(American) Fingerstyle learning recommendations

[Bjbny]

Marco Cirillo has a cool YouTube channelhttps://youtu.be/bN7DsPpyiag that is great for someone getting into Fingerstyle:

[TDW]

Hey all,

I just thought I'd jump in with an update on how I've been getting on so far. So I fell into a rabbit hole yesterday after typing the phrases "barre exercises" and "scales practice". No idea how I got there, but I started watching YouTube videos on the Pentatonic scale! Jeez.... My head was all over the place, but I found a channel that kind of explains things well - search Google for YouTube fretjam and let me know what you think, it looks pretty good and I'm only just finished absorbing the first input.

Separately to that I've been watching links that people helpfully added and researching artists I've never heard of. JonPR listed quite a few players that I'd never heard of and are definitely before my time, but I did appreciate the skill and can definitely see how they've influenced the modem style.

I've subscribed to Justin Guitar and started back with the basics and I've also subscribed to some Richard Gilewitz material alongside the others to see whether some lessons might just help me out. I want to focus on fundamentals more than anything and I really found the Giuliani's 120 studies link pretty eye opening. The difficulty with that type of lesson is that I can't read music traditionally and I couldn't really work out the chords or patterns they were practicing just by looking. I will research it more as I believe that sliw and steady practice at the Classical techniques will make me a better player overall.

Finally (for now) I've added Marco Cirillo to my watch list as I liked his style and approach to the video you linked. There is so much to absorb, but I'm taking it slowly and hope this thread turns into something that helps others.

I've also just bought a new guitar (my second one) so I'm looking forward to trying these bits out with my new toy

Thanks again everyone

[TBman]

Originally Posted by TDW

Hey all,

I just thought I'd jump in with an update on how I've been getting on so far. So I fell into a rabbit hole yesterday after typing the phrases "barre exercises" and "scales practice". No idea how I got there, but I started watching YouTube videos on the Pentatonic scale! Jeez.... My head was all over the place, but I found a channel that kind of explains things well - search Google for YouTube fretjam and let me know what you think, it looks pretty good and I'm only just finished absorbing the first input.

Separately to that I've been watching links that people helpfully added and researching artists I've never heard of. JonPR listed quite a few players that I'd never heard of and are definitely before my time, but I did appreciate the skill and can definitely see how they've influenced the modem style.

I've subscribed to Justin Guitar and started back with the basics and I've also subscribed to some Richard Gilewitz material alongside the others to see whether some lessons might just help me out. I want to focus on fundamentals more than anything and I really found the Giuliani's 120 studies link pretty eye opening. The difficulty with that type of lesson is that I can't read music traditionally and I couldn't really work out the chords or patterns they were practicing just by looking. I will research it more as I believe that sliw and steady practice at the Classical techniques will make me a better player overall.

Finally (for now) I've added Marco Cirillo to my watch list as I liked his style and approach to the video you linked. There is so much to absorb, but I'm taking it slowly and hope this thread turns into something that helps others.

I've also just bought a new guitar (my second one) so I'm looking forward to trying these bits out with my new toy

Thanks again everyone

I was reading the thread, not sure what American finger style is, but I saw Tommy Emmanuel's name so I got an idea of what you meant. I am really only familiar with Tommy's "Only" album, which kept me busy for quite a while years ago. Now that I'm a lot older and play a lot slower, I have found that picking out the melody line and learning to play that first (along with a supporting note or two), really helps in learning a tune as long as you still play the full position. In other words if the melody line is in a barre, you should still play the barre even though you are just playing a couple of notes in it. This "dumbed down" way of learning a piece is helping me get the flow of a tune much faster than trying to learn to play it note for note one measure at a time.

[TDW]

Thanks Barry, I hadn't considered that type of approach but I suppose it's a way of playing the more difficult pieces if your heart is set on them.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by TDW

Hey all,

I just thought I'd jump in with an update on how I've been getting on so far. So I fell into a rabbit hole yesterday after typing the phrases "barre exercises" and "scales practice". No idea how I got there, but I started watching YouTube videos on the Pentatonic scale! Jeez.... My head was all over the place, but I found a channel that kind of explains things well - search Google for YouTube fretjam and let me know what you think, it looks pretty good and I'm only just finished absorbing the first input.

Separately to that I've been watching links that people helpfully added and researching artists I've never heard of. JonPR listed quite a few players that I'd never heard of and are definitely before my time, but I did appreciate the skill and can definitely see how they've influenced the modem style.

I've subscribed to Justin Guitar and started back with the basics and I've also subscribed to some Richard Gilewitz material alongside the others to see whether some lessons might just help me out. I want to focus on fundamentals more than anything and I really found the Giuliani's 120 studies link pretty eye opening. The difficulty with that type of lesson is that I can't read music traditionally and I couldn't really work out the chords or patterns they were practicing just by looking. I will research it more as I believe that sliw and steady practice at the Classical techniques will make me a better player overall.

