Episodes
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Is this one of the best or worst method books for acoustic fingerstyle guitar?
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
The Alex de Grassi Fingerstyle Guitar Method, written by fingerstyle legend Alex de Grassi and produced by Stringletter (the publisher of Acoustic Guitar Magazine), is a method book for learning to play solo fingerstyle guitar. You will learn many of the nuts and bolts that bolster de Grassi’s technique, musicality, and general style. This is an amazing book (a 192 page tome of information!), but it is dense and highly technical.
If you are thinking about investing your time into this book, consider what sub-style of fingerstyle you are interested in. Listen to Alex de Grassi’s playing to see if that is the direction that you want to go in. I personally love his playing – he uses a lot of classical technique, he has incredible control and clarity, he is extremely melodic, expressive, and musical, he tastefully uses some modern percussive techniques and cross string ideas, and he plays music that sounds like a blend of folk, Celtic, and blues. If you want to play like Chet Atkins or Tommy Emmanuel, start with a different book. If you want to play like Andy McKee, Preston Reed, Don Ross, or Mike Dawes, this book has several very applicable chapters and isn’t a bad stepping stone. This is a great book if you want to be a well-rounded and precise player.
De Grassi claims that this book is for beginner through advanced players. The first half of the book certainly contains a lot of “beginner” fingerstyle information, but I highly discourage beginner players from starting with this book as their first foray into fingerstyle guitar. There are more approachable books with easier arrangements and less text. If you are a big Alex de Grassi fan and you’re dead set on going through this book as a beginner, it would be helpful to work with a teacher and/or to supplement it with another more beginner-oriented method book (see my other videos/reviews).
I think that this book is very beneficial to a late beginner or intermediate player who can already smoothly play some solo fingerstyle arrangements. This book will tweak your physical techniques, your tone, and your artistic touch (phrasing, articulation, dynamics, etc.).
Overall, the 2nd half of the book is very “heady” with many advanced concepts that beginners don’t need to bog themselves down with. These concepts include difficult cross-string ideas, reasons to use alternate tunings, complex rhythmic ideas (cross-rhythms), modern percussive techniques, and ways to add depth and dimension to your sound.
The repertoire in the book consists of traditional tunes and the author’s original tunes. There are several full song arrangements, but most of the examples are song fragments. De Grassi breaks down these fragments in great detail in order to demonstrate the topic being discussed in the text.
There is SO much detail in the descriptions. He gets into the nuances of how to physically perform a technique, where to place your fingers, how to control note durations, etc. The text is very dense, and it took me a long, long time to get through it. I recommend listening to each (wonderful) audio example, then reading the text pertaining to that example, and then playing that example. You will likely need to repeat this process multiple times for each example or topic.
The audio recordings are invaluable for hearing the artistic details, ornamentation, and complex rhythms of the examples. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tied to the audio recordings of a method book.
All playing examples are provided in standard notation (treble clef) and tablature.
You could use either a steel string acoustic or nylon string classical guitar to work through this book. You don’t have to fret any bass notes using your thumb over the top (although I like to here... -
Quick advice, tips, and tricks for improving at fingerstyle guitar, ukulele, etc.
Selecting and maintaining a repertoire of tunes is critically important. Whether you want to casually play for friends/family or you aspire to perform at a local bar/restaurant gig, you should intentionally choose repertoire tunes that suit your desired performance outlet.
Once you’ve built a repertoire, maintaining it can require a lot of work. To stay performance-ready, you need to plan time for repertoire review into your practice schedule. How often you review each tune depends on your own abilities.
In the video I discuss a couple options to ease the burden of gig preparation. You can use sheet music or an iPad on stage, or you could split a gig with another musician.
Keep a notebook with your repertoire list so that you are efficient with your repertoire review and so that you never lose track of a tune. If you perform for different types of gigs, you will need multiple repertoire lists.
Your repertoire will continually grow and evolve. Some old arrangements will fall off of your list as you add new ones.
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Learning to arrange melodies will also help your fingerstyle songwriting and your understanding of the inner workings of fingerstyle guitar.
My music is available on all streaming platforms – links on my Linktree page: linktr.ee/joemcmurray
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single, "Open Road," on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C.
Riding the Wave and Acoustic Oasis: my first two fingerstyle guitar albums. -
Missing episodes?
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Quick advice, tips, and tricks for improving at fingerstyle guitar, ukulele, etc.
To progress as a musician and achieve your long-term and short-term goals, it is important to practice well. Practicing efficiently and effectively will help you to improve faster with less practice time. This is relevant not only to fingerstyle guitarists and fingerstyle ukulele players, but to all aspiring musicians regardless of their chosen instrument or genre of music.
Think about what your long-term and short-term goals are, and then create a practice plan that will help you achieve those goals. You can be extremely specific and schedule your time down to the minute.
Example:
Long term goal: perform a local fingerstyle guitar gig a year from now.
