Here are some basic fingerpicking patterns in the alternating bass style designed to provide the ground work to be able to play like Mississippi John Hurt.

Pattern 1

C
————0———————————-0————————
—————————–1————————————-1—–
————————————————————————–
———————2———————————2—————–
—-3———————————3———————————-
————————————————————————–

Pattern 2

C
——0——————————————–0———————-
———————————-1—————————————
—————————————————————————
———————–2———————————–2—————
——3——————————————————————–
—————————————–3———————————

Pattern 3

E
————————-0————————0————————
————–0———————0——————————-0——
—————————————————————————-
————————-2———————————2—————
—————————————————————————-
——0————————————0——————————-

Click here for more finger picking patterns for beginners.

 

 


Brother John

Brother John Morris is a delta/country blues specialist and a fingerstyle/slide guitar wizard. He is a well known Sydney guitar teacher and his knowledge of acoustic blues is second to none. He is a founding member of the Blues Preachers.