Fingerpicking a tenor guitar

[West]

I know some of you fingerpick on your tenor guitars. There are 4 strings and 5 fingers -- does one finger get left out, and if so, which one?

[MikeEdgerton]

I fingerpick my six-string guitar. I don't add a finger. I use my thumb, index finger and middle finger. I'd do the same on a tenor.

[mrmando]

Yeah, I use thumb, index, middle when I fingerpick my tenor. That's more than enough.

[EdSherry]

Fingerpickers rarely use the pinky -- it's too short and generally too weak to be of much use, even on 6-string guitars. For a tenor, Thumb-Index-Middle-Ring or (as others have said) TIM will work.

[Jacob]

I use thumb index middle ring for 6 & 12 string guitar but thumb index middle seems to work better for tenor guitar and banjo, octave mandola/bouzouki, mandola and 5 string banjo.

[Dolamon]

On the rare occasions I do finger pick, for a four course instrument like a tenor guitar, I use a flat pick and my middle OR ring finger. I do this to add a harmony note which is more than one string away from the melody note ie (on a CGDa instrument), playing the G and a string or the C and D string.If I do it correctly, you can detect the note but not really identify how an interval of two notes is being added to the sound. #

On one of my lighter playing and delicate instruments (1920's Regal)I got in the habit of playing rhythm with a pick but on the down stroke will often pre strum with the nail of my ring finger. This seems to fill in the sound of a thinner, older instrument.

[Charles E.]

I like to tune the C string up to a D and use TMI fingers. Having the open D under the thumb is handy for all kinds of stuff.

Charley

[kww]

I fingerpick on both my tricordia and my new tenor: thumb, index, middle, ring. One trick: artificial nails. Keep them short, and no one will know. You can get a nice bright tone with them when you need it, and it lets you get a nice flamenco-style strum when you want a chord to be emphasized.

[Bernie Daniel]

I have been experimenting with finger picking the tenor banjo and intend to do the same when I get my new tenor guitar (any day now).

Do any of you have any instructional materials/CD/DVD/or web site on this topic that you care to recommend?

[mandolooter]

There used to be a webpage up by a Chech fellow showing how to fingerpick a tenor banjo using a open tuning, he also had some instructional material available. Let me look around some and see If I can re-find it. A string of computer crashes have left me almost linkless.

[mandolooter]

found it...http://www.geocities.com/patekstylebanjo/

[Bernie Daniel]

Patek - as I recall now I did encounter his site once. #I rememebered the part what he mentioned that this was his own invented style -- and since I'd never heard of it I assumed it had not taken off -- so to speak. #

But maybe it bears a closer look.

He is indeed all about open tunings. #I guess the CGcg approach is puts less stress on the instrument than DAda? #Its proably less handy though because so many tunes are in D?

[MirekPatekdotcom]

found it...http://www.geocities.com/patekstylebanjo/This address does not work anymore.
Now I am at
http://www.mirekpatek.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/mirekpatek

Mirek