The Fingerstyle Guitar Thread

Peter Rowan is an excellent fingerstylist.

Dust Bowl Children and the first Flying Fish, the one with the Lolita on the cover, are really his best work.

Yonder is really good, too. Recorded direct-to-disc in living rooms of Rowan and Jerry Douglass' friends. Features Rowan mainly on mandola and mando and of course JD doing what he does.


GD's Aoxomoxoa has some nice fingerstuff too. Duprees Diamond Blues, Cosmic Charley is pretty straight blues, Mountains of the Moon is Travis-picking.

Also Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodle-oo from Wake. Great rag. Same progression as Ballad Of A Thin Man but a whole different trip. Oh, and who can forget Pride Of Cucamonga!!!!!! The Mars Hotel version really doesn't do it justice as a rag, but you can hear it in there, and when Phil does it now it has a cool lope to it. Bobby does some tasty stuff on Prelude too.
 
Last edited:
hmmmm

not sure if its exactly what youre looking for but when you mention travis picking you cant go without mentioning tommy emmanuel. search for him on youtube. hes one of my all time favourite guitar players, although alot of his stuff is boom-chick style with a thumbpick which is also fun and makes it alot easier to make a seperated bassline ring through on something like Windy and Warm, which tommy plays.

the first songs i ever learned fingerstyle, as in non-classical fingerstyle, was Tomi Paldanius's cover of Livin On A Prayer (great at parties) and Tommy Emmanuel's Imagine (my cover in the mixing clinic). livin on a prayer really benefits from a thumbpick, because you should be palm muting the bass line sorta, as with alot of Travis-type stuff.

if someone asked me what to start out with for beginner guitar playing without a pick, i would say classical over fingerstyle. learn some bach and some otherclassical arrangements on www.acousticpower.com. great website by the way, fantastic powertabs of tommy emmanuel, merle travis, and many classical composers.

Adam
 
day is done by nick drake is one of more accessible but still interesting to play. and you don't have to tune...you just need a capo.
 
As far as hand and finger position go, watch a good banjo player, or better yet, a good steel-guitar player. There are picks on every finger, and strings are plucked at almost 90 degrees, almost flamenco styled.
 
I've never taken lessons so for all I know my fingerstyle 'method' is probably wrong. I usually keep my hand floating above the strings though, I don't rest my pinky on the guitar.

Some songs I learned which really helped:

Jimmy Page - Bron-Yr-Aur
Candace Harrison - Asleep (Very simple, tab is at ultimate-guitar.com)
Tommy Emmanuel - Angelina
Tommy Emmanuel - Since We Met
Mason Williams - Classical Gas
The Beatles - Yesterday
Randy Rhoads - Dee
Tesla - Love Song
Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven

And of course a bunch of other ones. Start with something real basic and once you master that and feel comfortable move up to something harder.

My biggest mistake I made in guitar is I always started with something way out of my league and developed poor technique and even some problems with my hands. :( Now I find it harder to play things I used to have no problems playing.

So pay attention to what your hands are doing and if something doesn't feel right then change your technique. What's important is that you're comfortable and relaxed while playing.
 
I used to always rest my pinky. Then I took some classical guit lessons. The result is that I now let my right hand float over the strings. It was awkward to learn but has payed dividends in my fingerstyle flexibility, versatility, and technique (all of which still suck but not as much). I do have a couple of songs where I will plant the pinky, but these are speed travis picking pieces with little variation in the string picking order.

Also, for fingerpicking, you may want to try holding the guit classical style (on your left thigh). I got hooked on this back when I was taking classical lessons and now always play fingerstyle (steel or nylon) this way.

Great fingerstylists that I listen to:

Harvey Reed
Leo Kottke
Alex deGrassi
Pierre Bensusan
Doyle Dykes
Rick Ruskin
Jim Earp
Phil Keaggy
Laurence Juber

There are many, many more great ones, but those are the ones I am familiar with.
 
Last edited:
I must be the weird one out of this thread. I rest my palm against the guitar instead of the pinky. I never took lessons, so I figure, what I don't know won't hurt me.

I think it all depends on what you feel comfortable with. You are going to lose some flexibility in your playing by using the pinky as a crutch. Don't know whether it changes the tone of the guitar by doing it either. Seems like it must to some extent.

Tim could give you some pointers if he sees this thread. You know those classically trained players. :D
 
andyhix said:
I have a feeling my right hand position is all wrong, but I can't find a good illustration of where it should be. Occasionally (if I don't consciously avoid it), I'll find that I'm bracing my hand with my pinky on the body of the guitar, rather than letting my hand float over the strings. I assume this is a bad thing?
Click to expand...


These should help, though don't be surprised if you thumb doesn't stick out as far as Leo's. You remember that Uma Thurman Movie, "Even Cowgirls get the Blues?" That's what Leo's thumbs are like.

Oh, and the first one, these are all after he had worked his way through his tendinitis issues, so his hands are a good thing to copy. Just don't try to copy his hands from back when he used fingerpicks. His technique back then is what gave him problems.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fKo6aYe4Jg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBcdgpvTtUg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQKbwLqKEOI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdq6TCZZ_qo (I'm just including this one cause I love "Louise." You can't really see his hand that well.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSt2gC-PG8w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uk_VWP5dMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQNCTJ6cUmI (Though it is often credited to Leo, "Little Martha" is a Duane Allman piece. Leo, of course, made it his own. I highly recomend learning it, because it is REALLY easy, and sounds fantastic.)