Finally (for now) I've added Marco Cirillo to my watch list as I liked his style and approach to the video you linked. There is so much to absorb, but I'm taking it slowly and hope this thread turns into something that helps others.

I've also just bought a new guitar (my second one) so I'm looking forward to trying these bits out with my new toy

Thanks again everyone

Enjoy your journey of discovery with your new guitar,
though I'm puzzled as to why you write that you like Tommy Emmanuel but you don't like Travis Picking?
Here is Tommy giving a lesson on Travis Picking
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u0ocjT3gObE
Travis picking is a great place to start, for some guitarists it's all they need to do for others it's a begining where they learn the control necessary to feel comfortable playing guitar.

But essentially the two main cattegories of music are melodic and harmonic and these two categories are at either end of a continuous spectrum. The same piece can be arranged to tilt toward either direction, for instance the arrangement of Londonderry Air played by Dan C Holloway has been pushed toward the harmonic end of the spectrum which is what gives it an almost bluegrass tinge, other arrangements are much more sparce in the use of harmony and really emphasize the melody.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

though I'm puzzled as to why you write that you like Tommy Emmanuel but you don't like Travis Picking?

So was I . Seeing as Travis picking could be said to be the core of "American fingerstyle", almost defining what that means (a mix of blues and country styles).

But maybe what the OP meant was (a) Tommy is Australian (!), and (b) he does play other kinds of fingerstyle (less tied to the American tradition).

[Brent Hutto]

I think at some point it's best to stop looking for examples of really good performances which you'd like to emulate and just pick an technique and give yourself a year or so to get pretty decent at it. As you do that, concentrate on making a few tunes "your own" using whatever technique you choose.

I take guitar lessons on a one-to-one basis rather than by watching videos and I really, really like hearing my teacher play his own music. But the stuff we work on is totally focused on him helping me play in my own "style" (that's giving it a bit too much credit, it's not really very stylish at this point!) rather than showing me how to play like he does.

That's harder to do with video lessons but still, I think even as a near-beginner like me it's good to go ahead and start thinking of the sounds you want to hear yourself making. Because let's face it, you or me trying to play a tune like any of those guys you see on YouTube is not going to be nearly the same anyway Never too soon to start working on being the best version of yourself that you can be.

[JERZEY]

Originally Posted by phydaux

Tommy Emmanuel and Chet Atkins both compromise by using a thumb pick, transitioning effortlessly back and forth between flatpicking and finger style.

If you ask Tommy he will tell you it took him over 10 years of playing to get good with a thumb pick.

[TDW]

Hi all, time for another update on this. So I've been watching loads of YouTube videos to see what helps and what doesn't hit the spot. I started watching loads of JustinGuitar, but his early lessons are a little too basic for me. I don't have issues forming or sounding good chords, but the other thing I don't really like about him is that his main focus is on strumming. He does a few fingerstyle videos, but I'm looking for something to take me on the fingerstyle journey to improve me on a defined path.

I found another YouTube channel that has 31 videos on fingerstyle so I'm going to have a go on these videos in the coming days. Link as follows: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...0E5z1JZDk3bowI

@Brent - I appreciate it looks like I'm bouncing all over the place trying to find something at the moment, but I'm just looking for the type of thing you're talking about. Maybe the videos above will give me the starting point I need to get things underway, but as we stand, I've not yet found something I'm content with and just want to put my thoughts on here in case it helps anyone else.

I've also taken a shine to Marco Cirillo (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4T...AyPsBUDmqE3HYA) and think he's good at what he does. The only issue is that he speaks about what he wants you to do (eg, put your index finger on the 4th fret, low E string) but I'm a visual person so I prefer the visual videos that show the tabs. That said, he has 41 videos on fingerstyle exercises to improve technique and strength so I've bookmarked these for a closer look in good time - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...XhGl8dzahFXMlZ

I researched Bruce Emery and found an introduction to the Fingerstyle from scratch video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-w6q50dkAo

I really like the explanation of what he's teaching and the reviews in general look pretty good. I was really close to buying a copy off Amazon for £15 but then spotted a book called "Beginner Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar: The Complete Guide to Playing Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar" by Simon Pratt. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084M8GFB9
It seems to get many more reviews compared to the Bruce Emery book. Has anyone got any experience of it? can anyone recommend it?

I suppose I'm partly holding off on buying a book until I've explored whether the latest YouTube channel I've found is any good. If the 2x YouTube playlists I've mentioned don't help me out I'm going to buy either the Bruce Emery book or the Simon Pratt book.

