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Joined:
November 2011
Posts: 741
Location: Fort Worth, TX | I'm having a crisis now that I've given up bass and returned to my first love with the acquisition of a new Balladeer. I stepped into the bassist role in an orchestra 14 years ago and really got into it - to the extent that I basically went most of those years never touching a guitar again. Most of my old repertoire was easily reacquired, with the notable exception of my lightning fast bluegrass licks. I have a goal of realizing a lifelong dream of mastering fingerstyle playing. Problem is, my adult ADD demands instant gratification from anything I do and nothing close to that is happening with the fingerstyle pursuit. I've got books and dvd's on order I'm hoping will keep me motivated to accomplish my goal. I am friends with a famous fingerstyle player here in Texas and was chagrined to have him tell me it's gonna take years of practice to get good at it. I'm 58 now and would prefer a faster path. Fortunately, I am retired already and have nothing but time on my hands. Anybody know of a particularly good fingerstyle course that would cover my needs? Specifically, has anyone ever done the Zager subscription thing? Maybe I should have set my sights lower. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I too am working on fingerstyle...
I got a book and a VHS tape and YouTube, and here is what I have figured-out...
Once you understand that you pick the high strings with your fingers and the low strings with your thumb... Just go ahead and pick any way you like that feels comfortable to you.
Just play the way that you feel... You'll be Happier :cool: |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 1453
Location: Texas | .... |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Try any of Pete Huttlinger's dvds. I have several, including one just on fingerstyle exercises. I'm the same age and I'm now a decent fingerstyle player and really started 5 or so years ago. I haven't done much in the last year because I've focused on picking an electric guitar. Focused is probably too strong a word.
Huttlinger is a great teacher and gives very patient and understandable instructions without talking too much. It's also pretty easy to skip to what you want to learn and use the tabs that come with the dvds or are available to print off the internet. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 63
| I found this to be very inspiring some time ago:
http://youtu.be/1_88pDk1cHo
It's the kind of thing and style to get the hang of. You practice, practice until you suddenly realise you can do it.
I slightly disagree with your friend. While there is no real shortcut (just as there is no good shortcut to lose weight or... learn to write lol), the time it takes to get "good" (ask Malmsteen or Emmanuel and they'll tell you they're still not good enough) directly depends on how much time you devote to it.
What i mean (sorry for the lengthy post, ADD here as well) is that IT DOESN'T HAVE TO TAKE AGES. Keep grinding those teeth, practice that playing. You WILL succeed. I have seen a guy take up guitar at 70, I swear, and he PLAYED after less than a year. Should you ask, I could post that story. It's been my inspiration for years :) |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Depends on what you are playing also.
It will obviously be easier and less time consuming if you are fingerpickin to songs you are singing.
It will be much harder and more time consuming to learn to fingerpick melody and lead lines for pure instrumental versions of popular tunes. |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 1453
Location: Texas | How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
As for the effects of age, there's a great song that goes; "It takes me all night to do what I used to do all night long." ;)
I empathize with you; I also get impatient when things take longer to accomplish then they used to, and it's sooo much harder to learn new tricks now that I'm an old dog. It takes a lot more effort to remember new material, and much more practice to master new things. But, if you accept that it may take a little extra time and effort, you'll get there. Getting your fingers to cooperate with your brain when you first try finger-picking may seem impossible at first, but once you can play a couple simple things, the harder stuff will seem achievable, not easy, but at least not as impossible as it seemed at first. Like a lot of things, the first hurdle is the most intimidating.
Since you already play guitar, you can certainly learn to finger-pick some nice material proficiently pretty quickly if you practice regularly and work at it, as long as you don't expect to play like Tommy Emmanuel anytime soon (or, let's be honest, ever.) Pick a simple song that you'd like to learn and see if you can find some decent tab for it, that can help to visualize which fingers/strings to play…
Good luck, keep us posted on your progress… |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | +1 on the Pete Huttlinger DVDs. The one on fingerstlye exercises breaks down a lot of different patterns and has a lot of good info.
Pete is a great guitarist and a wonderful teacher. |
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Joined:
November 2011
Posts: 741
Location: Fort Worth, TX | Ammons... the Tommy Emmanuel video was equal parts inspiration and depression. I'd trade my soul to the devil to b able to play that effortlessly. I'm beginning to think I got too late a start with fingerstyle playing. Strumming with a pick is getting boring though. And as I said, my bluegrass chops are long extinct. That's okay though as I'm not so much into bluegrass anymore. I will get there in some fashion, question is whether it will be worth listening to. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | I thought this said finding lost "choppers" and I was going to suggest the glass on the sink |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I'm too old and set in my ways to learn new technique. I've picked for over 50 years and only bothered to try finger-style over the past five. I have to work too hard at making anything sound good. With a pick, it just flows. The best I can do is the beginning of Classical Gas finger style, then immediately switch to pick when the tempo picks up. Its the same as trying to learn to snowboard on the slopes a few years back. I'm an expert on skis and look like an absolute beginner on a snowboard. At this stage in my life, it isn't worth the effort. I'll stick with what I can do, even if it means I remain a one-trick pony. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | The answer is Pete Huttlinger . He played and did instructional sessions at our local music festival a few years back.
I've seen no one who is so good a taking apart what he does and showing the pieces in a way that you can put it back together yourself. |
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Finding lost chops & motivation
