This is to get you guitar young 'uns started on playing in 
the thoroughly rewarding and musically stimulating 
universe of (you guessed it) fingerstyle.

Your right hand can be in one of two positions.  
"Hovering" over the strings, or "anchored."  Place your 
little finger near the pick guard and/or bridge.  This is 
your "anchor" point, which you can move around as 
you play.  You don't need to use an anchor all the 
time, especially if you don't feel comfortable.  Do NOT 
flatten the palm of your hand or curve your fingers too 
much when playing.  How much you curve your wrist is 
a matter of personal taste.  Again, anchors are 
OPTIONAL.

In fingerstyle, you play arpeggios ("broken" chords) one 
note at a time (sometimes more than one note, as you 
can see in the song examples).  You play the 6th, 5th, 
and 4th strings with the thumb, the 3rd with the index, 
the 2nd with the middle, and the 1st with the ring finger. 
 I suggested right hand fingering throughout the tab.  
"T" is thumb (also known as "pulgar"), "I" is the index, 
"M" is the middle,  and "A" is the ring (also known as 
"anular").  The little finger isn't used much in fingerstyle. 
Remember "PIMA," or "TIMA."

In "Three" and "Four" I used the same chord 
progressions that "One" and "Two" use, but with 
eighth notes.  "Five" introduces alternate bass notes.  
With alternate bass notes, you can make a passage 
sound more interesting;  the bass notes being the ones 
on the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings.  "Six" deals with 
patterns containing something commonly known as 
"Travis picking."  That is, you play a bass note, then a 
note with your fingers, then a bass note, and so on. 

"Seven" contains different picking patterns over the 
same chords in "Five."  There are many different 
picking techniques.  By mixing notes on a chord, a 
passage can sound more melodic than just picking 
straight up or down.

I included some fingerpicking songs to practice with 
which you can find in MSB.  Many thanks to the 
talented tabber which provided us with the "Sad Lisa" 
tab, and I had absolutely nothing to do with it.  This tab 
was NOT MADE BY ME.  I merely added right hand 
fingering suggestions to make it easier if you're still 
green, but I suggest you try playing it properly once you 
reach a certain level.  

Note: The "House of the Rising Sun" tab  WAS tabbed 
by me, by the way.

Cat Stevens' "Sad Lisa" is one of my favorites.  And 
maybe you recognize the next one?  "Dust in the 
Wind?"  Does it ring any bells?  That one I got out of 
Guitar World magazine.  I didn't include right hand 
fingerings in that one because I feel that the proper way 
to play it is best.  Also because I don't feel like it.  "The 
House of the Rising Sun" is a song that you'll probably 
have learned to play if you've ever taken guitar lessons. 
 In fact, you should play this song properly too.

As I said before, there's a whole universe of finger 
picking, and you should really get a book dedicated 
entirely to it.  But while you scrape up the dough for it, 
why not absorb everything in this tab and what's on 
MSB.  I know of one resident fingerstyle composer on 
MSB, and that's our very own blackiel, if you're 
interested in listening to original fingerpicking songs.  
Also, check out "Fingerstyle for Classical Guitar," a tab 
by aerguin, also on MSB of course.

Remember to change fingerpicking patterns constantly, 
and try to play smoothly.  What I do is that I play a 
piece as fast as I can until I start to make mistakes.  
Good luck on your finger picking future.