its just not working for me.

There are literally hundreds of options. Often, when watching tv...I just finger pick the strings (not nose..ha) to see if I can discover a good combo.

Try this one: pluck stings 1....2.....1......3 (repeat) then step it up and try this one: 1.....2......1.......3......1......2.....1.......4 (repeat)

Now: mix in different chords to change things up.....
 
Im going to jump on this post so i can get emails when someone post. im getting to the finger picking part of my learning also and any help would be great. but i will add practice is the best way to learn...

Howlie Boy:cool:
 
what i do to warm up or when i just play around is this little pattern: with your first finger pick C, E, & A continuously and with your thumb pick G in between every note. so it would look like G A G E G C G E G A G E G C etc.

start with two fingers and once you can do it fast to the point where its easy try using your middle finger to pick the A string.
 
One of my favorite ways to fingerpick chords is picking the strings in the order of GECA. I also do an inside-out order which would be CEGA. I try to use my thumb, index, and middle finger as much as I can to help develop better finger dexterity. My thumb will get the top 2 strings and my index gets the E string and my middle finger gets the A string
 
what i do to warm up or when i just play around is this little pattern: with your first finger pick C, E, & A continuously and with your thumb pick G in between every note. so it would look like G A G E G C G E G A G E G C etc.

start with two fingers and once you can do it fast to the point where its easy try using your middle finger to pick the A string.

i think one of my biggest problems is finding the strings... what i mean is say i need to play an e string, i always end up hitting the a string... i hope these finger execises will help with that.

Howlie boy:cool:
 
When 1st learning to pick I used the thumb for the G, index for C, middle for E and ring finger for A, braced for position with the pinky. Eventually no need to brace with pinky. Allows for plucking all four strings when needed. Not sure if this technically correct. Self-teaching = a few bad habits. Works for me. Hopefully if a bad method it will not present a road block in the future. My single note tremolo really stinks. This specific finger to string system may be one of the reasons.
 
i think one of my biggest problems is finding the strings... what i mean is say i need to play an e string, i always end up hitting the a string... i hope these finger execises will help with that.

Howlie boy:cool:

ALWAYS start SUPER slow with strums or picking. Once it becomes mindless and muscle memory....THEN speed things up a bit. :D
 
When 1st learning to pick I used the thumb for the G, index for C, middle for E and ring finger for A, braced for position with the pinky. Eventually no need to brace with pinky. Allows for plucking all four strings when needed. Not sure if this technically correct. Self-teaching = a few bad habits. Works for me. Hopefully if a bad method it will not present a road block in the future. My single note tremolo really stinks. This specific finger to string system may be one of the reasons.

i use my thumb for the G, pointer for C and E, and middle for A(sometimes i use my pointer for A aswell depending on the song)
 
I think koa's way of doing it is the best way to get started (one finger for each string). Start out practicing by going up the strings like this:

example-1.jpg


T=thumb, I=pointer, M=middle, A=ring

Then practice going up then down like this:

example-3.jpg


Then you can start doing more complicated stuff by picking more than one string at one. Like this:

example-5.jpg


There are a ton of possibilities for this type of playing. I've got a mini course on this subject on my email list with tabs and videos. You can sign up for it here if you're interested.
 
Just wanted to say that I signed up for Woodshed's fingerpicking course and that I've really been enjoying the lessons. They are well written and Woodshed does a great job explaining techniques, providing plenty of examples in the process. Thanks Woodshed! :D
 
Thanks, drubin. I'm really glad you've found it helpful.
 
This is a great thread, thanks. I almost exclusively use chords when I play a song, only fingerplucking if it's a super slow tune. That said, I know that learning to fingerpluck is really going to take my playing to the next level but I'm just having an absolutely difficult time getting the hang of it. While I appreciate the written tutorials here, I just need someone to show me.

Does anyone have a DVD or online video recommendation to help me learn how to fingerpluck?

Thanks! :)
 
I've just started www.FingerstyleUke.com - there is not much there at the moment but I do plan to have lots of technical tips with videos. Please bookmark it and return in a couple of months.

Rob MacKillop
 
Just wanted to say that I signed up for Woodshed's fingerpicking course and that I've really been enjoying the lessons. They are well written and Woodshed does a great job explaining techniques, providing plenty of examples in the process. Thanks Woodshed! :D

Where can Woodshed's fingerpicking course be found?
 
I've tried assigning each string with a finger but I have big hands so its kinda unconfortable so I use the thumb for C and G, Middle for E, and ring for A.

Like what Ukestar said, When just sitting around, I will usually pluck different patterns along while going thru various chords progression just to get more confortable with it.
 
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