Fingerstyle Guitar Course

Lesson 1 • Producing a Clean Tone

Focuses on attack angle, nail shape, and follow-through to achieve consistent tone. Clean tone is the benchmark for all technique evaluation in this course.

Lesson 2 • Right-Hand Finger Assignment

Introduces p-i-m-a finger labeling and string-to-finger mapping. Consistent assignment is the foundation of all fingerstyle patterns.

Lesson 3 • Reading Tablature and Notation

Introduces guitar tablature and basic standard notation symbols used in fingerstyle music. Students can decode written arrangements by the end of this section.

Lesson 4 • Left-Hand Fretting Fundamentals

Teaches efficient finger placement, arch, and pressure behind frets. Clean fretting eliminates buzz and supports all melodic and harmonic work ahead.

Lesson 1 • Combining Bass and Melody

Introduces simultaneous bass-line and melody playing within simple arrangements. This section bridges isolated patterns to real musical contexts.

Lesson 2 • Alternating Bass Technique

Trains the thumb to alternate between root and fifth bass notes beneath chord shapes. This creates the rhythmic backbone of folk and country fingerstyle styles.

Lesson 3 • Rhythm and Timing Accuracy

Uses a metronome and subdivision exercises to lock fingerpicking patterns into steady time. Rhythmic accuracy is essential before adding complexity.

Lesson 4 • Travis Picking Pattern

Teaches the syncopated thumb-and-finger pattern central to country and folk fingerstyle. Students internalize the pattern so it becomes automatic under chord changes.

Lesson 1 • Chord Transitions in Arrangements

Practices smooth chord changes while maintaining a continuous fingerpicking pattern. Seamless transitions are the mark of a polished fingerstyle performance.

Lesson 2 • Open-Position Seventh Chords

Adds dominant, major, and minor seventh voicings to the open-position toolkit. Seventh chords enrich harmonic color in blues and folk fingerstyle.

Lesson 3 • Suspended and Add9 Voicings

Introduces sus2, sus4, and add9 chord colors common in contemporary fingerstyle. These voicings add harmonic interest without requiring barre technique.

Lesson 1 • Playing Melodies Fingerstyle

Applies scale knowledge to recognizable melodies using rest stroke and free stroke. Students develop expressive phrasing and dynamic control on single notes.

Lesson 2 • Integrating Melody with Bass

Combines scale-based melody with alternating bass patterns in two-voice arrangements. This section is the direct application of scales to fingerstyle composition.

Lesson 3 • Chromatic and Passing Tones

Adds chromatic approach notes and passing tones to diatonic melodies for expressiveness. These embellishments are essential in blues and jazz-influenced fingerstyle.

Lesson 4 • Pentatonic Scale Fingerings

Teaches the five pentatonic positions across the neck for both major and minor tonalities. Pentatonic fluency enables improvisation and melodic embellishment.

Lesson 1 • Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs

Builds left-hand strength and accuracy for legato slurs between notes. Smooth hammer-ons and pull-offs create fluid melodic lines without right-hand re-picking.

Lesson 2 • Natural and Artificial Harmonics

Introduces bell-like harmonic tones produced at nodal points on the string. Harmonics are a signature sound in classical and contemporary fingerstyle.

Lesson 3 • String Bending in Fingerstyle

Adapts pick-style bending technique to fingerstyle context using supported fingers. Bends add blues and country expressiveness to melodic passages.

Lesson 4 • Slides and Glissandos

Teaches controlled single-note and chord slides for expressive melodic movement. Slides add a vocal quality to fingerstyle lines and connect distant positions.

Lesson 1 • Partial Barre and Capo Use

Introduces two- and three-string partial barres and capo placement for key transposition. Partial barres reduce hand fatigue and expand voicing options in fingerstyle.

Lesson 2 • Full Barre Chord Technique

Builds the index-finger barre across all six strings using E- and A-shape roots. Full barres enable access to every major and minor chord on the neck.

Lesson 3 • Applying Movable Chords to Arrangements

Integrates barre and movable voicings into fingerpicking arrangements across multiple keys. Students demonstrate full-neck fluency in a complete musical piece.

Lesson 4 • Movable Seventh Chord Shapes

Extends barre technique to dominant, major, and minor seventh movable shapes. Movable sevenths are essential for jazz and blues fingerstyle harmony.

Lesson 1 • Arranging in Different Styles

Applies arrangement principles to folk, blues, classical, and pop fingerstyle idioms. Style-specific choices in rhythm and voicing define the character of each arrangement.

Lesson 2 • Bass-Line Construction

Develops walking and pedal bass lines that support melody and harmony simultaneously. A strong bass line gives fingerstyle arrangements rhythmic and harmonic depth.

Lesson 3 • Notation and Tablature for Arrangements

Teaches how to notate completed arrangements in tab and standard notation for sharing. Accurate notation preserves arrangements and enables collaboration with other musicians.

Lesson 4 • Anatomy of a Solo Arrangement

Breaks down how melody, inner voices, and bass coexist in a solo guitar arrangement. Understanding the three-layer structure guides every arrangement decision.

Lesson 1 • Building and Performing Repertoire

Guides students through memorizing, refining, and performing a multi-style repertoire set. Performance-ready repertoire is the capstone outcome of the entire course.

Lesson 2 • Delta and Piedmont Blues Styles

Teaches thumb-driven Delta patterns and the syncopated Piedmont ragtime-blues approach. Blues fingerstyle is the root of most American fingerpicking traditions.

Lesson 3 • Contemporary Fingerstyle Techniques

Covers percussive tapping, body percussion, and extended techniques used in modern fingerstyle. These tools define the sound of contemporary solo guitar performance.

Lesson 4 • Celtic and Folk Fingerstyle

Adapts Celtic jigs, reels, and folk melodies to fingerstyle guitar with drone strings. Open tunings and DADGAD are introduced as tools for Celtic texture.