Fingerpicking is a style of guitar playing that uses your thumb in combination with your fingers to pluck the strings of your guitar. The basic concept of this style of playing is to use your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fingers to pluck the G, B, and high E strings respectively and your thumb to pluck the low E, A, and D strings. This method opens up a whole new world of possibilities on the guitar. Apart from the distinct warm sound that fingerpicking provides, it also allows you to play much more complex arrangements and when combined with a beautiful singing voice, the sound is amazing.
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There are a bunch of advantages to learning how to fingerpick on the guitar. It’s another tool you can add to your guitar skills toolbox and it’s also fun and satisfying to do. That’s why in this post I’ve compiled a list of 70+ awesome fingerpicking songs you can learn on the guitar.
As you may have already noticed, the table below includes 4 columns:
- Song title (linked to the song on Spotify) and artist
- Tabs from Ultimate-Guitar
- Guitar Pro tabs / Songsterr tabs if GP was unavailable
- Official chords / tabs
As mentioned in my previous song list post (100+ easy guitar songs) if you aren’t aware of what Guitar Pro tabs are, they are essentially “playable” tabs. Instead of just looking at the static tab itself, you can actually hear what each note sounds like. I personally have used these a ton both when I just started playing guitar as well as even now when learning a complex song. Similarly, you’ll find a few Songsterr tabs in the table below which is just an online-based tab player. Although it comes with limited functionality in the free version, you can upgrade to access more features if you wish.
I’d highly recommend using the Guitar Pro tabs whenever available as it can definitely help you get a better feel for the timing of each tab and provide you with more tools to learn the song much faster.
If you’re just starting to learn how to fingerpicking, I’d recommend checking out my Guitar Fingerstyle Picking post first before going through this list of fingerpicking songs. The guitar fingerstyle picking post will go over all of the basics you need to know before starting to dive into fingerstyle songs. Additionally, if you’re just starting to learn how to play the guitar I’d also highly recommend checking out these essential guides below. Not only will they help you in being able to play songs with greater ease, they will also contribute to helping you become an overall better guitar player.
- How to Play Guitar (an EASY Beginner’s Guide)
- Everything You Need To Know About Power Chords (Power Chords Chart Included)
- MOST POPULAR Beginner Guitar Chords Chart
Happy fingerpicking!
List of Fingerpicking Songs
Fingerpicking Songs List – In Summary
Hopefully, this list of fingerpicking songs has inspired you to pick up the guitar and start learning a few. Being able to fingerpick on the guitar truly opens up your range of musical possibilities and is extremely enjoyable once you get the hang of it. If you think I may have missed any great fingerpicking songs in the list above, don’t forget to leave a comment below and I’ll add it so that others can see it as well.
This is a list chock full of decent fingerpicking songs. Here are another couple of suggestions to keep people going too.
I See Fire – Ed Sheeran
Not all that difficult but pretty satisfying to play.
I Don’t Need No Doctor – John Mayer
Mayer’s arrangement of this song is great fun to play and a good piece to learn to help develop your fingerpicking as well as some funky chords thrown in there too.
Jerry’s Breakdown – Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed
A moderately difficult piece that will push some players to start with but the time and effort pays off. Also introduces some more unusual fingerpicking techniques such as reverse banjo rolls.
Good job on the list, I hope to see it grow in the future!
Awesome suggestions! These are all great additions.
The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert
Man in the Mirror by Tuck Andress
Great suggestion!
cannonball rag- jerry reed
sittin’ on top of the world-doc watson
Nice ones! Thanks for the suggestions.