Short term goal: memorize and master one repertoire tune in the next month.
Very short term goal: memorize and master the verse of that repertoire tune in the upcoming week.
Available practice time: you can fit in three 20-minute practice sessions each week.
Monday and Friday practice sessions could each consist of:
-2 minutes warmup routine
-10 minutes working on one line of the verse of your new repertoire song
-8 minutes repertoire review (other tunes that you have been preparing for your performance next year)
Wednesday practice session could consist of:
-1 minute warmup routine
-10 minutes method/technique book
-5 minutes working on one line of the verse of your new repertoire song
4 minutes repertoire review (other tunes that you have been preparing for your performance next year)
Your goals will continually change and your practice schedules must adjust as well.
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Learning to arrange melodies will also help your fingerstyle songwriting and your understanding of the inner workings of fingerstyle guitar.
My music is available on all streaming platforms – links on my Linktree page: linktr.ee/joemcmurray
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single, "Open Road," on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C.
Riding the Wave and Acoustic Oasis: my first two fingerstyle guitar albums. -
Quick advice, tips, and tricks for improving at fingerstyle guitar, ukulele, etc.
In order to progress as a musician it is important to have clear long-term and short-term goals. This is relevant not only to fingerstyle guitarists and fingerstyle ukulele players, but to all aspiring musicians regardless of their chosen instrument or genre of music.
Figure out what your long-term goals are. Make realistic short-term goals that help you progress towards those long-term goals. In a future Tone Talk episode, I’ll talk about building a specific daily or weekly practice schedule to achieve all of these goals. In yet another future episode I’ll talk about choosing and maintaining the right repertoire to help you achieve these goals.
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Learning to arrange melodies will also help your fingerstyle songwriting and your understanding of the inner workings of fingerstyle guitar.
My music is available on all streaming platforms – links on my Linktree page: linktr.ee/joemcmurray
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single, "Open Road," on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C.
Riding the Wave and Acoustic Oasis: my first two fingerstyle guitar albums. -
Is this one of the best or worst method books for acoustic fingerstyle guitar?
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Hal Leonard’s Fingerpicking Guitar, written by Doug Boduch, is a method book for learning to play solo fingerstyle (or “fingerpicking”) guitar or fingerstyle guitar accompaniment. The book features lots of popular tunes (the Beatles, Adele, Sam Smith, Imagine Dragons, The Police, Toto, Ed Sheeran, etc.). Overall, It is suitable for beginner through intermediate players with the tunes in the later sections of the book becoming progressively more difficult up to that intermediate skill level. Advanced players may still find some fun repertoire tunes. Guitar teachers may find this book to be a great teaching supplement. The progression of topics is well laid out, the examples and arrangements are playable and sound good, and the text is concise.
The book is very short at 38 pages. This is partially due to a lack of detailed explanations, which is part of why this book may work better as a supplement to private lessons or to another more detailed method book. The book is also short because it just doesn’t have that many examples. The examples and arrangements are of high quality, but they don’t cover the many nuances that could pop up in the world of fingerstyle guitar.
If you are looking to play solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements of popular/modern tunes, then this book may be for you. If you are looking for folk, blues, ragtime, Celtic, or classical music, then there are better options.
Fingerpicking Guitar starts with examples of playing easy single-line melodies (Happy Birthday, etc.) with your fingers or thumb. The book then presents some arrangements that utilize a single, easy-to-grab bass note underneath the melody in each measure. Later on it focuses on arrangements that feature alternating bass lines (Travis picking). The book provides some basic arpeggiation examples for accompaniment as well as some arrangements that utilize arpeggiation, but it doesn’t really provide much detail about how to apply arpeggiation underneath a melody in a solo arrangement. There is no discussion of more complex techniques (natural and artificial harmonics, harmonizing melodies with 3rds, 6ths, etc.), alternate tunings, or more modern percussive techniques.
Don’t confuse this book with Hal Leonard’s Fingerstyle Guitar by Chad Johnson. There is a similar progression of information, but they are different books. The older Fingerstyle Guitar also features popular tunes, but is overall lengthier and more detailed. However, I prefer some of the arrangements in the newer Fingerpicking Guitar, especially for my guitar students.
There is virtually ZERO music theory in Fingerstyle Guitar. This may appeal to some readers. However, you won’t learn how to apply the concepts/techniques presented into other musical situations (other tunes, etc.). With the help of a teacher or another book you could get a lot more out of Fingerpicking Guitar.
The book includes access to online audio or video for every example. The audio can be slowed down which can be very helpful. The guitar playing is clean and the recording quality is high. Example numbers don’t line up between Example 30 and 33, but they are all there.
All playing examples are provided in standard notation (treble clef) and tablature.
You could use either a steel string acoustic or nylon string classical guitar to work through this book. You don’t have to fret any bass notes using your thumb over the top (although I like to here and there).
Published by Hal Leonard © 2023.
