Talk:Fingerpicking

message: I've been looking into the matter, and while some people use the terms synonymously, it appears that "fingerpicking" is most often used as a subset of "fingerstyle". I quote the following from Homespun Video, the largest producer of music instruction DVDs:
"Finger style" refers to any type of music in which the strings are plucked by the fingers rather than by a pick. Classical guitarists invariably play finger style, as do many singers accompanying folk songs. (This "classical" style usually involves the thumb and three fingers --index, middle and ring). Many top players use this technique to play beautiful instrumentals in various forms. Martin Simpson's Celtic arrangements, Artie Traum's fingerstyle jazz and Keola Beamer's Hawaiian slack key guitar are some examples. 
"Fingerpicking" (also called "thumb picking" or "alternating bass") is a term that is used to describe both a style and a type of music. It falls under the "fingerstyle" heading because it is played by the fingers, but it's generally used to play a specific type of folk, country-jazz and/or blues music. In this technique, the thumb maintains a steady rhythm on the low strings while the index, or index and middle fingers pick out melody and fill-in notes on the high strings. Originally developed by African American blues guitarists throughout the south imitating the bass and treble of piano rags, it was later adapted by white musicians - most notably Ike Everly, Merle Travis and Chet Atkins - who have created a blues/jazz/country hybrid that is extremely popular. Although usually played on acoustic guitars, Travis himself often played on hollow-body electrics, as do many other players.
Other quotes:
"Fingerpicking falls under the fingerstyle category of ways to play the guitar." Richard Gillman, Fingerpicking Guitar .
"I've always called it fingerstyle. I have always seen chicken-pickin' defined as a subset of the fingerstyle technique. My classical/fingerstyle instructor from my teenage days was a master of this. He *made* me learn this style. 
Additionally, let me state these statistics:
:* I get 1,500,000 Google hits for "fingerstyle", and only 822,000 "fingerpicking".
:* There is a magazine called "Fingerstyle Guitar" [1]. There is no publication called "Fingerpicking Guitar".
:* In a search of the online archive of Acoustic Guitar magazine, the largest-circulation publication of its kind, I get 2,400 references to "fingerstyle", and 1,090 for "fingerpicking".
I agree with the general thrust of Like2Be's suggestion, that these two articles should be combined. But NOT because they are synonymous. Fingerpicking should be discussed within the greater realm of fingerstyle. --Pleather 07:53, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  The case for [[Fingerstyle guitar |fingerstyle]] as the inclusive term 

message: There's a spelling mistake I spotted where 'ther' should be 'the', Just to let you know i've changed it
--Mikeoman 23:04, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  minor edit 

message: I have put in a request for this article to be merged with fingerstyle guitar, a administrator will be coming to do this as it wouldn't let me move it.  --Mikeoman 12:59, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Request for a merger with fingerstyle guitar 

message: Ok, i've merged the two articles together, the admin guys said (and I quote!) copy and paste into the article your want to be merged into, i've emailed the guys and asked them to make fingerstyle guitar into a redirect and i'm awaiting their reply.
Now just so you all know- I've tweaked the introduction so it can refer to any instrument- however as my expertise only lies within the guitar, I won't do any other instruments the discredit by attempting to blag, I do feel however the need to ask the bassists, banjoists, violinists- if they feel they need a place within this article as was brought up previously.--Mikeoman 16:20, 24 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  The two articles are now merged