All About Fingerstyle Guitars

Fingerstyle has recently been gaining immense popularity among both experienced guitarists and beginners who are not afraid of the difficulties encountered on the way of their training, because this technique is not easy. Having learned the finger style, you can fully reveal the full potential of your guitar playing, accurately convey the emotions of a particular song or melody. But not every guitar is suitable for such a technique, so its choice should be taken seriously.

To begin with, we will reveal the concept of this type of game. Fingerstyle is a playing technique where the fingers play the main role, often an acoustic guitar is used for it. While playing, one guitarist leads the solo, rhythm and bass parts at once.

The thumb is responsible for the bass (the guitar can be chosen for both right-handed and left-handed people). It plays 6, 5 and 4 low strings. The index finger, ring finger, middle finger and little finger do not play bass. Strings 1, 2 and 3 are high strings played with the index, middle and ring fingers. The sound is extracted with nails. The brightest sound can be achieved using a special finger pick, visually resembling a claw.

When choosing an acoustic guitar, you should pay attention to the body, its shape and size. Let's highlight the three most popular body types, namely: dreadnought, folk and grandauditorium.

One of the most popular guitars, as it is in great demand among beginners who are just planning to start and have not yet decided what exactly they will play. But the very large dimensions of this form are sometimes not entirely convenient in practice. Also, the abundant presence of bass ultimately causes the change of this guitar to another more comfortable model.

Folk has less bass and better reproduction of different notes than the dreadnought. The dimensions are also different from the previous guitar, they are several times smaller, so the playing and transportation become more convenient. The sound is a little quiet, so it does not go well with loud singing, but it is great for the fingerstyle technique.

It has a similar folk figure, but differs in more massive dimensions of the back of the body. The bass is regulated. The volume produced by the guitar is suitable for both fingerstyle and singing. What makes this option the most beneficial.

Having chosen the most suitable shape, it is worth deciding with the guitar manufacturer. Countries of production have a very high rating of firms, such as:

• Russia - Amistar and Gmd;
• China - Ibanez, Walden, Fender;
• Canada - Godin;
• Czech Republic - Strunal.

For the greatest convenience, people with extensive experience in playing the guitar, as well as owners of thumbs, are advised to choose guitars with a wide neck, ranging in size from 45 to 48 mm. For beginner guitarists, 43-45 mm will be enough.

Acoustic guitar strings should be 12-54 gauge. For finger style, they need to be lowered lower than required for combat. The strings are lowered relative to the 12th row. 6 strings - 2 mm and the first - 1.5 mm. This is what the standard string tuning looks like.

The preparatory stage is tuning the musical tuning of the guitar to the Open D Minor - this is the most optimal tuning, in the opinion of professionals. If you are already an experienced guitarist, tuning can be done by ear; for beginners, there are all sorts of tuners that can be purchased at specialized stores. There is also an option to simply download the tuner to your phone.

Finger style training begins with the analysis of basic techniques, namely the rhythm, which includes kick (muffled low sound produced by a blow of the wrist) and snare (sonorous, whip-like sound obtained by striking the body with fingers). It is recommended to practice using the metronome or by counting the rhythm out loud to accurately determine the measure.

After learning the basic techniques, you can move on, delving into the alternation of various techniques, change their speed and sequence, and also start trying to extract the Hi-hat, a technique in which, with a short stroke, the strings are pressed against the neck, thereby muffling. So two hands are gradually entering the work.

It will not be easy for beginner guitarists at the beginning of their training, training will take a long time, but frequent practice and investment of all your efforts and desires will eventually bear fruit, the main thing is not to give up in any way.

Which guitar to choose for fingerstyle, see the video below.