fingerstyle question / poll

[Vuashke]

hi guys, easy question here and im very interested in other peoples opinions and experiences

my question is: how many of you play fingerstyle guitar with all of your fingers, and how many play with only 4?

personally i use all 5 because i think its more flexible and easier. with 5 you have an extra finger to play the melody on the higher strings and still pick out a seventh chord (with the root attatched), and also its easier for my thumb as he only has to take 2 strings, the e and a. i guess also because the first chord-melody and fingerstyle player i really heard and started learning lessons from was jody fisher, who uses 5.

many prominent musicians use only 4 however, and i think 4 is much more common. examples of 4 include mikael akerfeldt and paco de lucia, and i think back in renaissance times the pinky didnt pick at all but was used as an anchor of sorts). as i said jody fisher uses 5, but also does pino forastieri, an artist that unfortunately ive only heard of recently, who is also fantastic.

i think that with practise the pinky can be almost as good as the middle fingers and it seems some what wasteful to not use it, in the same way that i think its odd that people leave out their pinky when fretting and only use 3 fingers. i get sad whenever i see clapton do this.

but then again i dont claim that 5 fingers is better, only that its better for me and i like it more. please share your opinions and experiences

 

[dwoakee]

i think i use 5 fingers. i voted for 5 and this was what i immediately thought when i read the question. but when I read your post it sounds more like few people use all five fingers, so now i'm not sure anymore if i really use the pinky. ... i think i use it, but not often. i'm definitely not trained in a special "5-finger-style" kind of way.

 

[Lenni]

5, but I really suck at fingerplaying.

 

[Vuashke]

my pinky only ever plays the high E and sometimes the B, depending on the makeup of the chord. i dont use a fancy thumb pick like don ross so i get a muted, more bassy sound when i use my thumb, which i like on the E and the A but i dont want the D string to be like that, so i use my index finger on him.

its just a little bit easier because i can play chords on the EADGB and use the B and the E for a nice little melody. i dont know it sounds nice, and kind of like two guitarists are playing.

 

[fsgdjv]

4. I haven't found a reason to use 5, but if I ever do, I'll start using 5.

 

[Vuashke]

what if you are playing an arpeggio that is 6 strings, do you just sweep down with ur thumb for 3 strings? it seems hard to me

 

[fsgdjv]

Well that's easier than using the pinky for me, I don't know, maybe it's a bad habit, but that's how I do it.

 

[Crepuscularia]

I play classical guitar and I use 4. When I'm doing five string arpeggios I usually either double the thumb for the two lowest notes or my middle finger for the highest notes. This is easier than trying to reach with the pinky IMO. Six string arps are more challenging... one way I've seen them fingered is to play thumb-index-middle-ring-middle-ring and then sweep the ring finger back down to complete the arp, which is a pretty challenging manuever!

That being said, back in the 'ancient' times guitarists only used three fingers to play; ignoring the ring and pinky fingers, and the ring finger only gradually found its way into the technique. Who knows, maybe years from now five fingers will be the standard way to play, but for now, and for classical playing at least, most people use four.

 

[el_serpiente]

I'm classically trained hence use 4 fingers.

 

[soundave]

Was taught to use 4. That's what I do.

If I'm faking flamenco, I might use all 5, though.

 

[Koi]

i would pic the third choise if it didn't include the fingerpicking hating ... nah kidding!
but i don't get it, it depends on what you're playing right?
besides, mike DOES use 5 fingers when he plays songs like hope leaves.

 

[soundave]

Actually, I use 8 fingers, come to think of it.

 

[Crepuscularia]

Actually, I use 8 fingers, come to think of it.

chords other than open E are vastly overrated.

 

[soundave]

 

[Lightbulb Sun]

5, but very rarely.

 

[Sisyphus's Struggle]

4 commonly, but i use my 5 fingers too. Even my penis and my nose, but not at the same time...

 

[BefriendedUnit]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaCErlW-3p8&feature=related[/ame]

He uses eight

1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts 1k posts

 

[Braighs]

My pinky is kind of useless.

 

[Carta's]

I play classical guitar and I use 4. When I'm doing five string arpeggios I usually either double the thumb for the two lowest notes or my middle finger for the highest notes. This is easier than trying to reach with the pinky IMO. Six string arps are more challenging... one way I've seen them fingered is to play thumb-index-middle-ring-middle-ring and then sweep the ring finger back down to complete the arp, which is a pretty challenging manuever!

I used to play classical too, and with 6 strings arpeggios I usually do thumb-thumb-index-middle-ring-middle-index. It doesn't trouble me in the slightes, but I guess beacuse I started at 8 years old, so it's kinda dug in me. I never use my pinky anyway, and also on the D string I usually use the thumb unless it's a six string arpeggio.

 

[Vuashke]

i would pic the third choise if it didn't include the fingerpicking hating ... nah kidding!
but i don't get it, it depends on what you're playing right?
besides, mike DOES use 5 fingers when he plays songs like hope leaves.

most people i know from school either use 4 or 5