Plucking strings individually with the fingers rather than strumming with a pick.
Fingerpicking, or fingerstyle, is a guitar technique in which the strings are plucked individually with the fingertips and thumb rather than strummed all at once with a pick. The thumb typically handles the lower bass strings while the fingers pick out the higher ones, allowing a single player to weave together a bass line, chords and melody at the same time. Fingerpicking produces a softer, more intricate and intimate sound than strumming, and it is central to folk, classical, blues and singer-songwriter styles. It takes patience to develop the independence and coordination between the fingers, but it opens up a rich, self-contained way of playing.
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