What tune(s) started you on your finger style journey

[TBman]

I started hearing bits and pieces that sat in the back of my mind beginning in the 70's. Some Led Zepplin (Babe I'm Gonna Leave You), some Neil Young (Needle and the Damage Done), Yes (beginning of Roundabout, Mood For A Day, Clap). For those early years I played hybrid, but never took the leap to full finger style until I restarted playing in 2000ish after taking a few years off from playing.

The Beatles began my interest in guitar back in 1964 and ironically, a book of finger style arrangements of the Beatles started my official finger style journey.

What is your story?

[Howard Emerson]

Hi Barry,
I was a certified nut-job for The Ventures throughout most of the 1960's, but I did have a Best Of Chet Atkins record and a Segovia record. However......I'm certain that THAT had no bearing on my learning fingerstyle, believe it or not.

I am POSITIVE that it was from being an anti-social drum fanatic, who also loved listening to bass lines on records that compelled me to learn how to fingerpick while cutting class at Berklee School of Music (which I attended to avoid the draft).

How else to be a self-contained rhythmic guitarist?

I remember the night I was finally able to play 2 parts at the same time, through shear force of will, although it was very rudimentary.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

HE

[Nymuso]

For some reason, I can't recall why, as a Kingston Trio nut I started trying to play a rudimentary finger picked pattern of the chords of their version of Scarlet Ribbons. After that, things kinda got out of hand.

[6L6]

Hearing Patrick Sky play his self-penned tune "Separation Blues" back in 1965.

Here he is playing it on Pete Seeger's Show, "Rainbow Quest". I'll be playing it tonight at our local Open Mic. The song starts around 10:49.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ed3U2ETtM


The other tune that drove meet fingerstyle was Dave Van Ronk's cover of Reverend Gary Davis's "Cocaine Blues":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGVqfX4ys4M

[rmp]

why Black Bird of course

followed by Dust In The Wind.

[Slothead56]

I got my first guitar the Summer of ‘74 after HS. My college roommate Freshman year had a John Denver Greatest Hits 8 track. I knew who JD was but never really listened to his stuff.

That confluence of me learning and listening to Denver’s songs got me started.

By the following year I got obsessed with Don McLean and my playing style evolved greatly. McLean is a BIG finger picker. Go ahead and listen to Castles in the Air or Three Flights Up…big learning in those songs.

Started using metal finger picks and a thumb pick and still use them today.

[steelvibe]

“Dee” by Randy Rhoads.

[rollypolly]

is it too cliche to say Freight Train? It was the first seriously challenging piece that took some time to play correctly. Other pieces are more songs that I like that I wanted to try to play in fingerstyle form, like Danny Boy, Will the Circle be unbroken, etc.

John Fahey's the Last Steam Engine Train is another one.

Also Devil Got my Woman by Skip James.

I could think of more ....I want to learn about 5-10 more good pieces.

When I was really first playing, it was all Hotel California and Blackbird.

[redir]

'Police Dog Blues' by Arthur Blake.

[waterlooz]

As a kid listening to music in the 70's, I always was drawn the fingerstyle technique and sound by CSNY, James Taylor, Neil on his own, and others I can't recall.

Then I heard Micheal Hedges in college and started my journey of playing fingerstyle almost exclusively. This led me to the guitar trio. I geeked out on that for a while and then I had the chance to see and go backstage during Pat Metheney's Missouri Skies tour and that cemented my direction for good. I do like to flat pick now and then but my right hand nails are always a bit longer than my fretting hand if that is any indication.

[EZYPIKINS]

Black bird, by The Beatles
Bron-Yr-Aur, by Led Zeppelin

[Pdubs76]

Was cleaning my bathroom one day with my headphones on listening to pandora when an instrumental came on. It was an Australian guy by the name of John Butler playing this tune on a twelve string. I was blown away and decided I wanted to learn it, and dusted off my little art&lutherie parlor that had been sitting untouched in the corner for over ten years. I soon realized that this wasn’t the appropriate guitar and found a used Martin 12 string for cheap, and spent the next year trying to learn this tune. I never really fully got it down because by then, I had discovered other artists and took an interest in their music. Then I found AGF and bought several more guitars, discovered new artists, and have been obsessed ever since.

[Neil K Walk]

"Dust in the Wind" followed a few years later by "Dee" by Randy Rhoads.

[AMW]

"Anji" by Davey Graham. Learned if off of the Simon & Garfunkel record by ear. After that found Bert, Nick, John Renbourn, and about a million other pickers... never looked back!

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Oddly enough, an Elton John song..