fingerstyle: p-i-m-a vs. p-i-m

pluck

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After 2 months of thumb plucking I'm getting ready to move on to some fingerstyle material. Unfortunately, James Hill teaches P-I-M-A while Aaron Keim teaches P-I-M. I guess that to an experienced player there isn't much difference but it's a little confusing to a new comer. Is there any reason to pick one over the other or should I just learn both. I guess ultimately the particular arrangement will determine which one uses. What do you think?
 
I use P-I-M, but it probably won't hurt to learn both.

CeeJay, P=Thumb (some Latin word), I=Index, M=Middle, A=(Some other confounded Latin Word). :eek:ld:
 
P is the thumb, I is index, M is Middle, and A is ring finger. The question is whether to use the ring finger for picking. Good question, I'm interested to see what other fingerstyle ukers say.

John King said he used mainly P I and M, and A rarely. That's also my preference when playing fingerstyle on soprano. I mainly use A for playing fast triplets in the A M I pattern thats also common for tremolo on classical guitar. A is a useful picking finger on the guitar, and many fingerstyle guitarists never learn to use it. Most of the great folk and blues guitarists just used P I and M, and the amazing Rev Gary Davis only used P and I. But classical guitarists use A all the time. Its not a very smart finger, unfortunately, and its weak compared to the others (the pinkie is the weakest and dumbest by far). If you want to use A you have to make a special effort to train and develop it.

The uke is rather small, especially sopranos, so I find it hard to pick with A as much as I use it for picking on the guitar. But on the tenor I use A more often because the larger body size makes it easier (for me, at least) to position and stabilize.my right hand for picking.

That's sort of a non-answer. My advice is to learn to fingerpick with P I and M first. A has to be developed thru practice, you can bring it in later.

But as with everything related to the uke, there are no rules. Ohta san plays amazing music mostly just using his thumb. I'll be interested to hear what others say. Great question!
 
I use P-I-M, but it probably won't hurt to learn both.

CeeJay, P=Thumb (some Latin word), I=Index, M=Middle, A=(Some other confounded Latin Word). :eek:ld:

Okay thanks......I use thumb , index and middle....on Soprano and Concert and sometimes just Thumb and Index if ragging it or Clawhammering (Seeger Style I think it is.... where you up stroke as well as down stroke the index finger ...purists will shudder)

I would think the Tenor (or Baritone) will be better played Thumb Bass or 4, Index 3, Middle 2, 4th (A or Ring ) 1 as that seems to be played in a more Guitar like manner......assigned digits strings you have a more disciplined and rigid method...but easier to get going with because of said rigid structure...:rulez:

I don't play the T or B but I play the guitar fingerpicked as above ......(unless failing it of course!!!:eek:....fRailing it ...that should be ..fRailing *sheesh*:rolleyes:)
 
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I use P-I, P-I-M, and P-I-M-A . It just sort of depends on what I want to do. I would say, don't limit yourself to just one style.
 
What CeeJay said about using PIMA, assigning each string to a finger, is what Pekelo's fingerstyle method book recommends. if you are learning fingerstyle, and prefer low G, Pekelo two books are really good. You'll learn to use your ring finger if you follow his approach.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...ook-feedback-Pekelo-s-Hawaiian-Ukulele-Method

The main hurdle with using A is that in fingerstyle the melody note is often on the highest string, and if A is your weakest finger, it can be difficult to get the melody to stand out over the harmony notes. So you really have to work on developing that ring finger.
 
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James Hill seems to be someone who has taken classical guitar technique and applied it to the uke, and he is pretty literal in his interpretations. I play mostly finger style and use pim almost all the time but sometimes pima. On the guitar I usually use pima. Note that Aaron Keim plays a lot of traditional folk and is an excellent folk style musician. If you want to play ukulele like a classical guitar and play classical music, James Hill's way is probably the "right" way. If you are more interested in folk and popular music then there is a wider range of styles you can use.

As an aside: As far as the pinky I think most uke players use the pinky way too little in fingering with their left hand. When people are beginners they tend to avoid the pinky. If you use the pinky a lot, as in fingering the C chord or playing single note melodies, and get used to it, eventually you'll get comfortable using it.
 
Hmm, I never looked up any special way to pluck, I just plucking did it and do with all fingers I can, even on the left hand :)


We use much the same approach bonesigh.
 
Many thanks to all for your ideas on this subject. It is very helpful. At the end of the day, the most important thing is for me to not to get hung up on these pesky details. I know they can sap my energy because I've let it happen all too often. Thanks again.

BTW, I probably am more inclined to go with the Hill method but I really like Kiem's book. Very classy. Can't hurt to do both.
 
CeeJay, P=Thumb (some Latin word), I=Index, M=Middle, A=(Some other confounded Latin Word). :eek:ld:

P=Pulgar, A=Annular

In any case, don't fret about it too much. Which fingers to use is not as important as you think it is. You'll naturally fall into your own style after awhile. I use all five fingers on guitar, and just naturally fell into pim on the uke, but not through conscious thought. Don't overthink it.
 
I've played guitar for fifty years using P-I-M-A. But on uke I find that awkward. Both P-I and P-I-M work better, depending on the situation, and I use both.
 
I learned P-I-M years ago, which works just fine, but recently have been trying to go with P-I-M-A. For certain songs it really helps (and I need all the help I can get sometimes!). Both work just fine, but if you're brand-new to fingerpicking, I'd recommend starting with with P-I-M-A.
 
Many thanks to all for your ideas on this subject. It is very helpful. At the end of the day, the most important thing is for me to not to get hung up on these pesky details. I know they can sap my energy because I've let it happen all too often. Thanks again.

BTW, I probably am more inclined to go with the Hill method but I really like Kiem's book. Very classy. Can't hurt to do both.

I started with Hills the ukulele way method as we use ukulele in the classroom for my music kids, and purchased the ukulele way series for myself. Aaron keim 's fingerpicking book has probably developed my technique a little more than hill's. Aaron is a little more detailed, has a nice way of articulating key concepts, goes more in depth, and the songs are tabbed and move at a smooth sequence. The hill series is not tabbed, focuses more on music reading and literacy, is more classical in nature, and requires more musical background to get through.
 
Pulgar and Annular are Spanish words.

If you want to learn to do a Flamenco 5-note tremolo between two strings, you need to use P-I-A-M-I

It is hard to train the "Annular" (ring finger) but it is well worth it. I use both P-M-I and P-A-I for triplets between three strings.

Petey
 
"Yes" The answer to "should I learn X" is almost always "Yes"

Learn PIM. Learn PIMA. Strum with your index, your thumb, all fingers, and every technique in every book or video you ever encounter. I might be exaggerating a bit wth that "every"

The only way you'll know what's going to work for your hands on your instrument is to learn it both ways and see for yourself.

Moreover, stretching yourself to learn varied physical skills has been shown to keep your brain active. Standing on one foot makes you smarter, yes really.
 
Pulgar and Annular are Spanish words.

Yes, I learned the Spanish names too, but there is much (usually older) material that uses Latin names.

Spanish:

P = pulgar
I = indecio
M = medio
A = annular

Latin:

P = pollical
I = (I forgot this one)
M = medietas
A = annularis

The pinky is also "M" - minimus (Latin) or menique (Spanish), yet I have also seen "C" used (chico).

Ugh.
 
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