When I first started to play guitar, this is what we all learned to do first ( PIMA) Thumb =p, Index finger = i, Middle finger =m and ring finger =a ( or in Spanish, pulgar, indigo, medico and anular) Anyway when I was a kid learning this picking pattern involved the "dreaded" F chord. Here is a more accessible exercise.

Second picking pattern (PAMI ) Trust me, you'll thank me for these little exercise's one day .......honest....you really will !

Third pattern (PIAM ). Just change the chords, vary the tempo, and this one will see you through 99% of all rock ballads and 50% of all folk songs so learn it well.

When I was a kid I spent hundreds of hours playing Joni Mitchell tracks over and over again, working out the chords and trying to figure out what she was doing. Anyway here is a tuning and some arpeggios for songwriters everywhere. Instant "Joni"

I wrote this when I was teaching a mate of mine. It's a great little tune for beginners to work at to get their "alternating thumb" working.

I basically "ripped this arrangement off" from John's. I was just about to play it in a little club on Merseyside a few years ago when John walked in to see what I was up to. No pressure there then ! Thanks mate !

Here is a nice tune to learn, by the celebrated Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan.

Please note that in the tab here I've used numbers in circles to refer to the study notes NOT to strings played. I apologise for any confusion

There are more "improvisations" / songs based around this little chord sequence than I can name. Please take this little lesson and do your own thing with it. Add your own lyrics, make up your own lead lines.