Struggling with guitar fingerpicking

Sometimes fingerpicking guitar is not as easy as it looks. Some people struggle with getting their right hand fingers to work independently while other people start playing fingerstyle guitar like they were born to it. Here’s a Q & A page that might help if you are having problems with your picking:
“No matter what I do I can’t get my right hand to work for fingerpicking. I can’t get my thumb to work independent from my fingers. I have spent almost six months trying to learn how to finger pick. I am not going to stop trying, but I am looking for all the help I can get. I know Stefan Grossman has some lessons on videos. Can you give me any help or any recommendations at all. I have been playing the guitar with at pick for over twenty years. I always wanted to learn how to finger pick but never had the time. Now I have the time. I would be most grateful for any help or recommendations you might have.

My recommendation would be to try to find some right hand studies…exercises that will assist you in gaining the foundation first…this would be called a methodology approach…most videos and books I’ve seen on fingerpicking are song oriented…teaching, by rote, one song after another. Well, this isn’t going to help someone such as yourself…and, probably just make it that much more frustrating. Hence, if you can find a book, or a video, that teaches one study and exercise after another, with only a few songs to support the exercise material, you may find yourself jumping hurdles in your efforts to learn fingerpicking. It should take you from step A to Z…with the first studies focusing on isolating your thumb…and slowly adding the index finger and other fingers through a stair-step process…Sorry, I’m not sure what’s available within this description…only, I know it would work in your case.”
The complete question and answer page is at Folk of the Wood Fingerstyle Guitar Fingerpicking Questions & Answers

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