3 Ways to Choose Right Hand Fingering for Guitar

When you first started playing guitar, you used whatever right-hand finger got to the string first without much thought.

But as you played more complicated music, randomly chosen right-hand fingerings didn’t work well.

Repeating the same right-hand finger on several notes in a row prevented you from playing at faster tempos.

Yet establishing rules for right-hand fingering is surprisingly hard.

There are so many different musical situations.

In spite of that, I find the following three models help simplify decisions regarding right-hand fingerings.

1. PIMA

When playing arpeggios on three or four different strings, assigning one finger per string works well.

For some pieces, you can assign A (ring finger) on the first string, M (middle finger) on the second string, I (index finger) on the third string, and P (thumb) on all bass strings. That works in the following arpeggio from the Allegro, op. 50, no. 13 by Giuliani.

2. IM

When playing a scale, alternating I and M is a good approach. That works for the following C major scale.

3. Planned Right-Hand Fingering

Most pieces are not simple enough to use just one of the above approaches.

But you can draw from those approaches to plan fingerings in more complex pieces.

When three or four strings are used in succession, use some variation of PIMA.

For more scalar passages, use IM alternation.

For scales, seek to have M on a higher string and I on a lower string in the majority of string crossings (changing from one string to another).

See the following example from the Gigue from Bach’s Lute Suite in E Minor, BWV 996.

Choosing right-hand fingerings is not always easy. But planning your fingerings, starting with the principles mentioned above, will help you to play more fluidly and confidently.

Before you plan right-hand fingerings, I encourage you to start your practice session with a simple Warmup Routine.

If you would like to get my Warmup Routine for free while joining more than 800 people who receive my free Saturday Classical Guitarist newsletter, click here.

Keep making music!