Fingerpicking A Melody
This lesson will teach you how it is possible to combine a melody line with a bass line and fingerpicking pattern. This technique mostly involves the playing of a melody line on the treble strings. The first example is the popular song When the Saints Go Marching In. First practice the melody to this song which is played solely on the first and second strings.
Now practice the country bass line that corresponds with the chord progression.
Now try combining the melody and bass line together which requires pinching the melody and bass notes together.
The next song, Oh, Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie is an old cowboy song. First practice the melody line which begins on the second beat of the bar.
The next example combines the melody line with a country bass line that corresponds with the chord progression. There are only two chords used in this song, C and G7.
The bass line needs to be slightly altered in bars 2 and 10 to make it possible to pick the high A note (1st string, 5th fret) in the melody. In this instance the open 3rd string is substituted as a bass note. In some bars where no melody notes are played a basic fingerpicking pattern is used to fill out the sound.
Down in the Valley is a simple song in ^ time.
A standard ^ bass line can now be combined with the melody to Down in the Valley.
Amazing Grace is another song in ^ time.
The following arrangement of Amazing Grace incorporates the use of the arpeggio style as introduced in Lesson 5 . To combine a melody with an arpeggio pattern can prove to be a little difficult at first. It is necessary to avoid using the arpeggio pattern on a string that contains the melody note therefore there will be no set pattern to the hand.
