I started playing finger style twenty-five years ago, mainly Travis style. I loved that style so much that most of what I play is acoustic finger style. I wish this lesson would have existed back when I first learned. It took nearly two weeks of hammering the muscle memory into my hands to get the coordination of the picking pattern to smooth out. Once I got over that hurdle it was on to learning how to play “Freight Train”.
Discuss the Guitar lesson: Alternating Thumb Fingerstyle- Lesson #1
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I only use flesh and nail for my guitar finger picking. After extended picking sessions I find that the tips of my nails wear thin and eventually break off. It’s all a part of finger style playing. I just couldn’t ever get comfortable with picks on my fingertips even though I use them for my banjo picking.
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Fun lesson.
Ben, are you planning on doing follow-on lessons? Finally something I can do with great ease. 
All those years playing classical guitar and lute were good for something.
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Hello Dan. Ditto for me on the nail trouble. What solved my problem with my fingernails was Ping-Pong Balls. Yes, you heard right. I read that Chet Atkins used Ping-Pong balls super-glued to underneath his nails for a repair. Well lo and behold, on the internet, you can find all sorts of instruction on how to perform this job. I find it makes my nails about 300% stonger and provides an ablative surface to greatly reduce wear. I guess it’s a common technique for classical guitar players also. That said, it’s probably not for everyone 
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I have lots of knowledge of basic fingerpicking but am really enjoying this lesson. I can’t wait for the more advanced stuff. Great job!
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strong text*Thanks for this lesson I have tried before but never had the basics laid out so well. I will never be great at it but I believe I can draw some good attention to my playing if I apply myself . I will have to use the amp to get it to sound better because my hearing has about left me, I have hearing aids but it is not the same, I still hear it good enough though .
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Nice beginning. Now how about some elementary tabs for tunes expanding on what you’ve taught?
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Welcome to the forum Tommy! I believe that is the intention, but it’ll be a week or two before they start coming out
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Yep, we’ll do that for sure.
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Ben, I play some fingerstyle, but I try to Travis picking using a flat pick and my fingers (hybrid). Is there anything different or particular that I need to do vs. using my thumb or a thumb pick?
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I think that’s really cool! I’d love to hear some of your playing!
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Just started taking Banjobens guitar lessons, good stuff! I think I will need an extra 4 hours a day to cram it all in with the Banjo and my bass guitar 
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That’s a fun technique! Do you use your ring finger also or just the middle?
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I get an error message when I try to download the pdf. I tried on two different browsers, safari and firefox. Is this option not working?
AccessDenied
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hey there @blkelk31051 i just tried it and it worked fine for me. Try rebooting your browser, and also, the site really prefers Chrome so you could try that as well.
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Worked fine for me. If it persists try clearing your browser cache and rebooting your computer
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I just tried again and it’s working. Thanks!
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I normally don’t have a problem using Firefox and Safari as a second. I don’t have Chrome but it might have been a glitch as it’s working now. I don’t reboot as often as I should/could. Thanks!
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no worries, glad its working.
I’ve played casually with my thumb for years. Usually when I don’t feel like grabbing a pick.
That’s my only fingerstyle experience on a guitar. I’ve never used my fingers. That’s why I joined Banjo Ben. 
I play bass and muting has been drilled into me. A quarter note gets 1 beat. If I play the C note on the A string I automatically relax the finger so the note stops sounding. I don’t even think about muting. Its part of my left hand technique. I avoid open strings as much as possible. They require more effort to mute in very fast songs.
Do I have to unlearn this for fingerstyle guitar? Or do you still only want the note to sound based on the rhythm? Quarter note, 8th, half note etc.
I’ve put so many hours into my muting technique. What should I do for fingerstyle guitar? I’m not sure if my bass training is a help or hindrance.
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