Are you just starting out on the acoustic guitar and want to get into fingerpicking? Then these 10 songs will be the perfect introduction to this beautiful art.
Every song that you learn teaches you something new, so dive in and get going!
Just follow the links to take you to the full song lesson page where you’ll find an in-depth tutorial and the link to the tabs. To get 25% off tabs then be sure to sign up for the newsletter, where you’ll also get regular new song lessons, hints, tips and tricks, and early access to sales. You can even try out our courses completely for free!
Now, let’s go through the songs!
1. Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
With just three simple chords, this timeless and somber song about heartache and love is perfect for practicing fingerpicking multiple strings simultaneously.
2. Lost (Anouk)
Songs don’t get much more straightforward than this when it comes to fingerpicking, which makes it a fantastic one to learn if you’re brand new to the skill.
3. The Wind
Another timeless classic with fast-moving chords and a beautiful melody. In The Wind, you’ll not only be fingerpicking but you’ll also be doing some fun strumming too!
4. Hey There Delilah (Plain White T’s)
This song uses just one simple picking pattern throughout and is a great one to learn if you’re just getting into learning your barre chords.
Fast Car is not just a good one for developing your picking hand skills, it’s also great for your fretting hand too as you have to make big jumps up and down the fretboard.
6. Scarborough Fair (Simon and Garfunkel)
Simon and Garfunkel’s arrangement of this ancient folk song is truly beautiful and haunting. It’s in 3/4 time and the fingerpicking pattern is a really interesting one.
7. Naked as We Came (Iron and Wine)
A beautiful little song in drop D tuning. What makes this one tricky is the alternating bass line, it’s great for starting to develop your thumb independence.
Guaranteed is essentially one fingerpicking pattern throughout over a gorgeous chord progression. The fingerpicking pattern is a very popular one and used in many songs so it really is an essential learning.
9. The Age of Worry (John Mayer)
The Age of Worry sounds pretty straightforward to play but being John Mayer it’s no walk in the park. Having said that, it’s great fun once you’ve cracked it!
A short one-minute instrumental song taken from the film Into The Wild. It uses an invaluable fingerpicking pattern over a few basic open chords. Perfect to learn if you’re not much of a singer (like me).
If you’ve enjoyed these and want 70 more songs, then why not check out my blog post on 80 Songs to Help You Learn Fingerpicking. You can also search all the free song lessons to find your favourite song!
Author: Chris Murrin
Chris Murrin is a British guitar teacher who has dedicated his adult life to helping students master the guitar. A few years ago, in 2018, he founded Six String Fingerpicking so that he could help experienced and budding guitarists the world over to realise their fingerpicking goals.