# Guitar/Picking and Plucking

There are two major methods of right hand (for right handed players)
techniques namely, either by using a pick (also called a plectrum) or
fingers. The plectrum is very common in rock, country and pop music,
where it is considered convenient for strumming and louder guitar sound.
Use of fingers is most common among classical guitarists and flamenco
players, as combination of strings better executed using the right hand
fingers, and generally have softer sound than the pick. Other than
classical guitarists and flamenco players, use of a pick or fingers is a
matter of personal preference.

## Striking

### Using a pick

The primary advantages of the pick are its speed, its ease of striking
large chords and, because the fingernails and fingertips are not
involved, its preservation of player\'s picking hand. Furthermore, use
of a pick makes a louder and brighter sound. Its primary disadvantage is
its imprecision, making muting strings necessary. Also, if the player
wishes to switch to the tapping style, he or she can tap with or with
out the pick: to tap with the pick just put it on its side and tap it on
the desired fret. However, tapping with a pick makes it harder to tap on
multiple strings.

### Finger Strumming

Players wishing not to use a pick may try finger *strumming*. This is
accomplished by holding the picking hand\'s first finger to the thumb,
much as one might hold a pick, and striking the strings with the first
fingernail. Another way is to do all down strokes with the thumb and all
upstrokes with the index finger; like one is \'petting\' the strings.

### Apoyando Strikes

Apoyando, or splinter rested, involves the finger picking through a
string such that the finger stops when resting on the next string. This
technique produces a strong, loud tone, and is considered the opposite
of Tirando.

### Tirando Strikes

When performing a tirando, or shooting splinter strike, the finger does
not affect the next string at all. This is the opposite of apoyando.

## Fingerpicking

Fingerpicking is a method of playing the guitar where you use your thumb
and at least one other finger to pick or pluck notes, using your
fingernails, fingerpicks or fingertips. Talented players can use all
five fingers on their picking hand, but many players only use four
fingers and use their pinky finger as a brace on the guitar. Most
classical guitarists alter the shape of their picking hand fingernails
for the purpose of producing a desired sound, however this is not
necessary in non-classical music; one can purchase fingerpicks to fit on
the hand.

Generally fingerpicking involves picking through
chords organized in a melody. Fingerpicking
is used extensively in folk guitar and
classical guitar, but it is also
common in other genres.

Fingerpicking is surprisingly easy on an electric guitar, which is
strange because fingerpicking is often regarded as an acoustic style.
The player may hold his or her picking hand\'s fourth finger against the
right edge (left edge on a left-handed guitar), and if it is held
straight and steady, this technique may be used to brace the hand. This
technique is called anchoring, and is frowned upon by some players. It
is possible on acoustic guitars by using the bridge similarly, but this
is not as effective as it will deaden the sound. Classical guitarists
never anchor while playing.

When strumming with individual fingers, general rule is move the wrist
only if the thumb is used, while if any other finger is used, only said
finger will be used.

When you start trying to learn, your finger coordination will be
terrible and it is easy to be discouraged. It takes several weeks to let
your muscles develop, but if you practice using all your fingers at once
your overall dexterity will increase much faster.

### Classical picking

In classical guitar repertoire, there will be a \"PIMA\" marking for the
picking hand fingers (right hand for right handed players), which
indicate which finger to use:

-   **P**ulgar, or thumb.
-   **I**ndice, or index finger.
-   **M**edio, or middle finger.
-   **A**nular, or ring finger.

These four are the ones that are used most frequently. Sometimes, the
fourth finger is used, in which it is marked either **C**, **X** or
**E**.

Typically, the thumb has a down-picking motion and the fingers have an
up-picking motion.


:   
### Clawhammer and frailing

Clawhammer, sometimes known as frailing, is a method generally used with
the five-string banjo and is characteristic of traditional Appalachian
folk music of the U.S. It is primarily a down-picking style, and the
hand assumes a claw-like shape and the strumming finger is kept fairly
stiff, striking the strings by the motion of the hand at the wrist and
elbow, rather than a flicking motion by the finger. Typically, only the
thumb and second or first finger are used and the finger always
downpicks, flicking the string with the back of the fingernail.

A common characteristic of clawhammer patterns is the thumb does not
pick on the downbeat, as one might in typical finger-picking patterns
for guitar. For example, this is a common, basic time signature\|2/4
pattern:

1.  Pick a melody note on the downbeat (quarter note)
2.  On the second beat (music)\|beat, strum a few strings with your
    strumming finger or brush with all fingers (roughly an eighth note)
3.  Immediately following (on the second half of this beat), pick a note
    with the thumb, usually the shorter fifth string. (roughly an eighth
    note)

Here, the thumb plays the high drone (fifth string) on the second
\"and\" of \"one and two *and*\". This combined with the second finger
strumming provides a characteristic \"bum-ditty bum-ditty\" sound.

Some people, however, make a distinction between frailing and
clawhammer:

-   In frailing, the first fingertip is used for up-picking melody, and
    the second fingernail is used for rhythmic downward brushing.
-   In clawhammer, only downstrokes are used, and they are typically
    played with one fingernail as is the usual technique on the banjo.

### Travis Picking

Another well known style of finger picking is called Travis picking,
named after Merle Travis who was a country singer known for his
legendary picking skills. When picking, you use your thumb and first
finger to hit notes at the same time, creating a double stop or
interval, and then
continue picking with the first finger. Usually the thumb is responsible
for picking the bass line, while the first/second finger is for melody.
Skilled players can carry two separate melodies with the upper and lower
strings.

You can create impressive rhythms playing with just your thumb and first
finger, but to really become talented you must practice using more
fingers. For example, Chet Atkins expanded to use all three fingers,
with thumb for bass line.


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### Rasgueado

The rasgueado or splinter striking technique originated from Spanish
flamenco music, and usually refers to three or four fingers and
sometimes the thumb striking the strings in quick succession. The notes
quickly follow one another and produce a \"rattling\" or cascading
effect.

### Scruggs style

Scruggs-style finger-picking is a
syncopated, five-string banjo style used in bluegrass
music. It is played with thumb, first and
second fingers; the fourth and/or third fingers are typically braced
against the head of the instrument. The strings are picked rapidly in
repetitive sequences or rolls; the same string is not typically picked
twice in succession. Melody notes are interspersed among arpeggios, and
musical phrases typically contain long series of staccato notes, often
played at very rapid tempos. The music is generally syncopated, and may
have a subtle swing or shuffle feel, especially on mid-tempo numbers.
The result is lively, rapid music, which lends itself both as an
accompaniment to other instruments and as a solo.

Scruggs style picking was popularized by Earl
Scruggs in the early 1940\'s in rural North
Carolina.

## Tapping

Tapping is a style of playing where notes
are created by quickly pressing, or tapping, the string down on the fret
that you want to play. Usually tapping involves both hands, and most
often it is on an electric guitar. It is possible to tap on an acoustic,
but you cannot hear the notes as clearly as on an electric.

