You will quickly come to find the most important foundation is a solid rhythm. The focus of these first lessons is traditional roots style music, and if you break it down two distinct profiles begin to emerge, Travis style and Alternating Bass. Both are equally valid and invaluable in the proper situation.
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Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson combined the passion of gospel music with the intensity of the blues unlike any other artist. His deep, gravelly vocals soared mightily over his haunted, burning slide guitar, creating a hard-hitting spiritual experience which remains unparalleled.
Blind Willie McTell
Willie McTell was a Piedmont musician, remarkable not only for his powerful, clean and crisp 12-string fingerstyle technique and the ability to jump between ragtime, blues, slide, gospel, country and popular music; but also for his vocals, which sing through clear as a bell.
Lesson 6: Speed -vs- Accuracy
Try to imagine the tonal differences between the wing flaps of a Sparrow and those of an Eagle. Quick, flighty and erratic or strong, confident and soaring.
Lesson 5 : The Space Between the Notes
There is a lot of depth in the silence between the notes. Don’t overplay. You don’t need to emphasize every note of every song, just some notes play themselves. A strong rhythm hides a multitude of sins.
Lesson 4 : Muscle Memory
Once you have established or at least understand the basic technical rudiments, you’re on your way to independence. The next step is to forget everything. You should be able to enjoy listening to what you are creating and not worrying about where your thumb is supposed to be. Your body breathes for you, it’s not [...]
Lesson 3 : Hand Positions
There are at least two schools of thought, or should I say technique, when it comes to hand positions.
Lesson 2 : Fingers and Picks
here are no hard fast rules about how to maintain your nails but there are some things you should be aware of.
Lesson 1: Choosing the Right Guitar
The majority of the music presented here is traditionally played on steel-string acoustic as opposed to nylon. The goal when buying any guitar is to get the best instrument for the best value. If money is no object, well, good for you! For the rest of us though, price is something to take into consideration.