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook. Learning to arrange melodies will also help your fingerstyle songwriting and your understanding of the inner workings of fingerstyle guitar. -
Is this one of the best or worst method books for acoustic fingerstyle guitar?
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
David Hamburger’s The Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Method is a method book for learning to play solo fingerstyle (or “fingerpicking”) guitar in the American roots styles (folk, blues, ragtime, early jazz, marches). The book becomes progressively more difficult – the early sections of the book are appropriate for beginner fingerstyle players who have some experience with open chords and the later sections of the book are more suitable for intermediate players. Advanced players may still find some useful information, inspiration, or fun repertoire tunes. This is a well-thought-out book with a great progression of information and fun arrangements of tunes.
The book focuses on alternating bass (Travis picking) arrangements and steady bass arrangements (monotonic bass, walking bass, etc.). There are also brief chapters on Drop D and open D tuning. The material flows in a sensible progression from chapter to chapter as you build skills and knowledge. Each chapter includes text and playing examples that directly prepare you for a 1-2 page tune that showcases the techniques or concepts being taught. The arrangements of the tunes are really nice (they sound good and are playable), although don’t usually include any fingering (there is picking hand fingering notated in the examples, but not the full tunes). The tunes are stylistically similar to those found in Stefan Grossman’s “Complete Country Blues Guitar Book” and Mel Bay’s “Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method” although with a very different teaching approach.
The book covers a lot of ground in only 74 pages – from beginning Travis Picking to steady bass blues to harmonized walking bass lines to alternate tunings, etc. While the examples and tunes are of high quality, there aren’t that many examples for each topic, so you won’t get that deep of an understanding of how to apply some concepts to different situations. One example of this is playing walking bass lines under your melody- you’ll play a few tunes that include this, but you won’t really learn how to build your own walking bass lines so that you can apply them to your own arrangements or compositions. However, by the end of the book, you will have a firm grasp of the general approaches of playing using an alternating bass (Travis Picking) or a steady bass.
There is not a lot of music theory in the book. This may appeal to some readers. However, it adds to the issue that you may not be able to apply a concept like walking bass lines to other situations.
The text is descriptive and helpful. However, I don’t like how the publisher places the text as a continuous block at the top of the page with the examples clumped together at the bottom of the page. Harder for my eyes to jump back and forth.
The author includes great listening recommendations that are relevant to the tunes and topics at hand.
The included audio (2 CDs) provides all examples and tunes played at full speed and slowed down. The guitar playing is clean and the recording quality is high.
All playing examples are provided in standard notation (treble clef) and tablature.
You could use either a steel string acoustic or nylon string classical guitar to work through this book. You shouldn’t need to fret any bass notes using your thumb over the top.
Published by String Letter Publishing (publisher of Acoustic Guitar Magazine) © 2007. Distributed by Hal Leonard.
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
My music is available on all streaming platforms:
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album was released on January 19, 2024. Watch the first single, "Open Road," on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4? -
Is this one of the best or worst method books for fingerstyle guitar?
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Dan Thorpe’s Fingerstyle 101 is a method book for learning to play fingerstyle (or “fingerpicking”) guitar. The book is appropriate for absolute beginner fingerstyle players who have some experience with open chords. Intermediate and advanced players will fly through this book and may find a few useful ideas but probably won’t find any revelatory information or inspiring performance pieces. The author has written this book with older adult students in mind, although any beginning students would certainly benefit from working through it. The book contains lots of practical advice on fingerpicking technique, playing posture, and strategies for practicing and memorization. It has sections including “Pro Tips to Make Your Fingerpicking Journey Easier and More Enjoyable,” “The 7 Most Deadly Fingerpicking Mistakes,” and “The 10 Steps for Getting the Most Out of Your Fingerpicking Playing.” There is one section of the book (less than half the book) with actual playing examples, and these examples are great first fingerpicking patterns to learn along with some practical applications.
There is lots of text in the book. Fortunately, this text is informative without being bland. Lots of lists, summaries, pictures, etc. The text has a large font size so it is easy on the eyes. Thorpe provides advice for avoiding guitar-related injuries – i.e. information about how to hold the guitar in the classical style to help older students avoid back pain. There is some psychology about how to learn efficiently/effectively and how to make and set goals. There is a chord reference guide as well as sections on understanding basic rhythms and reading tablature (TAB).
The playing section in the middle of the book progresses at a reasonable pace for a beginner fingerstyle student. Thorpe teaches ten fingerpicking patterns, and for each pattern there are three examples. The first example is as basic as possible over a single chord shape. The second example has you play the pattern over a simple chord progression (always C G D). Since you always utilize the same C G D chord progression, you will be able to focus your brain power on your picking hand and the new pattern. This is also very practical because if you want to fingerpick the guitar while singing, it is useful to try out a pattern over simple chord progressions that you might find in folk or pop songs. Finally, the third example introduces a more complex chord progression, stylistic elements such as hammer-ons and pull-offs, and sometimes a (very simple) moving melody or bass line. These third examples are not long enough to be performance pieces, but they may inspire you to add some flair to your accompaniment fingerpicking or to write your own compositions.
