Learning classical guitar is a wonderful experience, but it can be tricky when you’re first starting out. One of the most confusing things for new players is learning the finger names. in Classical Guitar, we use all of the fingers except the left-hand thumb. In this blog post, you’ll learn all about the classical guitar finger numbers and names.
Right-hand finger names
The right-hand fingers are the ones that sound the strings. In classical guitar we use the first letters of their Spanish names:
p – pulgar (Thumb)
i – indice (Index Finger)
m – medio (Middle Finger)
a – anular (Ring Finger)
c – chiquito (Little Finger)
In Classical guitar, the little finger is not used very often, except in a technique called “Rasgueado“
In the example below the first “C” note has an italic letter “i” on top, which means that the index finger will play it. The lower “C” note has an italic “p” letter below it which means that the thumb will play it.
Left-hand finger numbers
the left-hand fingers are the ones that fret the strings. In the music scores, they are represented with numbers:
1 – index
2 – Middle
3 – Ring
4 – Little finger
In the example below you can see the numbers in front of both notes, Those numbers represent the left-hand fingers.
If you’re left-handed, you can learn to play the guitar in the same manner as a righty. You’ll use identical finger names, but they’ll be reversed.
It is important to Learn the finger numbers and designations for classical guitar because it allows you to communicate with other guitarists about how you are playing the instrument. It also helps you to play the correct notes or chords with the correct fingers. When you know the finger names and numbers, you can find your way around the fretboard and make music more easily.
I hope this blog post helped you to understand classical guitar finger names. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!