Which fingerstylists should I be copying on Youtube?

[rick-slo]

Not particularly looking for someone to learn from at this point however if I happen to hear a fingerstyle piece I very much
like I might either learn to play it or perhaps just analyze what the different elements about it I like. If it is piece I like but
is done in some style I really don't want to bother with such as heavy tap stuff or flamenco I won't bother. You really need
to be somewhat selective.

[jpmist]

Originally Posted by Lamenramen

I'm taking the advice of many of the great ones who say to just play the songs we like and emulate musicians who we admire. Who are some legitimately good fingerstylists on youtube who one could learn a lot from by copying, AND what aspects of their playing should I be taking note of from each person?

I guess I'll start with the standard disclaimer that what I like to hear and play might not be to your taste, but I'll plow ahead anyway.

I'm self taught and have gotten reasonably proficient with the old folky fingerstyle playing similar to CSN&Y, Paul Simon etc. Had always been a "Dire Straits" fan way back in the day, but as the band split and Mark Knopfler started putting out solo acoustic stuff I still stuck with him as I had moved on to acoustic as well.

What I got out of listening and playing along to Knopfler's acoustic stuff was that I eventually dropped the pick and learned how to use a capo to match where he was playing on the neck. The CAGED concept came into play when I realized I could use a different set of chords to play the exact same melodies by going up 3 or 5 frets. I can often transpose Keys on the fly now.

I could offer dozens of his tunes to listen & learn from but I'll just stick with two.

The first is "Sailing to Philidelphia" which is a song he did with James Taylor (another one to emulate). The precise right hand fingerpicking pattern is really challenging to work out correctly cause there is a really specific rhythm to it - I suspect Taylor plays it while Knopfler adds fills.



"Privateering" is very challenging because it has hammer-ons and pull-offs galore plus the best pinky work-out you'll ever get.