How to Thump & Fingerpick 

It is really nice to see that Tim also makes these kinds of videos in order to help the guitar community

You're a throwback to the 80s when the best guitarists in the world were still very much a "part" of the culture. Love it.

I love how there is this modern guitar virtuoso group who all talk to each other and share techniques. Tim casually thanking Tosin Abasi is just a perfect example.

For anyone who missed the beautiful dissonant chord at 6:56, it’s: A6 (thump twice), D5, G0, B7 It’s such a fantastic chord for the tension and depth of this etude’s harmony

Tim out here giving us the secrets to becoming anime characters too, what a vibe

Ive just been practicing thumping recently and this couldnt have come out at a better time, thanks Tim.

I love the accuracy of these tutorials. I'm Brazilian and it's quite difficult to connect knowledge about the harmonic scale and knowledge about English, but Tim explains it so well that it's much easier to understand what he means

I don't even play guitar and just watching this incredibly detailed and specific tutorial makes me think I could give it a shot. Talk about an inspiring teacher.

The chord that he forgot to mention at 6:56 is: 6 on the A string, 5 on the D string, open G string and 7 on the B string , keep practicing guys, you got it!

i like how tim henson never used to look into the camera in previous videos, but now he does it all the time

people who are actually looking at this as a tutorial should feel very proud of themselves.

The line of musicians that teach this technique is always so cool to me. Tim taught by Tosin who I believe was taught by Victorr wooten who was taught by his brother Reggie who learned from many musicians growing up.

You’re a champ. Such a genuine soul. Not trying to hide their craft from others and encouraging evolution of the craft in general

Can't describe how much I love this version of Tim teaching awesome stuff!

Anyone else noticed that Tim is looking directly at the camera the whole video? Makes such a huge difference, so great to see him getting better and better at talking to the camera each time a new video comes out

6:55 the chord that is skipped is: A string: 6th fret D string: 5th fret G string: Open B string: 7th fret

Literally uploaded this RIGHT when I was putting together a playlist of tunes for fingerpicking practice. Perfect timing! Edit: speaking from personal experience, the ego death intro is another neat thumping exercise. It sells that "thumb as a pick" concept exceptionally well, imo. Give that one a try if you feel like quintuplet meditation is too hard for you

Great that Tim is sharing this to the rest of the guitar community. Also so kind to shout out Tosin Abasi where Tim learnt the technique from 🙌

Honestly this is an awesome lesson. The way he picks apart the technique so even beginners can pick it up is a really nice touch. Nice job coach Tim!

i play electric guitar for 4 months and this tutorial made me learn thumping in a day. thanks Tim

Tim is such a great teacher, he really knows the struggles of the average guitar player and doesn't mind to slow down and thoroughly explain everything he's doing and thinking,. Thank you so much TIm!

I saw this riff on the instagram and could not help but instantly check it out and learn it. Holy shit I love Tim’s technical stuff but simpler stuff like this with a focus on melodic and harmonic content is so damn good and it still has the signature polyphoa sound.

Tim you are a natural teacher. This was the clearest and easiest to understand tutorial on thumping I’ve seen.

Being an old 80’s rocker, I’m glad the future of guitar is in good hands. It’s great to see innovation in guitars, gear and techniques like this. Rock on 😎🤘🏻🎶

I wrote this already under his WIRED Q&A video, but we can learn so much from everything Tim says. When the specific purpose of the video is to teach, it becomes this information overload. Really nice to have someone as good as Tim explain some things on the guitar.

I love how nobody speaks noob language better than a master of the craft. I actually understood everything, and I can't even do that on videos others make of more basic stuff. Actually feel motivation to practice this. I can't play with a pick, I always use my thumb and fingers, and my nails if I want to play louder, so this is so speaking my language. Thank you ❤

This is everything you want in a teacher, especially one online where you can't get realtime feedback. Take nothing for granted and explain all the small details that someone could get tripped up on, even down to showing a close up of the red part of his thumb to show exactly where you should be striking the string. Really well done! 🙌

really respect that he does these tutorials on his songs and techniques, polyphia's huge and he still takes the time to do breakdowns for beginners and intermediates. stuff like this is a huge help for the guitar community and learning the instrument in general!

I really appreciate Tim making these and I hope he makes more 🙌🏼

I don't even own a guitar, but this is awesome. Not only are you and the band so talented, but you still give back to the community. So cool.

