Welcome to Dansm's Fingerpicking Lessons! My name is Dan Smith, I'm a first-year grad student at Harvard, and I've been playing guitar for 5 years now. This page has been up for over 6 months now but I decided to rearrange it a bit. I hope you like the new look! These lessons are designed to teach beginning guitarists how to fingerpick. All you need is a guitar, a knowledge of basic chords, and a desire to learn fingerpicking. Just make sure you go through each lesson in order and take your time--the longer it takes the better you will become. If you find the information on these pages useful, or if you have any questions, please e-mail me. Enjoy the lessons!
Introduction to These Lessons
helpful hints and important information
to know before you begin
Losing the Pick
the first thing to learn is
how to strum without a pick
Getting Your Fingers In On The Action
learn how to use your fingers to pick
Your First Picking Pattern
here you will start fingerpicking
More Complex Picking Patterns
begin changing chords
Changing Strings While Picking
moving your fingers around
to vary your sound
Two- and Three-Note Chords
a variation on the fingerpicking that you have learned
so far, used by most performers
Fingerpicking Songs
a collection of songs using fingerpicking
by a wide variety of artists; use these to hone your skills
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© 1997 Daniel E. Smith. Last updated 10-16-97.