The fifth fingerpicking pattern places the pinch on the second beat of the bar. This puts the emphasis or accent on this beat giving it quite a different feel to the previous patterns. The last note in this pattern is an optional note. There will be situations when you may feel more comfortable omitting this note, especially on certain chord changes and when you are changing to a different pattern which has a pinch on the first beat of the bar.
An alternative fingering for the F bar chord is introduced next. This alteration can be compared to the alternative fingering for the E chord shown in lesson 34. The fifth string is not picked with the right hand so it is not necessary to fret the note that is usually found on that string. Using this fingering for the F bar chord will also free up the left hand fourth finger, allowing that finger to fret other notes which can be added to the chord. This type of situation will arise later in the book.
The basic F chord used in previous exercises contained the root bass note on the fourth string. The F bar chord has a root bass note on the sixth string. This bass note is chosen as the root bass note in the following example. The fifth alternating thumb style pattern shown previously is used.