Love the honesty about difficulty and feeling natural with it. Makes me want to gone thumping more of a chance

tim, i owe you a great deal of GRATITUDE. i have always loved rock music, but i gave up on guitars over a decade ago because i couldn't barre chords. i've always "played" the drums, but i began to work on my consistency for about a year now and taught myself how to practice effectively. when i saw your wired video where you mentioned combining power chords and drop D tuning to achieve easy chord shapes, i tried it out (with the help of tuning apps) and began shredding metal riffs like crazy. that got me excited enough to buy a guitar amp and start teaching myself more guitar techniques. i finally trained my stubborn pinky to barre chords (although, i am not magically fluent yet) and am farther along than i ever thought i could be in less than four weeks (after years of lost time). thank you so much for making guitar playing accessible us regular dudes. i honestly never thought i'd get over that hurdle, but your encouragement and knowledge helped me

You're such a great teacher Tim!

Thanks Tim! I've been practicing this for a week and it's starting to sound good. You're a hell of an inspiration. Keep doing you, homie.

Didn't expect him to also to really understand how to teach well too but he does. I couldn't get it when other youtubers (bless them for trying) tried to teach it but got it right away here. Thank you

All the positive comments posted here on the teaching, him beeing genuine etc. i agree….but i want to add though that he has a great taste in fashion as well. Always well dressed and his studio is modern and tasteful. Love how he explains in his other video of his studio tour how doors, wall panels, lighting etc. has been carefully crafted. He looks at details and appreciates crafts by others, designers, engineers etc. He is a very versatile, intelligent and talented person. Thank you for this lesson. Greetings from Germany

a month practicing this technique non-stop! I've been playing for 14 years, it's the first time I really feel a great achievement on the guitar, thank you teacher!

Dude. You have got to be the most interactive guitarist I've ever seen. Thank you. Can't wait to practice this.

Awesome tutorial Tim, really appreciate how approachable you made the explanations! You've got a real knack for teaching

You are extraordinary and a gift! Love all you have done and accomplished can’t wait to see more.

This guy teaching this technique for free, makes me love Tim even more.

Such a straight forward and helpful video on a very technical and difficult technique. Such a gracious gesture to spend time doing this type of video for the guitar community - many thanks Tim, from a grateful guitar player!

Every once in a while, a genius comes along. You're an amazing young man. Your music, your aesthetic, and fully realized authenticity. Bravo!

Bro, you are not only the greatest guitarist of our time, you legitimately have such a passion for your craft and want to just share it with everyone. I see a lot of what I do in my career through your work here, I just want to share my passion and help people learn as well. Finding your music has sparked such an interest in playing the guitar because you have introduced a whole new style of music to me that I connect with so much. I hope you get to read this and know what you're doing is far bigger than you could ever imagine. Keep being your amazing humble self and shredding the guitar. Much love, wish we could share a drink one day.

He just has a way of explaining shit that the layman can really understand. Wish he had a whole course.

He’s a very good teacher. Seriously. He seems very patient whilst knowledgeable.

Brother Tim showing us some more classic, but important moves for growth. Danke, Tim!

thank you so much for everything you do, huge support from France 🇫🇷 ❤

@1:09 - a shoutout to Tosin Abasi Huge Respect to Tim Henson 🤘

This is "just" a practice loop and yet it sounds absolutely beautiful

Just watched you guys in Norfolk this evening. You guys had a killer set. Enjoyed it very much! May you all have continued succees!!!!

today i was thinking of learning thumping and you uploaded this video now perfect timing

Tim, I don't play (wish I did) I just wanted to say you're playing is truly beautiful and a work of art. Thank you for existing.

This is great. I've been trying to learn thumping for a while but it hasn't clicked yet. This seems like a nice piece to learn with. Thanks Tim!

Really glad you shouted out Tosin for showing you the technique. Props!

As a on and off guitar teacher, my go to advice is always to just play things painfully slow. Love the start of this lesson, and how you tell us how it's not natural and muscle memory is the way.

The kids that are growing up with players like you and Tosin as guitar heros, are going to be beasts.

Thank you for your work, Tim and team for these videos.

I was just thinking about working on this piece last night and you somehow read my mind once more...Thank you so much :) !

the tutorial we've all been waiting for !!

I feel like I am not at this level of guitar play yet. But wow, it is such an interesting and refreshing style to see!

This is gold! Your an amazing guitarist... as you may already know. Thanks for giving back to the community! ❤

Been playing acoustic guitar for years, but your tone has me seriously considering getting an electric setup. Love the otherworldly punch and reverb Nice playing, friend Rock on and can’t wait to see you guys live in a couple days!!!