The book doesn’t progress far enough to establish a specific style within the umbrella of fingerstyle guitar. You learn a few classical arpeggiation patterns, a few Travis picking patterns, and a few patterns that have some folk or blues flair. The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
All playing examples are provided in standard notation (treble clef) and tablature. Audio recordings are available for all playing examples.
You could use either a steel string or nylon string classical guitar to work through this book.
Published by Rockstar Publishing © 2015, 2020. Distributed by Hal Leonard.
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
My music is available on all streaming platforms:
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album will be released on January 19, 2024. -
Christmas repertoire books featuring solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements are great for the holiday season! Whether you simply want to get into the Christmas spirit or you need to perform Christmas tunes at your gigs, there are a number of great Christmas repertoire books. In this review I will look at three books that I really enjoy: Hal Leonard’s “Fingerpicking Yuletide,” Mark Phillips’ “Christmas Carols for Easy Classical Guitar” (Cherry Lane Music Company), and John Hill’s “Classical Guitar Christmas Sheet Music” (Hal Leonard).
To be clear, all books are suitable for either steel string guitar or nylon string classical guitar.
All three books feature a range of tunes suitable for late-beginner through intermediate fingerstyle guitarists. Hal Leonard’s “Fingerpicking Yuletide” features mid-twentieth century tunes like Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bell Rock, and Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Phillips’ “Christmas Carols for Easy Classical Guitar” and Hill’s “Classical Guitar Christmas Sheet Music” both feature traditional Christmas carols like O Come, All Ye Faithful, The First Noel, Jingle Bells, and Silent Night.
Hal Leonard’s “Fingerpicking Yuletide” and Phillips’ “Christmas Carols for Easy Classical Guitar” provide both standard notation and tablature, but Hill’s “Classical Guitar Christmas Sheet Music” provides only standard notation (no TAB!!!).
The arrangements in Phillips’ “Christmas Carols for Easy Classical Guitar” flow really well with nice arpeggiation. The arrangements in Hill’s “Classical Guitar Christmas Sheet Music” are a mixed bag, but many of them have nice arpeggiation or feature an alternating bass line (Travis picking). Some of the arrangements are a bit clunky in comparison to the Phillips book. The arrangements in Hal Leonard’s “Fingerpicking Yuletide” are also a mixed bag, but tend to be a little stripped down/simplified to make them easier. While some are great as they are, some are a little uninspiring until you add some extra inner harmony, arpeggiation, or other pizzazz. The arrangements are great for late-beginner/intermediate players, and they are excellent skeletons/frameworks/starting points from which more advanced players can add extra spice. The arrangements utilize a variety of alternating bass lines and arpeggiation.
Hal Leonard’s “Fingerpicking Yuletide” has 16 tunes. Phillips’ “Christmas Carols for Easy Classical Guitar” has 22 tunes. Hill’s “Classical Guitar Christmas Sheet Music” has 30 tunes.
Hal Leonard’s “Fingerpicking Yuletide” is the only book out of the three that has the lyrics written into the music which is nice when playing with friends/family or for helping you to sing the melody out loud or in your head while you are playing solo.
Phillips’ “Christmas Carols for Easy Classical Guitar” is the only book out of the three that comes with recordings of the tunes (mine came with a CD).
All three books are worth buying – it just depends on what you’re looking for.
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
My music is available on all streaming platforms:
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album will be released in January 2024. The first single, "Open Road," was released 10/20/23. Watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C. Three other singles have since been released: “Lost and Found,” “The Matador,” and “Pins on the Map.”
Riding the Wave and Acoustic Oasis: my first two fingerstyle guitar albums. -
Is this one of the best or worst method books for fingerstyle guitar?
You can learn to play music by simultaneously using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Ken Perlman’s Fingerstyle Guitar is a method book for learning to play solo fingerstyle guitar in the folk, blues, fiddle tune, Celtic, and ragtime styles. The book becomes progressively more difficult – the beginning is appropriate for beginner fingerstyle players, and the end is challenging for intermediate and even advanced players. The book is extremely long (232 pages) and extremely detailed with sections of dense explanatory text. While I enjoy many of the tunes in this book (especially the Irish, English, and Scottish fiddle tunes), some of the arrangements are clunky, difficult, and not worth the effort. While I’m happy to have worked through Fingerstyle Guitar, I would not recommend this to most players unless you are specifically interested in older styles of music and you’ve already exhausted other options.
The book quickly introduces alternating bass (Travis picking) arrangements and gradually presents standard guitar techniques including hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, etc. I like that Perlman provides exercises and lots of short, accessible tunes like Elizabeth Cotton’s Freight Train to build your technique. The tunes and arrangements are stylistically similar to those in Stefan Grossman’s Complete Country Blues Guitar Book and Complete Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar Book but with more technical explanations. The book also provides types of tunes similar to those found in Mel Bay’s Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method although with a very different teaching approach.