And then, just because it is fun and cool (and because Michael Hedges right hand positioning is probably easier to copy, even if his technique is not): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5m4lomm4Y



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Outlaws said:
Here is a good video of proper technique. And it has a good song too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQcuQsD587M
Click to expand...


ONLY if you are playing with your guitar in a classical position. Trying to recreate that with your guitar on your right leg will fuck up your hand at least ten different ways. Your wrist ends up in a Very Bad Angle.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
ONLY if you are playing with your guitar in a classical position. Trying to recreate that with your guitar on your right leg will fuck up your hand at least ten different ways. Your wrist ends up in a Very Bad Angle.
Click to expand...


Ya I guess I took that as obvious. It would seem uncomfortable anyways.

But here is another since the OP said he is getting a classical guitar, and just incase he wants to learn the position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BL7fLeXMhM&mode=related&search=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwvDon1_iKs&mode=related&search=
That guy has a lot of videos on there. Just another guy with a somewhat slower style that can be studied a bit better IMO than someone who does classical shredding. :D

Then a good close up of a normal style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvDue8JpzPg&mode=related&search=
 
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone! Unfortunately my office blocks me from youtube so I'll have ot wait till I get home to check out a few of the vids (on dial up - yuck!)

I saw Leo Kottke live several years ago, and I was struck by how his thumb is WAY out in front of his fingers. I seem to remember some video, where he said that a players thumb will naturally move out like that as they progress with the style.

I seem to recall learning a decent chunk of "classical gas" and "the entertainer" years ago, but never saw it through. I'll have to add those to my short list.

Thanks again everyone, especially for the TAB links and video links.
 
andyhix said:
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone! Unfortunately my office blocks me from youtube so I'll have ot wait till I get home to check out a few of the vids (on dial up - yuck!)

I saw Leo Kottke live several years ago, and I was struck by how his thumb is WAY out in front of his fingers. I seem to remember some video, where he said that a players thumb will naturally move out like that as they progress with the style.

I seem to recall learning a decent chunk of "classical gas" and "the entertainer" years ago, but never saw it through. I'll have to add those to my short list.

Thanks again everyone, especially for the TAB links and video links.
Click to expand...

I remember one thing I heard regarding RH position. I just checked it on me, and it seems to hold up.

Plant your RH in position with your thumb resting on one of the low strings (E or A) and your i, m, and a fingers resting on strings 3, 2, 1. Now if you look down, you should be able to see a small triangle created between your thumb and first finger. That's a good starting point.
 
andyhix said:
I'm not sure I got what I was supposed to out of the table top test, but it seemed that pinky down was more controlled, but pinky up was faster? :confused:
Click to expand...
Andy,
I like speed. Also, in another post you mentioned sympathetic movement. I think that's why the pinkie needs to be curled.
That said, I have a heck of a time doing this. Whenever the music gets complicated my right hand tenses up and the pinkie shoots out. I've recently taken to wrapping a twistie-tie connecting my ring with my pinkie. My playing is definately more accurate and I can play faster with the curl.
 
andyhix said:
I'm mostly a flatpicker/strummer but I've just recently tried to get a little more adept at fingerstyle guitar. I'm right now just trying to get a bit of thumb independence to get that alternating bass line to become a bit more automatic. But the whole thing is a pretty foreign to me (but also pretty exciting - to be actually learning some new technique, rather than playing the same old tired crap over and over).
Click to expand...

Thumb independence is just the start. Eventually, you want every finger to be able to do anything you need it to do.

andyhix said:
I have a feeling my right hand position is all wrong, but I can't find a good illustration of where it should be. Occasionally (if I don't consciously avoid it), I'll find that I'm bracing my hand with my pinky on the body of the guitar, rather than letting my hand float over the strings. I assume this is a bad thing?
Click to expand...

The main disadvantage to anchoring your pinky is that it limits the mobility of your other digits - especially the ring finger. That being said, if you are getting good tone and don't mind the loss of flexibility, don't sweat it. It is a good idea, however, to get comfortable with and without an anchor.

andyhix said:
I'm trying to work through "Windy and Warm" and "You are My Sunshine" (both tabbed out nicely at http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/)

Any tips that anyone might have - good beginner songs, exercises, tips, etc. - post them here.
Click to expand...

Work on simple material first. While "Windy and Warm" isn't exactly "Blue Rhondo Ala Turk," I wouldn't call it a beginner's piece. I'd also suggest you try putting some "Dick & Jane" arrangements (melody w/alternating bass only) of tunes you are familiar with. That will keep you from getting hooked on somebody else's written transcriptions.
 
A good song to keep your bass finger picking skittles up is "The entertainer", almost everyones heard it wether they know it or not. Cool thing is it has two voices and theres multiple ways of playing it, the hardest way is a good work for both hands, finger picking and better chord to chord movement.
 
RRuskin said:
Work on simple material first. While "Windy and Warm" isn't exactly "Blue Rhondo Ala Turk," I wouldn't call it a beginner's piece. I'd also suggest you try putting some "Dick & Jane" arrangements (melody w/alternating bass only) of tunes you are familiar with. That will keep you from getting hooked on somebody else's written transcriptions.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. I have a tendancy to do that - try to skip steps in order to play what I REALLY want to. That said, I now can play all the parts of windy and warm (at least the version I have printed). I just don't play them real well, or fast, or in perfect succession, and occasionally the alternating bass line gets randomized. Actually, with that song, it's the fret hand in a few spots that hangs me up more than the picking. I'm getting there, though!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top