Well Benā¦Ya finally went and done itā¦ 
Ya put up enough tunes that I really like only in finger style, which I have never playedā¦so now I went and started it!!! I am about as coordinated as a cat in a sandbox with super glue on his feet!! But I went and got a course on the style and started at square one so I could play this style and itās working out pretty well. I have always enjoyed listening to this style but had no clue how it was done and have been flatpicking for so long really had never tried it.
I have been at it now about a month and only devote about an hour a day but thatās been enough to get me up to speed a little. The thumb independence and playing the melody lines at the same time is tough for me. One of the guitarists I admire most besides Chet Atkins is Muriel Anderson and she has a step by step course if anyone is interested. Not to teach tunes so much but to get the right hand up to speed and it does work, be it a bit daunting at times. 
I think after another month or so of the exercises I will start tackling some of Benās tunes. I never intended to learn this but Ben keeps putting up these great Gospel tunes I love and for solo playing the style really shines and fills in the voids so nice making the guitar sound amazing all on itās own.
The only deviation from Benās style and Murielās is I am using a thumb pick and muting as I donāt like the bare thumb feel on the strings and the pick works really well for me. Always loved the Merle and Chet walking bass lines.
Have a good one all, just thought there might be some other aspiring finger picker on here and this info might helpā¦Muriel Anderson is on you tube and does a bluegrass medley that will blow your mind, sound just like a banjo.
youtube.com/watch?v=UtetJ7EluEE Jerry
Fingur Pikin Git
Iām in a similar situation, Jerry. I came here with the intent of improving my flatpicking, but lately Iāve been lured into fingerpicking a little. Iāve been learning to use thumb and fingerpicks for a few months, but Iāve only got a handful of tunes worked up to any level of proficiency so far.
Hi Larry, the first time I finally completed the patterns with the thumb in sync and not missing a beat I was stoked!! It took me forever to get the independence in my thumb and it was VERY frustrating to say the least, the first few weeks I would actually lose my patience and need to put it down for a few hours. But slooooowly itās coming along.
Same as you I came here for flatpicking and every time Ben would put up another tune I really wanted to learn it was finger style and I was getting upset, tried converting them to picking but not much success, so I have finally come over to the Dark Sideā¦LOL 
but I must admit Ben did me a favor cause I never would have gone for it otherwiseā¦Jerry
I have been a fingerstyle guy for some time, and I really enjoy both flatpicking and fingerpicking. They are both fun and both have their strong points. I never have gotten comfy with a thumbpick, but Iāll probably spend some effort on it at some point. I love the muted bass thumbpick sound. I am just kind of ramblingā¦ what I originally wanted to post was that the big breakthrough for me in fingerpicking was getting the alternating bass thing going with the thumb. To be able to do that and keep the fingers independent opened up all sort of possibilities. You can play melodies, accompaniment, or all sorts of combinations. Itās pretty cool stuff. The best thingā¦ itās great for sitting around and playing in a quiet setting. You can fill a room with sound, but still have a conversation over it. Iāve rambled enoughā¦ welcome to the dark side!
BTW, another thing I want to work on is the way Brian Setzer, Brad Davis and others move the pick into their hand and use fingers, then flip it back out for picking. I was playing a song last week that I preferred to play some sections with a pick and other sections with fingers. I literally stick the pick in the corner of my mouth, kind of hanging out there like a cigarette hanging out of the mouth of John Travoltaās character in āGrease.ā Itās all good, except I was also singing lead on the song. No one seemed to notice except some members in the band (who thought it was rather funny).
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BTW, another thing I want to work on is the way Brian Setzer, Brad Davis and others move the pick into their hand and use fingers, then flip it back out for picking.
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I was always impressed by how Jerry Garcia could flip his pick between his index finger and the stub of his middle finger (which was missing two joints) for finger picking and then slide it back out for flatpicking without missing a beat.
I must admit I was a little confused as to why Ben was putting up so much finger style, because I was working on all the pick stuff, quite a bit of it on here now so I figured if I am going to stay with it and learn these songs no choice. But itās all good!
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Iām in a similar situation, Jerry. I came here with the intent of improving my flatpicking, but lately Iāve been lured into fingerpicking a little. Iāve been learning to use thumb and fingerpicks for a few months, but Iāve only got a handful of tunes worked up to any level of proficiency so far.
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hopefully the link will be active but I ran across this one I heard when I was but 16 an old mule skinner played that for me and I was taken with the sound but never followed finger style .this may get me going now though it seems easy enough so I may start learning this one. you have to start sommers. A guy by the name of Kirtley did the lesson . I have never heard any one refer to the bottom E as the low E I have always referred to high E and Low E but I guess he is correct in as much as pitch is concerned,
The link didnāt work for me. If the guy is Pat Kirtley, he is a stud player and I love his arrangements. Some years ago, I worked up a song of his that I really enjoyed called something like āDaisy went a dancingā.
Ben just put up a very comprehensive lesson on finger style check it out. I have been looking for the very basic thumb picking pattern and now I have it so I can learn it maybe. I am so uncoordinated . Actually I am a duef, a duef is an uncoordinated oaf and I want to learn this? LOL ??? 
I havenāt watched the lesson, but I watched the preview. It looks like a perfect arrangement to get going on Travis picking. Give it a shot, Welder. It takes a little bit to get going, then all the sudden, you can do it. Once you get the basic Travis picking thing down, you can do it without thinking about it. Itās neat stuff.
