Finger style - the difference between pro and amatuer....

[TBman]

Its in the string damping, both left and right hands IMO. Proper note duration. This is probably the hardest thing to get down after years of the bad habit of letting every thing ring out . I'll have to sit and mimic original recordings and then record and see if I can match exactly to learn the technique as I doubt there are extensive online lessons on this topic.

[rick-slo]

There are lots of things, but for a package concept:

Play with authority. Some playing sounds so tentative that it seems disconnected, and even what was correctly played as far as notes and timing comes across poorly.


Also when playing something melodic make sure that comes out clearly rather than a mixed up hodgepodge of various notes.

[Pitar]

Like Rick-slo remarks, with authority. I'll add confidence before authority and before confidence comes a whole lot of work to pony up the dynamics of the music respective of the original pieces. With all that under your belt authority simply means you play the music as if you wrote it. Passion will take you through to playing with authority. If you don't start out with it beg, borrow or buy some because it's the key to all of it.

[M19]

My weakest area too. Got some pointers from Eric Skye but still very poor at it.

[islandguitar]

Originally Posted by Pitar

Like Rick-slo remarks, with authority. I'll add confidence before authority and before confidence comes a whole lot of work to pony up the dynamics of the music respective of the original pieces. With all that under your belt authority simply means you play the music as if you wrote it. Passion will take you through to playing with authority. If you don't start out with it beg, borrow or buy some because it's the key to all of it.

+1!!
I'm sure when the above items are in place, a musician will attain the consistency required to go out to every gig or session and nail their material. To me, the pros have that hard earned ingredient....they can consistently produce at that high quality level. We amateurs just aren't able to do that in the same way.

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by TBman

I'll have to sit and mimic original recordings and then record and see if I can match exactly to learn the technique as I doubt there are extensive online lessons on this topic.

You make a very good observation and yes, in the steel string world it seems most people just let everything ring out, all the time. In some music this doesn't matter too much (eg. much of DADGAD stuff you want that modal drone) but in some styles it makes all the difference as you say.

There are some great lessons out there, but they are mostly from classical guitarists where this stuff is important - when you are learning repertoire from sheet music you are expected to study and understand the composer's intentions regarding different voices. William Kanengiser's tuition videos are excellent and he goes into this subject in some depth in one of them, demonstrating both LH and RH muting techniques and demonstrating the difference between observing note duration, and not, in various pieces. The former makes for a much more articulate performance.

[srick]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

There are lots of things, but for a package concept:

Play with authority. Some playing sounds so tentative that it seems disconnected, and even what was correctly played as far as notes and timing comes across poorly.

Also when playing something melodic make sure that comes out clearly rather than a mixed up hodgepodge of various notes.

Great suggestions.

I’ll add that many of these tunes need to ‘dance’ ( bounce if you will). It’s a combination of syncopation with the triplets. I have gotten better by playing along (hopefully in time) with a good performance.

PS - Toby Walker has a great lesson from Homespun entitled, “Bringing out the Bounce”

[jseth]

Well, unless I was a Master, I'd hesitate to offer too many "THIS is what it is..." statements, first of all...

Some really good responses, though.

I want to play EVER note with purpose and intent, deliberately... cultivating that mind-set allows me to do the same thing without consciously thinking much about the technique or the "way" I do it...

The Heart of the Matter is what truly separates the wheat from the chaff...

[SprintBob]

Great thread and I can totally relate to every response. Just read an article by Ken Bonfield where one of his goals was to play with commitment. At Swannanoa last week in a couple of classes, instructors were coaching us to not play tentatively. My teacher tells me to always regard my guitar as a singer when playing solo fingerstyle.