What is fingerpicking?

Summary

Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson in which students will four easy fingerpicking patterns on the guitar and practice them in a popular song.

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI
• Guitars

Introduction to the song

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Get familiar with the song which will be used to practice fingerpicking

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Project the song onto a screen. Click on 'Guitar' under 'Tools' - 'Visuals' so that the guitar chord diagrams are visible.
• Listen to the verse of the song.
• Shortly discuss the song section you just heard.

How would you describe the mood of this song?

What chords did you notice in this section?

Can you play them on the guitar?

Chord recap - play the D chord

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the D chord on the guitar

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'D' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the D chord is visible.
• Tell your students to play the D chord on their ukuleles with their left hand. To play that chord, students should place the 2nd finger on the 1st string, 2nd fret. Then add the 3rd finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret. Lastly, add the 1st finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret. Strum only four strings downwards, starting with the third thickest string.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!
• Play the verse or the chorus of the song and listen to it with your students.
• Tell the students that they will now have to try to play the D chord in this song.
• The rules are simple - as soon as the D chord passes the red line - play it! Other chords should be omitted now.
• Press play and let them practice the chord and get familiar with it! You can also press the loop button in the controls so that the intro section would repeat multiple times.

Play the G chord

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the G chord on the guitar

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'G' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the G chord is visible.
• To play the G chord, students should place the 3rd finger on the 1st string, 3rd fret. Then add the 1st finger on the 5th string, 2nd fret. Lastly - add the second finger on the 6th string, 3rd fret. Then strum all six strings downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!

Combine D & G chord

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the D & G chord on the guitar

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Tell students that they will have to play the D and G chords in this song.
• Look at the song and play D and G chords when they pass the red line
• Leave out the Em chord for now.
• Slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button. You can press it up to 4 times to choose the preferred speed.
• Play the verse or the chorus of the song and let them practice the chords and get familiar with it! You can also press the loop button in the controls so that the section would repeat multiple times:
• When students are comfortable with the speed, repeat the exercise at a faster speed until the original speed of the song is reached.

Last chord - Em

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the Em chord on the guitar

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'Em' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the Em chord is visible.
• Tell your students to play the Em chord on their guitar with their left hand. To play that chord, students should place their 3rd finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret. Then add the 2nd finger on the 5th string, same fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!

Switch chords

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice playing chords in a song
• Improve ensemble playing skills

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Divide the class into three groups. Assign one chord to each group. Students will have to play only their assigned chord when its symbol appears at the red line on the screen.
• Press “Play” and invite students to play along.
• After a while, assign a different chord to each group and play it again.
• You can loop a selected part of the song by pressing the “Loop” button on the right side of the “Play” button. This is optional - in the suggested songs, the same chord combination is repeated over and over throughout the whole song.

Fingerpicking

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Understand what fingerpicking is and how it's used in popular songs

🎲 Activity:

• Explain that there are two main ways to play guitar chords: strumming and fingerpicking.

When strumming, the strings are brushed quickly to make them sound almost at the same time.

When fingerpicking, each string is plucked with a different finger one after the other.

• Demonstrate both ways of playing and ask students:

How would you describe them?

Which musical styles are they most suitable for?

Patterns

🕐 Time: 15 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice four fingerpicking patterns on open strings

🎶 Recommended Songs:

🎲 Activity:

• Distribute guitars to students.
• Explain that they will have to play the 5th or 6th string with their right thumb, the 3rd string with index finger, the 2nd string with middle finger and the 1st string with ring finger at all times.
• The thumb plucks the string in a downward motion while the index and middle fingers pluck the string upwards.
• Demonstrate the first fingerpicking pattern on open strings and invite the students to try it on their guitars!

• In the Solfeg.io web player, mute all the tracks except the rhythm section. You can do it under the “Controls” - “Volume” menu.
• Play the fingerpicking pattern on open strings along to the rhythm tracks! If needed, you can slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button.
• Repeat the exercise with the second pattern - this time you'll have to play another bass note with your right thumb.

• Try out the third and the fourth pattern.

Playing the chorus

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Play chords using a fingerpicking pattern in a popular song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

🎲 Activity:

• Unmute all the tracks and listen to the verse.
• Learn or recap the chords using the chord diagrams at the bottom of the screen.
• Discuss with the class which pattern would be the most suitable for this song.
• Slow the song down and invite the class to fingerpick the chords in the chosen pattern.
• When students are comfortable, speed the song up and repeat the verse.

Reflection

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Reflect on the concepts learned in the lesson

🎲 Activity:

Ask these questions to the class and have a short discussion

• What was the most challenging/fun part of the lesson?
• Which fingerpicking pattern did you like the most?
• What other songs could be played using this pattern?

Homework assignment

🕐 Time: 3 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice fingerpicking patterns on the guitar

🎲 Activity:

Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by…

• Playing the whole song with a chosen fingerpicking pattern.