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Old 08-01-2018, 02:49 AM
Telecastoras Telecastoras is offline
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Default Looking for Beginner Fingerstyle DVD Lessons reccomendations

Hello. I play electric guitar for almost 10 years and recently i bought a Yamaha Fg180 50th Anniv Acoustic. I want to learn fingerstyle and some strumming mainly Blues, Americana styles. Can you Reccomend Any online lessons that i can purchase in direct download form that takes you into this type o f playing from the beggining? Please note that i am interested in fingerstyle and strumming.

I have seen this online lessons somewhere here in the forum . ----> http://www.guitarvideos.com/ from Stefan Grossman / nuts and bolts from Rolly Brown / Fred Sokolow...any good? Any other reccomendations that i need to know of?

Last edited by Telecastoras; 08-01-2018 at 02:55 AM.
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Old 08-01-2018, 03:00 AM
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colins colins is offline
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I've really enjoyed using some of the lessons from Homespun. https://www.homespun.com/

And for You tube freebies, Lick 'n Riff is good fun - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_t...BrLyZFk2cZrhHw
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Old 08-01-2018, 06:30 AM
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Toby Walker Toby Walker is offline
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I think I have something that would fit your needs nicely. This course that I put out is only $14.95 and it comes with a whole bunch of instructional videos and tab. You'll learn several songs by old-time blues musicians.

Click on the link here for a video preview.
http://www.tobywalkerslessons.com/learning-how-to-finger-pick.html

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Old 08-01-2018, 07:04 AM
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Back in the early 90's I was a flatpicker getting back into playing. At that point also played a bit of hybrid style. I knew that finger style was where I wanted to go so I bought Eric Schoenberg's Fingerpicking Beatles and I more or less sledge hammered my way through a couple of songs. Then I put the guitar down for a few years and started up again 10 years later. I dug out Eric's book again and then discovered Mark Hanson's travis picking books, #1 = "The Art of Contemporary Travis Picking" and #2 "The Art of Solo Fingerpicking."

A lot of us here have learned from Hanson's materials. He also sells a cd of his playing, "Author's Notes" (and most of the tab for the songs too) on his website. That CD really gave me inspiration to learn. I also learned a few songs from this cd as well.

I still go back and play around with the tunes in these books.

I think the best thing to do is to get Toby's video, he is an excellent instructor, and those two books of Hanson's.

#1 mistake/bad habit I have in finger style - my right hand angle is lazy and many times my fingers make a raspy sound when striking a wound string. I'm trying to correct it, but it will take a while, so watch out for this while you are learning.
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Old 08-01-2018, 07:36 AM
reeve21 reeve21 is online now
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Hello Telecastoras, and welcome to the AGF.

Stefan Grossman's materials and those who work with him are all excellent. But you say you want to start "at the beginning". I know Rolly Brown and Fred Sokolow are very highly regarded as well, but I'm not sure how "basic" their materials are.

I was in your shoes a little while ago, and also looked for advice here on the AGF. I started with The first Hanson book. Then I bought the video from Toby he mentioned. Then the second Hanson book. Then a bunch of other stuff including some of what Stefan sells. Then a private teacher.

If I had it to do again I would here is the order I would follow.

1. Toby's intro video.
2. Mark Hanson's first book.
3. Private lessons.
4. Other books/tabs/recordings.

It is tempting to jump into the deep end of the pool too soon. That is what I did. I was trying to learn songs I just didn't have the technique for. Get your basics down first. Don't expect to play Tommy Emmanuel, Pete Huttlinger, etc. right away. You can make a lot of nice music with some pretty simple tunes. Some of Mississippi John Hurt's songs, for instance.

If you are video learner then your next step would might be to pursue the rest of Toby's catalog as well as Stefan Grossman, Homespun, Truefire, etc. There is a bit of trial and error involved and you may overshoot the mark at first, but eventually you will find your learning style.

But I'll say it again, I didn't really start to "get it" until I found a private teacher who corrected a lot of my technical errors and gave me immediate feedback. I was perfecting a lot of mistakes prior to that time! Toby and Mark and others also offer remote lessons via Skype if you can't find a good local teacher.

Best wishes, you will find a lot of support here.
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Old 08-01-2018, 12:02 PM
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srick srick is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reeve21 View Post
Hello Telecastoras, and welcome to the AGF...

If I had it to do again I would here is the order I would follow.

1. Toby's intro video.
2. Mark Hanson's first book.
3. Private lessons.
4. Other books/tabs/recordings.
Bob makes excellent suggestions here. I would also add Happy Traum’s video lesson, “Conquer the Challenge of the Steady Thumb.”

Quote:
It is tempting to jump into the deep end of the pool too soonr.
That’s for sure. You have to play it simple and play it well. Syncopation, which IMO takes the music to the next level, will totally throw you off if you try to achieve it too soon.

