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Playing Techniques
The acoustic guitar is played in a variety of different genres and musical styles, with each featuring different playing techniques. Some of the most commonly used techniques are:

Strumming
(main article: Strum)

Strumming involves a rhythmic upward and downward motion of the picking hand (right if playing a right-handed guitar; left if playing a left-handed guitar) across the strings, while the opposite ("fretting") hand is in chord formation. This can be done with or without a guitar pick, depending on if the guitarist wants a crisp or more dull and blended sound, respectively. There are many common strumming patterns, which are played based on the specific time signature of a given song. Simple on-beat strumming is typically the first and least complex technique that guitarists learn. Guitarists can also alternate patterns or emphasize strums on specific beats to add rhythm, character, and unique style to a song. An example of a song featuring the strum technique is "Free Fallin'" By Tom Petty, where you hear full open chord strums.

Fingerstyle
(main article: Fingerstyle guitar)

Fingerstyle, also known as fingerpicking, involves a patterned plucking of the strings with the picking hand. This technique focuses on playing specific notes in a melodic pattern, rather than full chord strums. Guitarists use their thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers, which are notated as "p" (as in pulgar), "i" (as in indice), "m" (as in medio), and "a" (as in anular), respectively, based on the Spanish language. This "PIMA" acronym in sheet music or tabs tells guitarists which picking hand finger to pluck a string with in a given picking pattern. When strings are plucked downward, this technique produces a clear and articulate sound that adds movement and melody to a song. A variation of fingerstyle is "percussive fingerstyle," where guitarists combine traditional fingerstyle with rhythmic taps or hits on the body of the guitar to imitate a percussion sound. An example of a song featuring the fingerstyle technique is "Landslide" By Fleetwood Mac, where you hear plucked moving notes rather than full strums.

Slide

(main article: Slide guitar)

Slide guitar is a common technique that can be played on acoustic, steel acoustic, and/or electric guitars. It is primarily used in the blues, rock, and country genres. When playing with this technique, guitarists wear a small metal, glass, or plastic tube on one of their fretting hand fingers and slide it across the fretboard rather than pressing firmly on singular frets. The picking hand either strums or plucks as normal. This produces a smooth and blended transition between notes and chords, as opposed to the more articulated transitions that come from other techniques. This smooth transition sound is formally referred to as a "glissando ."An example of a song featuring the slide technique is "For Emma" By Bon Iver, where you can hear a seamless sliding melody over the song.