Separate to all of that, I went down another rabbit hole and ended up looking up the Mauro Giuliani 120 Arpeggios. The videos don't have the best angles or any tab overlay, but this guy covers them quite well https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...C_CBKxGmBhNUpF

I know someone recommended the Giuliani material so I was wondering if anyone else would recommend that I start on these to improve the fundamentals? If nothing else, I've started trying to 'plant' my fingers more and use the TPIMA system. I tend to anchor my little finger below the high E string and then try to play music I already know, but strictly using my thumb for the EAD strings, followed by my index, middle and anular (ring) finger for the GBE strings - jeez.... it is really really hard, but I suppose I'm retraining my brain and I think it'll be worth it if I persevere.

The final one I'll mention is good old Tommy Emmanuel - @Andy/JonPR - apologies if I've confused things, but maybe it shows how little I know about his style. I like more modern music than the older travis/boom chick style of play, but it's fair to say that Tommy does just about everything and I do love some of his pieces.

Did anyone notice he's just released a new premium channel on Truefire? here is the link https://truefire.com/channels/up-close--personal/h2724

The other Tommy offering I've seen that potentially looks better than buying a book is this one - https://truefire.com/tommy-emmanuel-...throughs/c1030 Has anyone paid for this and could recommend it?

phew... that's a lot of things to cover, but I appreciate the advice and comments from everyone. thanks again

[rick-slo]

Find pieces you like and if some are anywhere near your technical ability work on playing those specific pieces. Advance as you go along.

[Andyrondack]

TDW
I found fingerstyle lessons in the Acoustic Guitar Magazine 'Solo Fingersyle Basics' book to be a great introduction.
Also 'Complete Learn To Play Fingerpicking Guitar Manual ' by Brett Duncan. This also has a usefull music theory appendix.

[TDW]

both good bits of advice and thanks Andy, I'll check out those recommendations.

[TDW]

Hey all,

so I'm really enjoying the tutorials at this website https://www.ebooks4guitar.com/months...ing.html#ebook

they are all free and the same guy has a YT channel with other bits on it as well. Quick question though - I'm on Lesson 8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9s8TEQPIEA&t=580s) and I'm doing the exercise a 8mins 7secs. I'm a bit confused and need clarification on how to play these bars.

I thought that I used my thumb for EAD and then my Index for G, my middle for B and my annular for E.

So on his music he denotes the P as the primary (in this case the thumb) but he is playing all of the other strings out of synch to me. So as an example, the first bar in the music at 8min 7 sec, he says to play it:

P-A IMAMIMI

but going off what I read, it should be:

P-M PIMIPIP

does that make sense? so in essence, I'm playing the thumb on all the bass strings. It's slightly confusing me in that I don't know whether to follow what he's teaching or stick to what I read about using the thumb for bass to make it independent of the GBE strings being played by the IMA fingers.

Any advice would be great - thanks

[mike243]

Originally Posted by Jamolay

I am just a beginner, so what do I know? But I hear this concern quite a bit on guitar forums. It seems there are a lot of people who have learned guitar for a while but are hitting limits because of inadequate attention to fundamentals.

It sounds a bit like that for you and you may have some success going back to a coherent beginners course to fill in the gaps so you can then get back into the finger style with more base.

I use Justin guitar. Well set up and coherent. Yes, it will seem a bit like a step backwards, but one step back for two forward. But regardless of who you study under, I would recommend a coherent course that build from basic rather than a bunch of you tube videos.

This is just what “buddyhu” is saying that he is getting from his private lessons. That is probably a great way to go as well.

Very well said. One needs a structure that gradually builds on the fundamentals so one can accumulate the knowledge and skill to play well. If one gets frustrated and starts trying to imitate without the underlying work done, you'll never be as good at it as the guy that got there by building a solid foundation.

I took a year of Guitartricks. It was expensive, and after a while I realized that I need to slow down and practice to build the skill before moving on. Then I tried Justinguitar free for about six weeks and found it valuable enough to begin a monthly donation. I really like his teaching style, and I also watch plenty of YouTube videos. The best part of Justin is if I feel I need to slow down and practice, I can reduce my donation for a while and then increase when I'm ready to plow ahead.

One observance (about me). When checking out Justin, I thought his lessons were long and wordy compared to Guitartricks. When I decided to go with him I realized he isn't wordy. He covers the material thoroughly, uses plenty of explanation and options, anticipates hesitation and is always supportive.

Best of luck to all newbies from one who seriously began learning at age 69.

Mike

[TDW]

Thanks Mike. I've checked GuitarTricks out, but it doesn't appear to cover the fingerstyle that I'm after. I'm currently enjoying the 30 or so lessons that I mentioned above and then I'll see what I fancy after that. I'm tempted to get something through Truefire, maybe the Tommy Emmanuel package which seems to offer a load of really good fingerstyle pieces. I also like the other recommended person that I was pointed towards on Truefire.