As someone who usually doesn’t use a pick, this technique is a great way to practice “picking” both up and down as a more finger style guitarist Also, I found it really cool that you actually used the P I M A notation for the fingers! Not many people seem to know that!!

Thanks Tim. It’s super great to learn from you.

Just saw you guys in Nashville. Great show. Everyone should see you guys.

Tim, you are a really clear and concise (and wonderful) teacher! Thank you very much!

Is there anything this insane Genius can’t do on a guitar?🤷‍♂️ Tim is a gift that keeps on giving ❤🎸

Also, for anyone who wants to expand on this should look at rosgueado which is a technique used primarily in flamenco. There are many different types of flourishes that can be used and will add some showmanship to your performances.

Yes shit, thank you so much

Only thing I wish this vid had was a tab diagram when you're showing every note! So much easier to wrap my head around as a newbie than fret number + string letter. 😅 Regardless, thank you for this awesome piece Tim! I'm picking up thumping so much earlier than I thought I'd be able to

It’s really cool to see you post tuts like this. Love your music.

“PeePee i’m” -Tim Henson

I love that the progressive players basically went full circle back to classical creating Etudes Really cool.

JUST SAW YOUR CONCERT YESTERDAY!! I was in the front row with the meme you SHREDDED!!

You make it so sound simple and inviting Tim you were definitely meant to be a teacher ❤

one thing that i did when learning this a few months back that helped the technique click for me was just leaving my hand in the same position and moving the guitar into different angles until the strings fit the motion i was doing with my hand. once i got used to how that motion was supposed to feel, i put the guitar in a regular playing position and it just worked. i had the guitar almost completely parallel with my upper body, but it helped with understanding whole thing. might not work for everyone but good luck

Hi Tim, Amazing stuff, Thank you for your open lessons on your playing style, I admire how open you are on sharing your developments, doing so opens up a total new way of playing music on guitar, leading to a whole new genre in music free to everybody to experiments. Most talent artists would rather keep secret their techinics to remain the only one to be able to play it. All it takes is a lesson and hard practise. I start again to play music on my guitar only after watching you and Polyphia. Your music re ignite in me the will to replay the instrument after years. Keep up the good work. THANKS

I never seen an explanation s o simple from a really hard technique.. Bravo Tim

I've wanted to learn how to play this for so long ! I'm so excited 🥰

A technique I learned through bass playing, where it is probably more common. Didn't even know that you could thump like this on a guitar. Love that you post so openly about your skills and techniques, thanks a lot!

Tyvm Tim. I've been practicing thumping recently so I've been playing Meditation and God hand non-stop. This is perfect timing to help me nail the technique

ill gladly pay for this videos, this is amazing i love what your doing for the community and the genre in general. Love u tim be safe

Man you're a great teacher, you explain things so fully I really appreciate that

thanks Tim for helping everyone get on this level and not holding this back as a secret

This really helped out a lot seen some of Tosin Abasi’s work and had no idea how it worked. Thank you

You're the best I've ever seen at that style of playing.

Acquestically the presentation was very educational. I feel the internal spirit is flowing through and smiles as all of us hear the amazing performance.

It's so generous that this vituoso musician shares his experience and knowledge to all. A natural teacher - communicates clearly and doesn't pretend you can be great in 10 lessons like many other sites. This excellence takes sustained practise.

LEGEND TIM HENSON!!🤤Man you create unique things! You got a fan from Portugal my friend!!

Tim is an amazing player and a great teacher as well. I'm intrigued about trying this stuff out after seeing the lesson.

I am aiming to reach your level of playing some day. I really appreciate that you share some of these techniques with all of us.

Thank you so much for this, this is amazing. I haven't played guitar in a while and never got too technical with it, but since I listened to Polyphia, I really took the time to play again and regain my lost skill. Videos like these are really useful, thank you Tim and Polyphia for this.

I love how this technique inadvertently teaches people rest stroke with the thumb. Very nice.

This was a really good lesson! Concise, yet thorough. Thanks for the help!

For it being a practice exercise it's a really beautiful piece of music.

Talk about direct information from the pro to the masses. Love it.

bro i’ve been asking for this forever, thankyou tim.

Thanks for the breakdown bud and the exercise for practising. This will help a breakthrough for my thump attempts. And thanks for showing you're still human, you marvellous freak. 🤘

This is awesome I love it when Tim does lesson videos like these.