Independence day will be a big step and a welcome one and it will take practice and more practice but the benefit will out weigh the time invested . I look forward to that very much . I am about as handy as left handed Feeblefetzer in a rain storm or as popular as a many toothed Zilchtron. always remember it is supposed to be fun . LOL
I have been working on a video by Buster B Jones, basic, and it seems to be coming along. He was one of our local heroes here in the Eugene Or. area and hung out at the music store I frequent. His student who lives here is now just as good as he was, started with him when he was a little kid Brooke Robinson, check it out on U tube. His tape has gotten me into the rythmn and patterns pretty well and now the melody notes, he uses mainly first finger on melody. I also checked out Muriel Anderson but it got to involved for me, would take all my time to get proficient at the full 3 finger style on the right hand.
I still mess with this stuff a little but not on a regular basis as the flat picking takes most of my time. I find in order to stay up on it and lessons and so on I need a minimum of four hours a day and then I try for an hour a day on mandolin.
Itās a huge commitment trying to learn one style let alone two for me at least. :mrgreen: Jerry
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I still mess with this stuff a little but not on a regular basis as the flat picking takes most of my time. I find in order to stay up on it and lessons and so on I need a minimum of four hours a day and then I try for an hour a day on mandolin. Itās a huge commitmentā¦
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A huge commitment, indeed. I ran across this Chris Thile interview, conducted by David Grisman, the other day:
[ul]*DG: Do you have a practice regimen?
CT: I do, but itās less structured than it ought to be. I try and play because Iāve noticed Iām not making progress if Iām not playing. This is all general, of course, because some days youāre just traveling and you wonāt be able to play. And then some days youāll play quite literally all day long. But Iāve definitely noticed that if I donāt get three hours in, Iām not improving. I feel like if Iām not playing for two hours a day, I actually start to go backwards.*
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If Thile needs 2 hours a day just to keep up, I probably need to cut back on my sleep and pick all day and night.
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I havenāt watched the lesson, but I watched the preview. It looks like a perfect arrangement to get going on Travis picking. Give it a shot, Welder. It takes a little bit to get going, then all the sudden, you can do it. Once you get the basic Travis picking thing down, you can do it without thinking about it. Itās neat stuff.
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I can do the first part not this one but another reading the tab only it is coming but I think in a couple of months or years I might be able to finger pick. Thank you for the encouraging words it meant a lot to me at the time and still does . I am speaking of āJesus loves meā it is a wonderful tune although it may be a childās tune I still get that feeling when I hear it. We all are just children and will be till we die . Grin when you pick it makes everyone wonder what it is you are up to.
Good deal Welder! The neat think about finger picking is that it really seems to be a building block thing. Once you get one thing down, the other parts come easier.
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I still mess with this stuff a little but not on a regular basis as the flat picking takes most of my time. I find in order to stay up on it and lessons and so on I need a minimum of four hours a day and then I try for an hour a day on mandolin. Itās a huge commitmentā¦
ā End quote
A huge commitment, indeed. I ran across this Chris Thile interview, conducted by David Grisman, the other day:
[ul]*DG: Do you have a practice regimen?
CT: I do, but itās less structured than it ought to be. I try and play because Iāve noticed Iām not making progress if Iām not playing. This is all general, of course, because some days youāre just traveling and you wonāt be able to play. And then some days youāll play quite literally all day long. But Iāve definitely noticed that if I donāt get three hours in, Iām not improving. I feel like if Iām not playing for two hours a day, I actually start to go backwards.*
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If Thile needs 2 hours a day just to keep up, I probably need to cut back on my sleep and pick all day and night.
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Iāve always wondered how much he would practice on a normal basisā¦its quite a daunting prospect to consistently practice that muchā¦i have noticed in my own practice regimen that if i practice an hour i am only half warmed upā¦by two hours im pretty exhausted
Yeah, I have days where I might practice 2 or 3 hours (or even 4 or 5) but to average that much practice takes a lot of effort.
I hear you Larry, Itās become such a habit for me now itās just part of my day, if I know there will be something going on during the day I will get up early and get it in. But also I donāt play I practice, for me just working on the phrases I canāt get or lines I have trouble with or timing but no noodling. i save that for later.
Usually by noon I have my practice in then my walk every day and then the afternoon or evening I can just work on reviewing tunes and just playing. Works for me but I also donāt work so that helps. I find the early morning is my most productive. Jerry
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But also I donāt play I practice,
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The line between playing and practicing gets blurry for me sometimes, especially if Iām working on repertoire.
My first one was"Amazing grace" and the next was "Silent night, and then "Jesus loves me " And I have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time add a third element I totally wipe out . so If yours truly can learn finger style so can anyone. I donāt have them down to memory yet but I can get through them at a steady tempo reading the tab . It is a good way to make music I have yet to learn the Travis style it is totally another animal . you truly have to learn finger Independence, Just maybe if someone has some clout with Ben you might talk him in to a lesson on Travis , Atkins style picking. very basic along with practice methods and so on . Donāt yāall just love the sound these guitars make !!!I sure do. I am going to Guitar Center Friday and try out the Yamaha FG700S I am wanting to know if it sounds good and plays well , it would be a great first guitar for someone wanting to learn but does not want to invest a lot of money . it is on sale for 199.00 at musicians friend and the Center .Good luck on leaning finger style it will open up a whole new way to play < Fingerpikin git