Arranging Fingerstyle Guitar

Huskyman · #1 05-01-2023, 11:53 AM

Lately I have taken fingerstyle playing more serious and putting a lot of effort into it. I have acquired quite a few courses from Truefire and Jamplay. In addition I have been learning songs from SixString Fingerpicking. Mainly with the courses i am working through it's all about right hand exercises and that is good and I actually enjoy it. I really only work on one song at a time because I hate playing from tab so i memorize them and it takes a bit of time. I guess doing all the right hand exercises and working on songs is the way to go about it?

I would really love to learn how to arrange my own songs. Does anyone know of a good resource to do that? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Andyrondack · #2 05-01-2023, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huskyman

Lately I have taken fingerstyle playing more serious and putting a lot of effort into it. I have acquired quite a few courses from Truefire and Jamplay. In addition I have been learning songs from SixString Fingerpicking. Mainly with the courses i am working through it's all about right hand exercises and that is good and I actually enjoy it. I really only work on one song at a time because I hate playing from tab so i memorize them and it takes a bit of time. I guess doing all the right hand exercises and working on songs is the way to go about it?

I would really love to learn how to arrange my own songs. Does anyone know of a good resource to do that? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Are you able to find the melody to familiar tunes by ear? That's the way to start. If you can do that quite easily then your ready to move on to the next stage. If not then keep at it.

Skip Ellis · #3 05-01-2023, 01:02 PM

Learn the melody and harmony (chords) to the song to the point you can sing it to yourself. Once that is accomplished, play it the way you want it to sound. That might be hard to put into words but I've been doing it for 50+ years and it's second nature to me, plus, I rarely play anything the same way twice - that's why I don't learn other people's arrangements - I don't want to be locked in to someone else's ideas. It's OK to use the sheet music (I hate TAB) to get it under your belt, but, from there on, make it your own. You'll eventually get to the point where you can hear something and pretty much play it. A good example is Darcy's Guitar by Pete Huttlinger - great tune and pretty easy to play once you get the alternating bass down. I listened to it a couple times and got the progression pretty much down. When I start working on it, I'm guessing it'll take me a couple hours to get it to performance level; will it be exactly like the recording? No, it won't - I might take a shortcut or two or change some fingerings or chord inversions but it will, substantially be the same tune with my fingerprints on it. Make YOUR arrangement not someone else's and the more you do it, the better you'll become at doing it. As always, YMMV.

sevenpalms · #4 05-01-2023, 01:10 PM

If youre on Truefire take a look at Richard Gilewitz's page. His fingerstyle technique is superb. If interested in private lessons I can put you in touch and he can really help you clean up your technique and arrangements.

Huskyman · #5 05-02-2023, 03:41 PM

Thanks everyone. Some good advice here.

I am going to try a really simple arrangement and see how it goes.

Tele1111 · #6 05-02-2023, 08:58 PM

Hey Husky,

I would suggest you get the book “Concepts: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar” by Howard Morgan. He teaches actual arranging with (mostly) familiar tunes.
It’s definitely worth your time, and you can play examples to further your understanding of the process.

Mark

Piker99 · #7 05-03-2023, 09:10 AM

Hi Huskyman,
If you enjoy Truefires style , check out this arranging course from Pete Huttlinger. One of the all time greats. It might even be on sale for $5 !
https://truefire.com/acoustic-guitar...e-arranger/c25
Cheers

Huskyman · #8 05-08-2023, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tele1111

Hey Husky,

I would suggest you get the book “Concepts: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar” by Howard Morgan. He teaches actual arranging with (mostly) familiar tunes.
It’s definitely worth your time, and you can play examples to further your understanding of the process.

Mark

Thank you . Will check it out.

Huskyman · #9 05-08-2023, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piker99

Hi Huskyman,
If you enjoy Truefires style , check out this arranging course from Pete Huttlinger. One of the all time greats. It might even be on sale for $5 !
https://truefire.com/acoustic-guitar...e-arranger/c25
Cheers

Have a membership there so going to look now. Thanks.

mawmow · #10 05-11-2023, 12:09 PM

@Skip Ellis already committed a supportive answer.

I am in the process of learning to work my own arrangements.

There are many books and DVDs addressing this topic.

Happy Traum instruct to start with the chords, work the bass and play the melody
in the trebles : You usually find the melody in the chord or in the scale the chord comes from.

Then you may want to add something more with the mids.
One way would be to play arpeggios of the chords.

Going further brings you to faster fingering and chords change (think of jazz players).

By the way, Mark Henson’s new DVD is helping.

Overall, it is a complex world that needs time and trials. Never give up !