| The act of playing a guitar can be divided into three | | | | Classical fingerpicking permits a high degree of control |
| basic techniques: strumming, or brushing the fingers | | | | over the musical dynamics, texture, volume and |
| over the strings to create chords; flatpicking, or | | | | timbral characteristics of the instrument. As with the |
| picking individuals notes with a plectrum; and | | | | original technique created for ragtime, classical |
| fingerpicking, or picking the strings directly with the | | | | fingerpicking allows the musician to produce harmony |
| fingertips, fingernails or picks attached to the fingers. | | | | and polyphonic music. |
| This last technique, fingerpicking, is also referred to | | | | Jazz fingerpicking is used primarily with electric guitars, |
| as fingerstyle guitar, although this term can refer to | | | | and the technique's proponents are often known for |
| the music produced as well as the technique of | | | | their innovation and unorthodox styles. Most jazz |
| producing it. Fingerpicking is useful in that it allows the | | | | musicians who use fingerpicking play in all keys. This |
| artist to perform several musical elements | | | | forms a notable contrast to those musicians who |
| simultaneously. Techniques such as flatpicking, during | | | | play folk, classical and flamenco music, as they tend |
| which the hand works as a single unit, do not allow | | | | to favor keys that provide open strings. The electric |
| for such scope. Fingerpicking is utilized by musicians of | | | | guitar is often used as a solo jazz instrument, the |
| multiple genres and is an important element in the | | | | musician playing a series of chords on the bottom |
| music of each. | | | | strings and the melody line on the top. |
| The technique of fingerpicking originated in the late | | | | Traditional Celtic music does not make much, if any, |
| 1800s and early 1900s in the genre of blues music. | | | | use of the guitar. However, when the music of |
| Musicians of this genre were trying to imitate the | | | | Ireland experienced its revival in the middle of the |
| sounds of ragtime piano music. The result was a | | | | 20th century, guitar accompaniments to traditional |
| method in which the thumb plucked a steady rhythm | | | | folk songs were often devised. These |
| of bass while the index and middle fingers picked out | | | | accompaniments used a fingerpicking style that |
| a melody on the high strings. This technique is still | | | | allowed for solo guitar versions of music originally |
| used today, most commonly in folk, country-jazz and | | | | intended for bagpipes or harps. |
| blues music. As time has gone by, fingerpicking has | | | | Slack-key guitar fingerpicking originated in Hawaii. This |
| been adapted to suite many different styles of | | | | technique is nearly always used on instruments with |
| music, including classical guitar, jazz guitar, Celtic guitar | | | | open or altered tunings. The basic theory of |
| and Hawaiian slack-key guitar. | | | | slack-key is like that of the original ragtime style: the |
| The classical guitar is probably the most commonly | | | | thumb is used to create an alternating bass pattern |
| played style of guitar. It is capable of producing a | | | | while the fingers play the melody on the higher |
| wide variety of music, and the classical fingerpicking | | | | strings. The main difference with slack-key is in the |
| technique has evolved to accommodate that variety. | | | | music, which is rooted in traditional Hawaiian tunes. |