Fingerpicking or finger-style playing is a method of playing guitar strings using your fingers as opposed to using a pick that you grip between your fingers.

The fingerpicking technique is a beautiful style of playing which opens up many sound possibilities on the guitar. This style ranges from being able to play single note melodies up to complex arrangements that can connect a melody, chords and bass notes together.

This lesson covers:

• Symbols used for fingerpicking

• How to position your hand and fingers

• How to read sheet music that uses fingerpicking

• Fingerpicking exercises to improve your technique

Let’s get started!

Comparison between fingerpicking and using a pick

Before we move on, you can compare the two most common picking methods in the images below.

If you are still trying to figure out which technique suits you best, you can also check out this post which compares using your fingers vs. using a pick. Now, let’s learn the symbols that are used for fingerpicking.

Symbols used for fingerpicking (p, i, m, a, c)

For this roadmap step, focus on recognizing p, i, m, and a. You don’t need to memorize the Spanish words but I’ll write them here for reference.

The symbols used for yours picking fingers come from Spanish words and have become a standard way to notate them in sheet music.

Here are the meaning of the abbreviations used for finger picking:

• ‘p’ is for pulgar or thumb in English.
• ‘i’ is for indice or index (pointer) finger
• ‘m’ is for medio or middle finger
• ‘a’ is for anular or ring finger
• ‘c’ is for chico or pinky (It is not often used until you get to more advanced pieces but we’ll still include it here for now)

These ‘pimac’ symbols are often used in classical music but they can also be found in modern finger style song arrangements.

Take a look at the symbols used for the picking hand in the chart below.

How to position your hand and fingers

First of all, your arm used to pick should rest comfortably on the body of the guitar as you’ll in the image below. As you do this, your hand should meet the strings diagonally. You shouldn’t need to rotate your wrist too much when playing the strings.

Technique 1: Single note picking (alternating index and middle finger)

As you can see in the images below, you will want to alternate between your index and middle finger when playing a series of notes. I recommend you keep alternating between these fingers even when you have to switch to another string.
As you pick a string, you can let it rest on the string above it until you use the next finger. I recommend resting your thumb on the 6th string as you can see in the pictures below.

Technique 2: Using all of your fingers

For this technique, your index, middle and ring finger move up towards your palm after playing the string but your thumb will move down when playing a string.

Generally I would use my thumb to play the 6th and 5th string and then use my index, middle and ring finger to play the 4th, 3rd and 2nd string or if I need to play on the higher strings, these fingers would be on the 3rd, 2nd and 1st string. These three fingers are often grouped together when playing several notes at the same time and other chord parts.

Optional notation preview: The next examples show how fingerpicking symbols appear with written music.

How to read sheet music using fingerpicking symbols

When reading sheet music, the p, i, m, a symbols will be indicated either beside or above a note when playing finger style. For example:

Fingerpicking example 1

Fingerpicking example 2

Here is another example using all of your fingers. I am holding down a C Major chord for measures 1, 2, and 4 and G chord on measure 3.

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Practice one basic fingerpicking exercise

Start with Exercise 1 and use a slow tempo. A relaxed, controlled motion matters more than speed. Once Exercise 1 feels steady, you can explore the remaining exercises when you’re ready.

If needed, here is a free metronome on our site.

Exercise 1 – Alternating between index and middle finger (2 notes per string)

This first exercise is good for learning to play single notes starting with open strings only.

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Already comfortable with the exercises? As an optional extension, learn how to Travis pick on guitar.

Wrapping up

Start with a relaxed hand and one simple alternating-finger exercise. Once that motion feels comfortable, you can use it in simple pieces and gradually work toward more advanced exercises.

Once the basic motion feels comfortable, you’re ready to apply it to a repeating pattern. If you’d like extra technique tips, these 7 ways to get better at finger picking on guitar are an optional reference.

As you become more comfortable picking with your fingers it becomes really fun to hear yourself play multiple parts of a song. Although some people feel that using a pick is easier, I think the fingerpicking style of playing is worth the learning curve in order to advance your skills and discover new musical possibilities on your instrument.

You can also check out the songs with tabs resource on this site to learn and practice songs that use fingerpicking.

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