While the first five chapters of the book are accessible with some fun 20 second tunes, the book’s difficulty increases starting in Chapter 6. The tunes move higher up the fretboard, utilizing alternate tunings, and requiring much more fretting with your thumb over the top. These are important things to learn and prepare you for the fun repertoire-heavy chapters at the end of the book.
The final four chapters of the book provide repertoire tunes organized into categories: “Southern Fiddle Tunes,” “Old-Time Songs and Ballads,” “Irish, English, and Scottish Fiddle Tunes,” and “Rags.” There are some nice arrangements in these chapters, but I found that many of the arrangements seem to be especially difficult. I believe that a good arrangement should find a balance between the complexity of the tune and playability, and many of these arrangements just feel clunky to me. Lots of difficult passages and fingerings even after putting in serious practice. There are detailed explanations of techniques (hammer-ons, slides, etc.), but little explanation of how to actually play through an individual tune with a smooth performance. Other books like Richard Saslow’s The New Art of Ragtime Guitar provide smoother arrangements and much more tune-specific help.
If you are a performing musician, you will find that most of these tunes are too short to actually play out at gigs without coming up with your own variations. The exceptions are the rags in the final chapter which are quite lengthy and difficult. For the shorter tunes throughout the book, there is no discussion about how to go about extending them for performance.
Perlman provides some cool background information on styles and specific tunes. The Celtic fiddle tune chapter has great information on the differences between single jigs, double jigs, slip jigs, set tunes, reels, hornpipes, and slow aires, with great examples of each.
The book provides examples in both TAB and standard notation (treble clef). Each tune/example is presented in its entirety in TAB, and then again in standard notation. This is great in that it minimizes page turns if you are reading the tune. It is also highly annoying because all of the fingering details are only included in the standard notation, -
Is this one of the best or worst method books for fingerstyle guitar?
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Richard S. Saslow’s The New Art of Ragtime Guitar is a fun, well-graduated repertoire + analysis book for learning to play the fingerpicking guitar style known as ragtime guitar. It is aimed at intermediate and advanced fingerstyle players, although late beginners can certainly take a stab at the first couple tunes. The book teaches ragtime guitar through studies of 8 tunes of increasing difficulty. Each tune is broken down into sections with around 6 measures of the music (treble clef and tablature) on one page and a detailed analysis on the facing page. Full condensed tunes are in the back of the book.
Out of the author’s eight original tunes, seven are standard sounding ragtime tunes and one is a blues. Among the ragtime tunes, there is a bit of variation in feel from upbeat and happy to bluesy and minor to jazzy. There are also several key signatures and some unique harmonizations. All of the ragtime tunes utilize an alternating bass line as well as some short segments of walking bass line. The blues tune mainly uses a monotonic bass typical of the Texas blues fingerpicking style.
This is not a method book for learning the basics of fingerstyle guitar in a logical progression from your first notes through to mastery (check out Alfred’s Beginning Fingerstyle, Hal Leonard’s Fingerstyle Guitar, or Mel Bay’s Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method). However, there are about 20 pages of introductory text discussing equipment, notation, the ragtime style, and technique. There is definitely some useful information in this section, especially for novice players. However, I wouldn’t get too caught up reading this entire section all at once – I would recommend jumping into the tunes which often refer you back to the technique sections of the introduction. Read the detailed stuff then!
Where the book really excels is in its presentation of the music and its corresponding analysis. As I mentioned before, for each ragtime tune you will see ~6 measures of music on one page and the detailed analysis on the facing page. This analysis features detailed directions, techniques, and other tips for the 6 measures at hand. I usually play through the music once, and then go through the analysis carefully, marking fingerings, anchor fingers, guide fingers, etc. into the music as well as into the condensed version of the tune in the back of the book. The analysis really does give you insights into how to properly play these tunes (and future tunes from any source) smoothly and musically.
Authentic sounding fingerstyle ragtime tunes.
Good difficulty graduation.
You will spend much more time playing music than analyzing music theory.
Online recordings of each tune are available.
The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top.
Independently published by the author via Acoustic Truth. © 2011, 2017 (2nd edition)
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album will be released in January 2024. The first single, "Open Road," was released 10/20/23. Watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uPBh8sZQsT4?si=EM_wAwnHFqU1VC9C -
Is this one of the best or worst method books for fingerstyle blues guitar?
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Miggs Rivera’s Fingerstyle Blues is an inspiring, well-graduated method book for learning to play fingerstyle blues. It is aimed at intermediate and advanced fingerstyle players. Each chapter ultimately provides a full performance tune, but starts by describing a new concept or technique (or two) and providing examples that prepare you for the performance song. As advertised, this book is focused entirely on fingerstyle blues with deep dives into various substyles including delta blues (Robert Johnson), boogies (John Lee Hooker), slide blues (Son House), and Texas blues (Lightning Hopkins). There is even a tune that has a modern character with some jazzier chords.
