In Reference to Guitars: What is Fingerstyle?
Fingerstyle is an incredibly versatile and beautiful style to play the guitar. The technique involves guitarist plucking the guitar’s strings directly by using their fingertips, fingernails, or a guitar pick. This is different from flatpicking which means the guitarist picks the notes individually from within one plectrum. It also differs from strumming.
The beautiful thing about instruments is that in many cases there is more than one way to play it. Take pianos, for instance; you may think that the only wat to play one is to hit the keys. However, you can also strike the strings directly, you can also use something to vibrate the strings (like the bow hair form a violin). Some instruments are extremely flexible when it comes to the variety of ways they can be played. One such example is the guitar. And while in this blog we’ll only be discussing one of the many ways people have found to make a guitar sing, there still so unique and exciting ways to play a guitar.
Within the umbrella of fingerstyle, there are many different categories. Fingerstyle techniques have evolved and can be used to encompass multiple generals. When watching someone play fingerstyle, you may notice that they incorporate the use of their thumb, middle, and ring fingers to pluck the strings. The notes being plucked by the individual digits allows a guitarist utilizing fingerstyle to perform multiple music elements at once while playing. In that, respect fingerstyle can offer a clear and distinctive sound that makes each note pop out.
There are many styles to play a guitar, so listen to a few to see which ones you like. You can even learn to blend styles to create a unique style and feel to your music. As Jimmy Page once said “I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it.”