RULE 1. The thumb plays down on the 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings and rarely the 1st -- usually occurring in that
order of prominence. The index finger plays up on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings - rarely the 1st. The middle finger plays
up on mostly the 1st string and sometimes the 2nd.
RULE 2. No finger is repeated. The fingers will alternate when playing 8th notes or notes of lesser value.
Repeating a finger (usually thumb) on quarter notes is acceptable.
RULE 3. No string is repeated, except when playing quarter notes.
RULE 4. There are three main right hand patterns called rolls. (Forward, backward and alternating thumb). However
by following both rule 2 and rule 3 the “rolls” will be the natural outcome.
RULE 5. It is preferable to play the melody notes with the thumb, but this is dictated by which string the melody
falls on in concordance with rule one.
RULE 6. It is preferred to accent with the thumb, but this is dictated by where the accent falls within the
measure and in concordance with rule one. Accents are used to reinforce either for rhythm (beat and syncopation) or to
pull out melody notes.
RULE 7. Use open strings as much as possible, especially when playing below (pitch-wise) the seventh fret.
The 5th string is used mostly as a drone.
RULE 8. There are three major movable chord shapes and all the chord position are derivatives
of these. (Standard G tuning)
RULE 9. If a note is not within four frets or within the left hand position, a shift in the hand
position is usually made.
RULE 10. All fill notes between the melody notes should be chord tones. Sometimes non-offensive open strings
that are outside the chord are used.
RULE 11. Left-hand ornamentation should be melody notes, using slides, hammers and pull-offs to pull out the
melody. However these techniques are sometimes used to reinforce the rhythmic idea of a song and may compliment the melody
but not actually be the melody note.
RULE 12. You have to know the rules to break the rules intelligently. Without rules you have no structure.
However by breaking the rules you create your own style. In any discipline you start out with limits and then learn to exceed
them. So the last rule is this: Rules are made to be broken.