I love how in each chapter the book provides technical exercises that directly prepare you for the upcoming performance tune. Often the author will simplify a section of the performance tune and then provide more complexity with each subsequent example. The first chapter of the book presents a somewhat basic 12-bar blues, then provides 5 separate 12-bar variations that each focus on adding a new technique (hammer-on grace notes, slide grace notes, rubato bends, chords fragments, rubato bends on the higher and lower strings), and finally culminates in an all-inclusive performance tune. Mr. Rivera really hit the nail on the head with his teaching approach.
The author provides some music theory, but only that which is immediately applicable to an upcoming performance tune. You will spend much more time playing music than analyzing music theory.
The book includes access to private/un-searchable YouTube video lessons through QR codes. You will need a cell phone that can pull these up. These videos are extremely helpful as they include explanations and demonstrations by the author. These are particularly useful as they show you the proper rhythms and feel.
One thing to note about this book is that it doesn’t emphasize improvisation which is a huge part of blues music. However, you could learn about improvisation elsewhere (with a private teacher or with a book like Joseph Alexander’s Fingerstyle Blues Guitar) and then implement it into the tunes of this book.
Authentic sounding fingerstyle blues tunes.
Excellent difficulty graduation – examples build off each other and get gradually more complex and difficult. Cohesive feel throughout the book, especially as the final performance tune pulls from the earlier tunes.
Not much emphasis on improvisation.
Online video lessons are extremely helpful – difficult rhythms and feel are much easier to learn with the videos.
The book does introduce some modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. You will learn to play thumb slaps and various percussive hits on the guitar body.
I would recommend that you use an acoustic steel string or electric guitar. You could use a nylon string classical guitar if absolutely necessary, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Independently published by Miggs Rivera. © 2020
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.
Pins on the Map: my third fingerstyle guitar album will soon be released. -
I'll be back with more guitar book reviews, but I need to take a little break while I work my way through new books, prepare for performances, finish recording/mixing/mastering my third fingerstyle guitar album, and write my upcoming book.
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Hal Leonard’s 100 Most Popular Songs for Fingerpicking Guitar is a repertoire book filled with solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements of popular songs from mostly the 1960s through present day. Genres covered include classic and modern rock, pop, folk, jazz, theme songs, Spanish classical, and more. There are songs from the Beatles, Ed Sheeran, Duke Ellington, Metallica, Aerosmith, Imagine Dragons, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, etc. Most of the tunes are suitable for intermediate fingerstyle players, although there are some easier tunes for late beginners as well as some tunes that are significantly more difficult. If you are looking to build out your repertoire for local gigs, this book is incredible!
Overall, the arrangements are in guitar-friendly keys, they stay below the 5th fret, and they sound good. You can always simplify or add to the arrangements to suit your tastes and skill level. Most tunes are in standard tuning, although there are some tunes that use drop D tuning. Tunes are arranged utilizing a variety of techniques including simple melody and bass, alternating bass, and arpeggiation. The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
Although this book is a repertoire book and not a method book, there is a single page in the back providing an “Introduction to Fingerstyle,” which is probably worthless to anyone who is attempting to play the tunes in this book. The rest of the book is just filled with song arrangements in alphabetical order, and there is no background information for any of the tunes. The music is presented as a treble clef lead sheet with the main melody and the harmonizing chords written above, and the solo guitar arrangements are presented in treble clef and tablature. Occasional left-hand fingerings are provided.
Although this book has great tunes for your gigs, it would be difficult to bring the book to a gig and play from the pages. The book is 430 pages and has a softcover binding, so you need binder clips to hold the pages open. Most tunes require multiple page turns, which is a disaster if you are holding the pages open with binder clips. Your only options would be to photocopy pages or memorize the tunes.
For most of the tunes you could use an acoustic steel string or classical nylon string guitar since most arrangements don’t require using your fretting hand thumb over the top.
Extensive song selection. You are bound to like at least a few of the tunes if you like popular or rock music.
Great arrangements that generally feature melody and bass, alternating bass, and/or arpeggiation.
Provides treble clef lead sheets (melody with harmonizing chords written above) as well as treble clef and TAB guitar arrangements.
Some fretting hand fingering is included, but there isn’t any picking hand fingering.
Hard to hold pages open, lots of page turns.
No audio access. However, arrangements generally sound similar to the original tunes.
Published by Hal Leonard. © 2019
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Stefan Grossman’s Complete Country Blues Guitar Book is a repertoire book of various substyles of fingerstyle blues (general old time country blues, Delta blues, ragtime blues, Texas blues, and bottleneck blues). Most of the tunes are suitable for late-beginner and intermediate fingerstyle players, although advanced players will certainly enjoy the tunes as well. The music in this book may sound “old-timey” (much of it comes from the 1920s and 30s), but it is really fun to play if you are interested in the style. Aside from the large selection of tunes, the book provides tons of cool history, interviews of blues players (Skip James and W.C. Handy), and historical photos – makes for a great coffee table book!
