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A fingerpick is a type of plectrum
Plectrum

A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a string instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand....
 used most commonly for playing bluegrass
Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has its own roots in Folk music of Ireland, Music of Scotland, Music of Wales and Folk Music of England traditional music....
 style banjo
Banjo

The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by Slavery in the United States Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments....
 music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
. Most fingerpicks are composed of metal
Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
 or plastic
Plastic

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic chemistry solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products....
. Unlike flat guitar pick
Guitar pick

A guitar pick is a type of plectrum designed for use on a guitar. Over time people have made picks of various materials, including plastic, rubber, felt, Tortoiseshell material, wood, metal, and rock ....
s, which are held between the thumb
Thumb

The thumb is the Human_anatomical_terms#Anatomical_directions-most finger of the hand. The English adjective for thumb is pollical....
 and finger
Finger

A finger is a type of digit , an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates.Normally humans have five digits, termed phalanges, on each hand ....
 and used one at a time, fingerpicks clip onto or wrap around the end of the fingers and thumb; thus one hand can pick several strings at once. Generally three are used: one for the thumb, and one each for the middle and index fingers.






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Encyclopedia


A fingerpick is a type of plectrum
Plectrum

A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a string instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand....
 used most commonly for playing bluegrass
Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has its own roots in Folk music of Ireland, Music of Scotland, Music of Wales and Folk Music of England traditional music....
 style banjo
Banjo

The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by Slavery in the United States Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments....
 music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
. Most fingerpicks are composed of metal
Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
 or plastic
Plastic

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic chemistry solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products....
. Unlike flat guitar pick
Guitar pick

A guitar pick is a type of plectrum designed for use on a guitar. Over time people have made picks of various materials, including plastic, rubber, felt, Tortoiseshell material, wood, metal, and rock ....
s, which are held between the thumb
Thumb

The thumb is the Human_anatomical_terms#Anatomical_directions-most finger of the hand. The English adjective for thumb is pollical....
 and finger
Finger

A finger is a type of digit , an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates.Normally humans have five digits, termed phalanges, on each hand ....
 and used one at a time, fingerpicks clip onto or wrap around the end of the fingers and thumb; thus one hand can pick several strings at once. Generally three are used: one for the thumb, and one each for the middle and index fingers. Fingerpicks worn on the thumb are generally called "thumbpicks". Most players use a plastic thumbpick while using metal fingerpicks. Fingerpicks come in a variety of thicknesses to accommodate different musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
s' styles of playing. Thin picks produce a quieter, more delicate sound
Sound

Sound is vibration transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a threshold of hearing to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations....
, while thick picks produce a heavier sound.

Fingerpicks are also used by Hawaiian guitar players, Dobro
Dobro

Dobro is a trade name now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar....
 players and bottleneck guitar players. Fingerpicks are sometimes considered easier to use than standard guitar pick
Guitar pick

A guitar pick is a type of plectrum designed for use on a guitar. Over time people have made picks of various materials, including plastic, rubber, felt, Tortoiseshell material, wood, metal, and rock ....
s, since fingerpicks provide more control than a traditional guitar picks. By using fingerpicks, guitarists can play a bass line at the same time as they play a lead (often the melody), and still get the sound of a standard guitar pick.

Classical guitar
Classical guitar

The classical guitar, also known as the "Spanish guitar", and in more recent times as the "nylon string guitar" ? is a plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones....
 players, who traditionally use their fingernails to pluck the guitar's strings may choose to use fingerpicks as an alternative to maintaining fingernails.

See also


Fingerpicking