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4. Techniques

Fingering and sticking

Fingering tells a player who plays each note. On a fretted track, a note can carry the fretting hand’s finger and the plucking hand’s finger; on a keys track, the finger from 1 (the thumb) to 5; on a drum track, the hand that strikes it, which drummers call sticking. It changes nothing in the sound: it’s there to be read, in lessons, in tricky passages, in a part you hand to someone.

Fingering and sticking

Available on every platform.

Set the fingering

Select the notes, then right-click one of them. The note menu’s submenus depend on the track:

  • Fretted tracks: Finger sets the fretting finger, 1 (Index), 2 (Middle), 3 (Ring), 4 (Little) or Thumb (T). Plucking Finger sets the other hand’s, p (Thumb), i (Index), m (Middle), a (Ring) or c (Little).
  • Keys tracks: Finger, from 1 (Thumb) to 5.
  • Drum tracks: Sticking, Right (R), Left (L) or Both (RL).

Each submenu starts with None, which takes that mark off. A choice sets every selected note and leaves their other fingering alone, so you can set the fretting fingers of a passage, then its plucking fingers. When the selected notes all say the same, it’s checked. Each choice is one undo step.

In the Editor

On a fretted track, a note’s finger and plucking finger are written small just above its fret, with its other marks, such as “3 i”. On a keys lane, the finger is written just before the note. On a drum lane, the sticking (R, L or RL) is written small over the hit. Show Articulations shows or hides them with the other marks; hidden, they leave a small dot.

In the Score

The Score writes:

  • A guitar’s fretting finger just left of its notehead, as engravers write left-hand fingering.
  • The plucking finger under the staff, in italics.
  • A keys finger over the staff, or under it on the lower staff of a grand staff.
  • Sticking under a drum staff, once per hand at each moment that has it.

Fingering stacks with the other marks and moves clear of them. If one lands somewhere awkward, drag it in the Score pane; its menu’s Reset Position puts it back. See Editing the score.

From files

Guitar Pro 5 files bring fretting and plucking fingers in, MusicXML files their fingering for any part but drums, and Guitar Pro 5 export and MusicXML export write them back. Sticking stays in Stab’s own files.