The book is organized into sections for each substyle of fingerstyle blues. At the beginning of each section there is a textual description and history of the blues substyle being presented. Before each tune, there is a description of where that tune originated from, who played it in this style, important recordings to listen to, and some technical performance details.
Most of the tunes provide you with a single progression of the tune – sometimes only 20 or 30 seconds long. In a real performance you would probably want to repeat the form multiple times with singing, variations, or improvisation. My only complaint about the book is that it would have been helpful if the author had explained this a bit more. However, if you take the listening recommendations seriously then you will get the idea.
The book provides both treble clef and tablature. There are no right or left-hand fingerings provided (except occasionally in the description before the tune). The tablature is unusual in that the fret numbers are written between the lines instead of on the lines, but I quickly adjusted to it without any problem.
The majority of the tunes use standard tuning. However, alternate tunings are used extensively within the sections on “Country Blues Guitar: The Alternating Bass and Open Tunings” and “Bottleneck Blues Guitar.”
This is a repertoire book full of song arrangements. This is not a method book that teaches you the fundamentals of how to play fingerstyle blues guitar. However, if you have some fingerstyle experience, then this book will provide you with a lifetime of fun (at almost 260 pages, it will literally last you a very long time).
Authentic fingerstyle blues tunes from various substyles.
Great organization.
Good difficulty graduation – easier tunes to start each section.
Short tunes.
Lots of alternating bass and monotonic bass
Strange tablature will take a few minutes to adjust to.
No fingerings for right or left hand.
No audio access, but there are lots of listening recommendations that are helpful.
The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top. You will need a slide for the final section, but you can use it with your normal guitar.
Published by Mel Bay Publications. © 1992
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Joseph Alexander’s Fingerstyle Blues Guitar (published by Fundamental Changes) is an excellent book for learning the fundamentals of fingerstyle blues guitar with either a monotonic or alternating bass. While this book does have some beginner friendly material, it will especially resonate with intermediate or advanced players. It is also great for non-fingerstyle blues, rock, or jazz guitarists looking to cross over into fingerstyle blues. The first half of the book is focused on improvising lead melodies over a monotonic bass (mostly E minor pentatonic over an open 6th string), and the second half of the book is focused on blues chord progressions and picking patterns, soloing over blues progressions, turnarounds, bass lines, and two short studies.
This book presents lots of licks to teach you how to play over a monotonic bass line. If you haven’t ever improvised using pentatonic scales, then you may find yourself just learning and memorizing cool blues licks. If you really want to get the most out of this book, then you need to spend time incorporating the phrases into blues progressions and improvising your own blues phrases over blues progressions. I suggest mastering each example with the monotonic bass (open 6th string) and then playing it over a 12-bar blues progression. For each technique presented in the book, I suggest coming up with your own phrases using that technique – if the book presents examples using slides, then improvise using slides. Then improvise using slides over an entire 12-bar blues progression. A great practical goal would be to play actual blues tunes with some improv in the middle.
The second half of the book provides a bunch of accompaniment patterns over the I, IV, and V chords, and it provides some melodies on top of the chords. There is a section on turnarounds, a short section on bass lines, and a final section with two short “studies.” By the time you get through all of this you should have a decent idea of how to play a generic or improvised fingerstyle blues with a variety of feels in the keys of E and G. Aside from the studies, there aren’t any actual tunes in this book, but you’ll have the tools to learn them from other sources.
Authentic fingerstyle blues lines and grooves
Good difficulty graduation – examples build off each other and get gradually more complex and difficult. Cohesive feel especially to the first half of the book.
No actual fingerstyle blues tunes to learn other than two short studies.
Online audio access is really helpful – difficult rhythms and feel are much easier to learn with the audio tracks.
No fingerings for right or left hand for much of the book. Chapter 1 and Chapter 7 do have some picking hand fingering.
Some examples are difficult to play on an acoustic guitar because of whole step bends. You can always substitute slides for these big bends.
The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
For most of the tunes you could use an acoustic steel string or electric guitar. You could use a nylon string classical guitar if necessary, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Published by Fundamental Changes. © 2015
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Hal Leonard’s Fingerpicking Beatles is full of accessible arrangements of popular Beatles songs. The tunes are suitable for late beginner/early intermediate through advanced players. The arrangements often have simplified rhythms, they sometimes leave out either bass notes or inner harmony notes where they would be difficult to grab, they stay mostly below the 5th fret, and they are in guitar friendly keys. I think this is a fun book that is well worth the money.
The simplicity of many of the arrangements is something that I prefer for a repertoire book like this. Hal Leonard has done the work of putting the tunes into guitar-friendly keys and providing basic arrangements that are entirely recognizable and effective. Aside from the melody, the arrangements often include important bass lines, horn lines, and harmonies. For experienced players, the tunes present many opportunities for embellishment.
