Question about a fingerstyle version of Greensleeves

[beninma]

I decided to work on this song, I've really not done any fingerstyle/fingerpicking at all and have been pretty attached to picks since I started.

I met Mark last week and mentioned I'd watched his video and he kind of challenged me as to why I hadn't learned it.

Anyway, he doesn't actually explain much in this video, I went over it with my teacher, but we were playing electric guitars.

My first reaction on the C and B chord sections (and my teacher kind of said to do it this way) was to barre across the required fret for the sections where you hit one string with your thumb and the other with your finger. I have no problem playing the C/B barre chords in those positions but just laying the barre down plus one finger seems quite a bit harder and/or requires moving the barre finger strategically.

I am noticing some of these are really hard on acoustic, and in the video Mark is not using a barre for these, it looks like he's using finger 2 on the bass string and finger 3 on the treble string when there are a pair of notes.

This seems to require a little more fretting hand gymnastics but feels more relaxed.

I'm curious what others recommend/do. I've tried it both ways. Probably going to work on it without the barre for now.

[rick-slo]

Either way. In part depends on how much you want the notes to continue ringing out.

In this case for the barres at eighth and seventh frets I would probably double finger
barre (second finger helping hold down the index finger).


However if I were to play the piece I would probably use barres at the third and second
frets rather than at eighth and seventh frets - easier and IMO sounds better also.

Correct code for youtube

[beninma]

Thanks, not sure why embed of the video didn't work.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by beninma

Thanks, not sure why embed of the video didn't work.

PHP Code:

Just take 5T3550cyFK4 from the youtube web address and wrap that with [YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

----------- 


[FwL]

I would encourage you to finger it as demonstrated just so you get the idea of separate voices moving against each other. It's too easy on guitar to just think about chord shapes rather than lines. There are times when a barre is unavoidable, but this simple piece doesn't require a barre.

.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by beninma

I decided to work on this song, I've really not done any fingerstyle/fingerpicking at all and have been pretty attached to picks since I started.

I met Mark last week and mentioned I'd watched his video and he kind of challenged me as to why I hadn't learned it.

Anyway, he doesn't actually explain much in this video, I went over it with my teacher, but we were playing electric guitars.

My first reaction on the C and B chord sections (and my teacher kind of said to do it this way) was to barre across the required fret for the sections where you hit one string with your thumb and the other with your finger. I have no problem playing the C/B barre chords in those positions but just laying the barre down plus one finger seems quite a bit harder and/or requires moving the barre finger strategically.

I am noticing some of these are really hard on acoustic, and in the video Mark is not using a barre for these, it looks like he's using finger 2 on the bass string and finger 3 on the treble string when there are a pair of notes.

This seems to require a little more fretting hand gymnastics but feels more relaxed.

I'm curious what others recommend/do. I've tried it both ways. Probably going to work on it without the barre for now.

I'd do it without the barre. I find it sounds a little cleaner the way he does it.

The second phrase using the C and B (1:01) won't work (easily) with barres anyway, because the melody drops to frets 7 and 6.

There are plenty of other alternatives, of course. For a beginner approach, I would probably have chosen the lower position rick-slo mentions, although still without a barre. (But then for an open position arrangement, I'd probably have done it in A minor.)

The advantage of the higher position is (a) it keeps the melody all in the same position, and (b) you get a mellower tone because of the thicker strings.
In that position, there's also a nice option of using open strings on those C and B chords (first time round), if you want notes to ring together:

|----0-0----0-|----------
|8------------|7-----0---
|---------8---|----8----
|-------------|--------
|-------------|--------
|8------------|7--------

[Pitar]

C and B sections? Barred? That's a bit over the top for such a simple song. Find it much, much easier to play and embellish in Am.

https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab..._chords_173713

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Pitar

C and B sections? Barred? That's a bit over the top for such a simple song. Find it much, much easier to play and embellish in Am.

https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab..._chords_173713

Barres are just another way to form a chord. Nothing over the top about it.

[beninma]

Thanks guys,

I had previously learned some of this piece a year or more ago with it arranged up in first position, so it's nice to try this version higher up the fretboard.

I've been practicing the fingering like it is in the video this past week, seems to be fine.

I did re-investigate my setup and lower my saddle a little bit after this though.. I've been playing other stuff lately with barre chords up the neck and pretty much decided they were taking too much effort. My guitar was a little out of spec. Saddle was a little high and I'd been compensating by running a lower amount of relief. I probably could lower it a hair more still but I'll wait to decide.