Scale exercises specifically for fingerpicking

I may be unorthodox, but I don't really think of practicing scales to fingerpicking work. I focus more on fingering patterns like PIMA, PAMI, PIMAMI and so on.

I do want to develop my lead line playing without a pick tho, so I also practice scales. But I play these the same as regular scales most guitarists use a pick for, only I use my thumb instead.

P=thumb
I=index
M=middle
A=ring finger

You might want to check out any number of books that have classical guitar exercises and studies. All of classical guitar is finger picking and much of the material from the early masters of guitar (Sor, Sanz, Carcassi, Giuliani, etc) is still used today to teach how to incoporate scales, melody lines and chord shapes into all sorts of finger picking styles.

The one possible drawback is that much of this material is still in standard notation. But there are more and more books coming out in tablature so hunt around a bit and you're bound to find something right at your level.

As a bonus, many of the studies of the old masters sound incredibly beautiful and can be used as short songs in one's repertoire.

Hope this helps and I'm more than happy to recommend specific books if you'd like.

Peace

Thanks for the advice! When I saw that David responded, I expected him to point out a lesson that he already wrote about this topic. Everything I have asked so far he has answered in his great tutorials!

I have a ton of printed and online resources for fingerpicking patterns, and incorporate pattern picking in pretty much ever practice session.

I am running into problems fingerpicking songs that do not have a repeating pattern... one of my favorite is Here Comes The Sun. I have two good versions of the song ... one from Juwmanji's site ( http://jaw.iinet.net.au/stuff/tab.html ) and another from Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method. I can manage to play every note, but I have a very hard time maintaining a smooth rhythm... I am hoping that getting my fingers (left and right) going on some scale practice might help with the timing.

So that is what I am looking for... I guess it *could* be called "lead fingerpicking" rather than "Rhythm fingerpicking".

Any other (easy) song suggestions definitely appreciated.

I am very slowly in the process of learning notation... hopefully someday I will be able to play from all the old classical textbooks and songbooks that I have picked up at yard sales and 2nd hand stores over the years. I have an Enya songbook that is totally in notation... since I love Enya... I hope to eventually play from that book (although, nothing is stopping me from grabbing the tabs now).

PS: If you are into fingerpicking and haven't seen Jawmunji's great site of tabs and videos... you should check out the link above. There are a heck of a lot of professional fingerpickers that are much more skilled that him... but for me, as an amateur, he is one of my biggest muses and a fantastic player. I strive to be as good as him one day.

Just kind of an FYI with JAW's stuff, alot of it's pretty advanced, so if you are just starting out, then I really suggest finding an easier variation of his songs so you don't get discouraged. Maybe purchase one of the Hal Leonard Fingerpicking Pop songs, or something. I have a couple of them and the arragements are intermediate range, but not so tough that I don't scratch my head and go "HUH?"

. . . many of the studies of the old masters sound incredibly beautiful and can be used as short songs in one's repertoire.
Hope this helps and I'm more than happy to recommend specific books if you'd like.
David, I'll take you up on that offer . . . if you don't mind.
I'd be interested in your recommendations.
Definitely has to have tabs though . . . and at a "not too difficult" level.
I'm currently working on a simplified version of Canon in D and enjoy playing the arpeggios.
That's the kind of thing I would enjoy playing.
Thanks

Ken,

Based on what I've heard (and seen) you play, you might feel comfortable starting with Book 1 of "39 Progressive Solos for Classical Guitar" arranged by Ben Bolt. It's published by Cherry Lane Music and distributed by Hal Leonard.

Even though this may look complicated at first glance, the pieces will range start with exercises you should be able to handle comfortably and then progress to more challenging ones by end of the first third to half of the book.

It's got both tablature and notation and also comes with a CD so you can hear the pieces.

Down side - no text at all so you're on your own with helpful tips and instruction. The best way to help yourself through the first part of the book (actually the whole thing) is to think about what you're doing. Most people read tablature very linearly, going from one number to the next without realizing that reading the tablature more in groups will show that there's usually a chord shape involved to play particular passages. When you get started reading tablature more as phrases than numbers, it makes a lot more sense and your fingers start to recognize the shapes as soon as your eyes do (I'm hoping to write a few articles for Guitar Noise about this topic once things settle down a bit).

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Peace

Thanks, DH
I found it on Amazon.com . . . at a discount . . . and sent for it.