Fingerstyle Guitar definition, background history etc.

[Hendra]

Hi all,

I am trying to help a friend to start a fingerstyle sub-forum in our local forum. I am looking for good definition of fingerstyle guitar as well as the history and where the genre derived from.

Anyone have input on this or know a link to a good source over the web. I have seen the one on Wiki but I think I might be able to get more inputs elsewhere.

Thanks for any help.

[gordee]

http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/index.html

[RussMason]

I didn't see the link above - too easy to see what someone else wrote!

The first guitars had gut strings and were classical style guitars. That is, smaller body, no pick-guard and were either strummed or plucked. The strumming was to accompany a vocal, but pieces for classical guitar go back to the time of Vivaldi and probably before that.

Of course lutes were always played finger-style, but they obviously were not guitars.

I don't know when steel strings appeared on guitars, but it's likely that some of the older classical musicians began to play fingerstyle on the steel string instruments. Brighter tone, cleaner sound.

[mannixgb]

Obviously classical is the main root, but when it comes to steel string I think you owe a lot to celtic styles and blues styles.

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by Hendra

I am looking for good definition of fingerstyle guitar as well as the history and where the genre derived from.

Well, I can offer no help with this request. However, I would like to offer the observation that I think the term "fingerstyle" has two distinct meanings. One of the articles cited above does mention this, but, I would like to drill down on it a bit.

First, Fingerstyle music. This is purely instrumental music that is played with the fingers and nails exclusively rather than with a pick. These can be popular songs that are arranged to take advantage of the, if you will, multi-pick attack that can combine melody lines with bass lines. Tommy E probably empitomizes this in his Lady Maddona tune. Or, it can be pieces composed that could only be played with the multi-pick attack.

Second, finger picking. This is simply using finger and nails in the multi-pick attack rather than a single pick when playing pieces to accompany singing. This gets overlooked. I personally play 95% finger pick not just when playing a pure instrumental piece, but when I sing as well. So, I describe myself as a finger picker.

I play solo. And, fingerpicking allows me to play my own bass lines and everything else. I once heard Bruce Sexauer say in a forum response about jamming that the fingerpickers don't need anyone else to play along with. This has become my music.

So, to me, the critical distinction of fingerpicking as opposed to using a pick is that fingerpickers create all the parts themselves. They become self sufficient either playing instrumentally or singing and playing.

Just needed to get that off my chest. Sorry.
Steve

[Wisp]

Using your fingers to pluck the strings instead of a plectrum would be the simplest definition.

From there it gets into styles and genres that use the fingerpicking method, which can be every single genre.

Wikipedia has a good history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerstyle_guitar

[billgennaro]

i have no basis for what i believe to be the definition of "fingerstyle", but, to me it represents musicians who play solo on a steel string guitar with no voice or other instrumental accompaniment, and strive for nuance, dynamic range, richness of tone, etc.

very similar to the classical genre in this way.

just one man's opinion.

bill

[Cypress Knee]

I tend to think of fingerpicking as using the thumb in some type of bass pattern and using the other fingers - one, two, three or even four - to fill in with arpeggios and some melody. Let's say John Denver, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, those types.

I think of fingerstyle as much more complex with the thumb playing bass and counterpoints and the fingers filling in with melody, arpeggios, fills, runs, and rhythms. Tommy Emmanuel, Pete Huttlinger, various classical players spring to mind.

Just my .02

[RP]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

Well, I can offer no help with this request. However, I would like to offer the observation that I think the term "fingerstyle" has two distinct meanings. One of the articles cited above does mention this, but, I would like to drill down on it a bit.

First, Fingerstyle music. This is purely instrumental music that is played with the fingers and nails exclusively rather than with a pick. These can be popular songs that are arranged to take advantage of the, if you will, multi-pick attack that can combine melody lines with bass lines. Tommy E probably empitomizes this in his Lady Maddona tune. Or, it can be pieces composed that could only be played with the multi-pick attack.

Second, finger picking. This is simply using finger and nails in the multi-pick attack rather than a single pick when playing pieces to accompany singing. This gets overlooked. I personally play 95% finger pick not just when playing a pure instrumental piece, but when I sing as well. So, I describe myself as a finger picker.

I play solo. And, fingerpicking allows me to play my own bass lines and everything else. I once heard Bruce Sexauer say in a forum response about jamming that the fingerpickers don't need anyone else to play along with. This has become my music.

So, to me, the critical distinction of fingerpicking as opposed to using a pick is that fingerpickers create all the parts themselves. They become self sufficient either playing instrumentally or singing and playing.

Just needed to get that off my chest. Sorry.
Steve

You learn something new every day. I thought the two terms were fairly synonymous. Fortunately, it won't make me a better or worse player to be able to accurately identify what I've been doing with my thumb and fingers for the past several decades...

[Hendra]

Great feedback so far.

Thanks everybody for taking times putting some comments/links here. Really appreciate it.

[charlie45]

The steelstring guitar was invented by Martin. In Germany he used to make lutes, he went to America to have the opportunity to make guitars, with steelstrings. He wasn't alowed to do that in Europe because of the economic system ( the gildes) at that time: you were either Lute-maker (with steel strings) or guitarmaker (with gutstrings).