Some picking patterns “flow” across the guitar’s strings in ascending and/or descending patterns behind the vocal line. These types of patterns usually feature rolling picking-hand fingerings that may eschew a strong sense of rhythm for a more ethereal tone.
Example 2 shows a pattern in 6/8 time, the way many players interpret the traditional classic “House of the Rising Sun.” Many flowing patterns use individually plucked strings to create an ambient feel, but you can bolster a song’s rhythm by adding some thumbed bass notes. Example 3 uses an alternating syncopated thumb to create a little more of a driving feel underneath a shorti–mpattern. Make sure you hold off your second thumb stroke until the andof beat two.
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