To Pick or To Pluck?

   To pick or to pluck?   That is the question.  There doesn't have to be just one answer to this question.   Many guitarists use both flatpicking (playing with a pick) and fingerstyle (plucking with fingers) techniques.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both styles.   We will take some time to explore these styles, and then you decide which method you like best, or if you would like to experiment with both of them.
  
   Most beginning guitarists start with a pick in their hand. Guitar players usually start by learning a few chords and by strumming the guitar.  It is typically thought to be easier to strum a guitar by using a pick.  New players find more control in using a pick, because their fingers are not yet flexible or disciplined enough, and they are having enough trouble just learning chords and fretting the guitar.   So they usually settle in with a simple, comfortable strumming pattern.

   There's nothing wrong with that.  It's better to start simple, and learn the basics of playing guitar first, than to jump in the "deep water" and try to learn everything, and end up frustrated and ready to quit.   Guitar students that adopt this approach will find that the tortoise often wins the race, as many of their peers will be left on the sidelines, because they attempted to learn too much, too quickly.

   But as time goes on, players begin to see that their use of a guitar pick does have its limitations.  As you can see from the picture, it takes the thumb and at least one finger to hold the pick, and the other two or three fingers are just "along for the ride."  Some talented guitarists (such as Chet Atkins) were able to incorporate a style of picking and plucking at the same time.  This, however, is not an easy thing to accomplish, especially for the beginner.

   The guitar has six strings, and one soon finds that it is difficult to play more than one string at a time, except when strumming, or playing adjacent strings.  But when using one's fingers to pluck the guitar strings, it is possible to play a combination of strings, or notes, at one time.  It also allows the flexibility of playing any combination of strings, whether they are adjacent to one another or not.

   As you drop the pick, and settle into learning to play fingerstyle, you will find that many new possibilities open up for yourself as a guitar player.   First of all, instead of playing one note or two adjacent notes, you are able to play several notes using different fingers.  You can play up to three or four strings, and more, and achieve different techniques other than strumming chords.

   One distinction of fingerstyle guitar technique is allowing the player to more easily incorporate a melody into the structure of playing chords.  This translates into being able to provide the background of a strum or bass notes, while also playing a song's melody. This allows the guitarist to be his own "one-man-band" instead of relying on other musicians or guitar players to carry a tune.  This does not in any way discount the importance of utilizing a group, but instead allows flexibility and creativity whenever you may be playing on your own.

Noodling on the Guitar

   Fingerstyle playing may also unleash your creativity in adapting a popular song to your own unique arrangement, or even in helping you to blossom into a songwriter with your own tunes.   Guitarists often enjoy "noodling", or playing around on the guitar, and this spontaneous technique is easier to use in exploring new chords or melodies when you are playing in a fingerstyle mode.

   We will continue to explore the possibilities and depth of Fingerstyle Guitar.  Read the series (a work-in-progress) of posts on "Fingerstyle Guitar" and enjoy exploring this new and exciting world of guitar playing with me.