What is fingerpicking?

Summary

Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson in which students will three easy fingerpicking patterns on the ukulele and practice them in a popular song.

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI
• Ukuleles

🎲 Activities included:

• Recap Am, F & Dm chords
• Learning the fingerpicking pattern
• Playing the fingerpicking pattern in a song

Introduction to the song

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Get familiar with the song which will be used to practice fingerpicking

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Select a song students like the most from the suggestion list.
• Project the song onto a screen. Click on 'Ukulele' under 'Tools' - 'Visuals' so that the ukulele chord diagrams are visible.
• Listen to the chorus of the song.
• Shortly discuss the song section you just heard.

How would you describe the mood of this song?

What chords did you notice in this section?

Can you play them on the ukulele?

Chord recap - Am chord

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the Am chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'Am' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the Am chord is visible.
• Tell your students to play the Am chord on their ukuleles with their left hand. To play that chord, students should place the 2nd finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!
• Play the chorus 1 and verse of the song and listen to it with your students.
• Tell the students that they will now have to try to play the Am chord in this song.
• The rules are simple - as soon as the Am chord passes the red line - play it! Other chords should be omitted now.
• Press play and let them practice the chord and get familiar with it! You can also press the loop button in the controls so that the intro section would repeat multiple times.

Chord recap - F chord

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the F chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'F' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the F chord is visible.
• To play the F chord, students should place the 1st finger on the 2nd string, first fret. Then add the 2nd finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!

Combine Am & F chord

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the Am & F chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Tell students that they will have to play the Am and F chords in this song.
• Look at the song and play Am and F chords when they pass the red line
• Slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button. You can press it up to 4 times to choose the preferred speed.
• Play the chorus 1 and verse sections of the sons and let them practice the chords and get familiar with it! You can also press the loop button in the controls so that the section would repeat multiple times:
• Leave out the Dm chord for now.
• When students are comfortable with the speed, repeat the exercise at a faster speed until the original speed of the song is reached.

Last chord - Dm

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to play the Dm chord on the ukulele

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Click on 'Dm' under 'Tools' - 'Chords' so that the Solfeg.io fretboard showing the F chord is visible.
• To play the Dm chord, students should place the 1st finger on the 2nd string, first fret. Then add the 3rd finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret. Lastly - add the second finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret. Then strum downwards with their right thumb.
• Let them practice the chord and get familiar with it!

Get comfortable with the chord combo

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice combining all three chords
• Play a part of the chosen song

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Play chorus 1 and verse parts.
• Press “Play” and invite the class to play along, following the chord symbols.
• If needed, slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button. You can press it up to 4 times to choose the preferred speed.
• When students are comfortable with the speed, repeat the exercise at a faster speed until the original speed of the song is reached.
• You can loop a selected part of the song by pressing the “Loop” button on the right side of the “Play” button.

Fingerpicking

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Understand what fingerpicking is and how it's used in popular songs

🎲 Activity:

• Explain that there are two main ways to play ukulele chords: strumming and fingerpicking.

When strumming, the strings are brushed quickly to make them sound almost at the same time.

When fingerpicking, each string is plucked with a different finger one after the other.

• Demonstrate both ways of playing and ask students:

How would you describe them?

Which musical styles are they most suitable for?

Patterns

🕐 Time: 15 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice three fingerpicking patterns on open strings

🎶 Recommended Songs:

🎲 Activity:

• Distribute ukuleles to students.
• Explain they will have to play the 3rd or C string with their right thumb, the 2nd or E string with index finger and the 1st or A string with middle finger at all times.
• The thumb plucks the string in a downward motion while the index and middle fingers pluck the string upwards.
• Demonstrate the first fingerpicking pattern on open strings and invite the students to try it on their ukuleles!

• In the Solfeg.io web player, mute all the tracks except the rhythm section. You can do it under the “Controls” - “Volume” menu.
• Play the fingerpicking pattern on open strings along to the rhythm tracks! If needed, you can slow the song down by pressing “﹣” on the left side of the “Play” button.
• Repeat the exercise with the second and third pattern.

Playing the chorus

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Play chords using a fingerpicking pattern in a popular song

🎶 Recommended Song:

🎲 Activity:

• Unmute all the tracks and listen to the chorus.
• Learn or recap the chords using the chord diagrams at the bottom of the screen.
• Discuss with the class which of the three patterns would be the most suitable for this song.
• Slow the song down and invite the class to fingerpick the chords in the chosen pattern.
• When students are comfortable, speed the song up and repeat the chorus.

Reflection

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Reflect on the concepts learned in the lesson

🎲 Activity:

• Ask these questions to the class and have a short discussion

What was the most challenging/fun part of the lesson?

Which fingerpicking pattern did you like the most?

What other songs could be played using this pattern?

Homework assignment

🕐 Time: 3 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Practice fingerpicking patterns on the ukulele

🎲 Activity:

Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by…

• Playing the whole song with a chosen fingerpicking pattern;
• Taking the mobile class “Fingerpicking for ukulele”.

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