Quote:
But I'll say it again, I didn't really start to "get it" until I found a private teacher who corrected a lot of my technical errors and gave me immediate feedback. I was perfecting a lot of mistakes prior to that time! Toby and Mark and others also offer remote lessons via Skype if you can't find a good local teacher.

Best wishes, you will find a lot of support here.
I think Bob and I have gone down parallel paths here (in more ways than that! ) I too, had a teacher that cut through months of poor playing in just a weekend. A good teacher will make you listen to your playing and self evaluate, then self correct. Videos just can’t provide that level of feedback and correction.

Again, welcome to AGF!

Best,

Rick

PS - So Bob, when do you want to have McChristian Fest?
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Old 08-01-2018, 01:33 PM
reeve21 reeve21 is online now
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PS - So Bob, when do you want to have McChristian Fest?
Hi Rick, We were just talking about how we should drop in on you at your next open mic.

And anytime I can pick a few tunes with Jeff and you is ok with me, not to mention a chance to play your old D-35 which he really enjoys (and I covet).
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Old 08-02-2018, 09:50 PM
PetesaHut PetesaHut is offline
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Quote:
I think I have something that would fit your needs nicely. This course that I put out is only $14.95 and it comes with a whole bunch of instructional videos and tab. You'll learn several songs by old-time blues musicians.
I have the basic Travis thumb picking down, I can play "Freight Train" and that's all as I learned it from sheet music verbatim, but my finger independence needs much more work.

Will this course be the one for me?
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Old 08-03-2018, 05:12 AM
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Learn and Master Fingerstyle Guitar
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Old 08-03-2018, 05:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PetesaHut View Post
I have the basic Travis thumb picking down, I can play "Freight Train" and that's all as I learned it from sheet music verbatim, but my finger independence needs much more work.

Will this course be the one for me?
Right hand

p = thumb
i = index
m = middle
a = ring finger

play the open strings one at a time, just stroke the 6th string with the thumb then alternate (represented as string/finger)
5i, 4m, 3i, 2m, 1i, 2m, 3i, 4m, 5i and then 5m, 4a, 3m, 2a, 1m, 2a, 3m, 4a, 5m

If it sounds too boring after a while do it while holding a C chord, E chord, etc, but keep those right hand fingers alternating. You want smooth playing and constant volume across the strings. Try to keep the tips of your fingers perpendicular to the strings. In my song "Jersey Skies" (in my signature) you can hear where my fingers go off the perpendicular and that raspy sound shows up. I know I'm repeating myself, but learning on your own has its shortfalls and this is something an instructor would have picked up on had I taken fingerstyle lessons when I started. Now I have to try to break an over decade old bad habit.


It may seem like an overly simple exercise but if you think "smoothly" and relax your hand while playing this it is a good way to build up confidence and some speed in your right hand playing. I found out that although my right hand is decent for a play at home old guy, there's room for me to vastly improve and these kind of exercises do more than you realize at first.
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Last edited by TBman; 08-03-2018 at 05:40 AM.
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:48 AM
_zedagive _zedagive is offline
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Learn and Master Fingerstyle Guitar
I totally agree with this one. Very comprehensive and great lessons and play along songs on the discs that will keep you busy for at least 1 year. Look for it on eBay. I think I paid $50 or so.
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Old 08-06-2018, 08:45 AM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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You might also want to check out Rolly Brown's dvds on fingerpicking and fingerstyle guitar. They are very good and available through Stefan Grossman's site. Toby's stuff is also very good.

Best,
Jayne
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Old 08-06-2018, 09:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Telecastoras View Post
Hello. I play electric guitar for almost 10 years and recently i bought a Yamaha Fg180 50th Anniv Acoustic. I want to learn fingerstyle and some strumming mainly Blues, Americana styles. Can you Reccomend Any online lessons that i can purchase in direct download form that takes you into this type o f playing from the beggining? Please note that i am interested in fingerstyle and strumming.

I have seen this online lessons somewhere here in the forum . ----> http://www.guitarvideos.com/ from Stefan Grossman / nuts and bolts from Rolly Brown / Fred Sokolow...any good? Any other reccomendations that i need to know of?
Hi, welcome to acoustic guitar! You are on the right track. I can't recommend Stefan Grossman, Rolly Brown and Fred Sokolow enough. They are all blues masters. I took a workshop with Stefan when he was in Southern CA a few years back. Fred is well-known and has lots of videos around. He also teaches (at least he used to) at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica CA.

You should also check out Happy Traum's offering from Homespun. He has a long history in acoustic guitar instruction and also offers downloadable lessons. Also check out Truefire. I am taking lessons from them at the moment.

Good luck!
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