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Question regarding three-finger picking

Metaldood19

Metaldood19

Apr 9, 2011
250
5
#1
I've taken up three-finger picking recently as it will allow me to pick faster, more technical lines easier, however I wanted to check something before proceeding with my practicing

I've watched a few videos instructing picking with three fingers and all have stated the the best way to pick is R, M, I in that order. Is this how the majority of you three finger pickers out there pick? I've noticed that when I run say a Major C down my neck fretting C to D to E and picking ring to middle to index seems almost backwards. I definitely remember starting picking with two fingers felt awkward as hell, not sure if I just need to get used to it or what. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks guys :)
 
#2
What worked for me was the way Billy Sheehan described it.

When playing in 4's, it would be: RMIR, MIRM, IRMI and so on.

Once I became comfortable with that, I noticed it became second nature, and now I tend to naturally go with whatever finger pattern works for each situation. Sometimes I play strictly RMI, other times its MIM, or even IRI. Try to become comfortable in any direction, any combination.
 
#7
Rip Topaz said:
What worked for me was the way Billy Sheehan described it.

When playing in 4's, it would be: RMIR, MIRM, IRMI and so on.

Once I became comfortable with that, I noticed it became second nature, and now I tend to naturally go with whatever finger pattern works for each situation. Sometimes I play strictly RMI, other times its MIM, or even IRI. Try to become comfortable in any direction, any combination.
Click to expand...

^
This.

When you drum your fingers on the table, most people (in my observation) drum R,M,I. Once I tried Billy's approach it felt natural and became my preferred method.
 
#8
There's a Percy Jones instructional video on Youtube somewhere on which he describes his three-finger patterns and it's pretty eye-opening. He bases the pattern on making all of the jumps to the next string with the middle finger, so it changes, depending upon the line you're playing.

Very counter-intuitive at first, but I've been messing with it a little bit to see if I can add it to the RMI pattern that I use sometimes.
 
#9
Three fingers doesn't necessarily translate to faster

As to whether one technique is faster than another depends on the persons development with the technique

Example: one finger using up or down can play 16 ths really fast but the challenge is getting good execution with the downstroke including consistency in tone
 

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