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Songwriting with Your Guitar Series: A Fresh Look at
Guitar
May 2002 - Right Hand Fingerstyle
Let me first apologize to any lefties out there. As I write this I realize it's very 'one-sided'.
Ask any fingerstyle guitarist what one element is fundamental to the style and they'll all
say it's the right hand. I've heard many pros say "The right hand is IT!... and it is. Right hand
abilities are the 'finger' in fingerstyle. So if you want to improve in that genre you have
to spend some time developing the right hand so that it can do whatever is asked of it by
a piece of music.
So how do we improve our right hand? The obvious answer is to challenge it to play
things it hasn't before. A good way to start is with a few exercises to build the muscles
you may not be using at present. These 3 exercises are played in open G tuning so you
will not be playing any left hand notes at all. This will allow you to focus completely on
the right hand. You can even do these in front of the evening sitcoms! Open G is from
low to high D-G-D-G-B-D.
Example 1
- Example 2
- Example 3
As you get these exercises under your fingers, begin to vary the way you play them. Alternate
between fast and slow and soft and loud. It is actually physically demanding to play very
softly with the right hand, so work on that as well. Dynamics combined with a flexible right
hand will give you an unbelievable palette to work with.
Improving your right hand do many things for your playing and your music. It can break
the monotony of using similar patterns for all your songs. Something that's really tiring on
an audience. You can begin to get out of patterns, finding instead multiple lines of bass
and melody that aren't necessarily a set pattern. The concept of a piano comes to mind
with the thumb being a piano players left hand playing bass lines and your other fingers
being the piano players right hand playing the melody and chords.
Improving your right hand technique also has a wonderful side effect for anyone who writes music.
You'll find yourself frequently inspired by a picking pattern you stumble on or perhaps you'll
finally be able to make a piece sound the way you hear it in your head, because you can
physically find it now. So give the right hand the time it deserves in your practice and you'll
reap many rewards!
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