Some tunes are arranged in more of a melody and bass style, some feature more arpeggiation, and some feature alternating bass lines. The style typically fits the essence of the tune.
1) Excellent repertoire from across the Beatles discography. Variety of upbeat and slower tunes (and everything in-between).
2) Provides treble clef lead sheets (melody with harmonizing chords written above) as well as treble clef and TAB guitar arrangements.
3) Generally simplified arrangements as I detailed above.
4) Some fretting hand fingering is included, but there isn’t any picking hand fingering.
5) Longer tunes have lots of page turns at sometimes inconvenient places.
6) No audio access.
The book doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
For most of the tunes you could use an acoustic steel string or classical nylon string guitar since most arrangements don’t require using your fretting hand thumb over the top.
Published by Hal Leonard. © 1996
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Bruce Emery’s Fingerstyle Guitar from Scratch is an introductory fingerstyle method book aimed at beginner to early intermediate fingerstyle players who want to learn to play fingerstyle accompaniment. Emery’s sense of humor is infused into the text of the book, keeping detailed explanations lighthearted and entertaining without losing sight of the important information. The book is focused on fingerstyle accompaniment with arpeggiation and Travis Style / alternating bass patterns. You will not learn to play solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements (other than a very brief introduction to the topic), but you will receive a great foundation if you are just starting out with fingerstyle.
I mentioned that Emery’s writing is entertaining, but on the other side of the coin you should be aware that there is a lot to read in this book. Lots of text. I think this is a good thing overall as it provides the details and insights that will make you a better player. However, if you just want to play more guitar then it is possible to skip over the text and move from example to example.
Excellent first book for fingerstyle guitar accompaniment.
A+ for entertainment value of the writing.
Lots of short generic examples, but several famous old tunes (Dust in the Wind, Landslide, Girl from Ipanema, Leader of the Band, Blackbird, Camptown Races, and more).
Half the book focuses on arpeggiation, and the other half focuses on Travis Style. Interesting sub-sections on James Taylor’s style and Bossa Nova.
Audio recordings are available online, although sometimes they don’t line up exactly with the page numbers/examples from the book. This can be a little confusing/annoying.
If you make it through this book, you’ll have a great foundation for playing fingerstyle guitar. Emery has written a follow-up book called Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch that dives into solo fingerstyle, but I haven’t had the chance to work through it. I have no doubt that it carries a similar tone and level of detail.
I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top.
Written by Bruce Emery and published by Skeptical Guitarist Publications. © 2003
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Michael Wood’s “The Gigging Guitarist: Traditional Celtic and Appalachian Tunes for Fingerstyle Guitar” provides sonorous and playable solo fingerstyle repertoire for late beginner to advanced guitar players. As implied by the title of the book, you could actually take the book to a coffee shop/restaurant/wedding ceremony gig and play it from cover to cover. The tunes are not hard for an experienced player, but the arrangements sound really good! If you are interested in Celtic tunes like Turlough O’Carolan’s “Si Beag Si Mhor,” Irish or Appalachian jigs or fiddle tunes, or traditional Appalachian ballads, then this book provides a nice selection of enjoyable material.
Michael Wood’s arrangements utilize neither alternating bass / Travis Picking patterns nor any percussive techniques. Instead, the arrangements utilize arpeggiation to fill the spaces between the melody notes. The tunes have a flowing style that is easy on the hands and the ears. Also, the tunes are all in standard tuning. There are a few where I personally like modifying to Drop D, but it isn’t necessary to do so.
Excellent repertoire in the above-mentioned styles. You won’t find any of these tunes on mainstream radio in the USA.
The tunes can all be played without any page turns – great for gigs.
The arrangements cause low hand fatigue – great for gigs. No full barre chords.
No alternate tunings – great for gigs. You can always experiment with altering the tuning of a song if you feel so inclined.
Optional intros make the tunes sound more polished.
Performance notes at the beginning of the book provide a little bit of background for each tune.
Standard Notation and Tablature. Almost no picking or fretting hand fingering is notated.
No audio access.
As mentioned, this is a repertoire book full of songs. This is NOT a method book that teaches you step-by-step how to play solo fingerstyle guitar. If you are taking lessons or independently learning how to play, this book would be a nice supplement to a method book. If you like these tunes then you’re in luck because the author has released several more books with additional repertoire!
Acoustic steel string or classical guitar – no thumb over the top.
Written by Michael Wood. © 2017
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Mark Hanson’s The Art of Solo Fingerpicking is a serious method book aimed at intermediate and advanced guitar players who want to expand upon their knowledge of playing solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements utilizing alternating bass (or Travis Picking). This might be the book for you if you have some experience playing fingerstyle and you want to learn some more advanced concepts and take things to another level. Do not buy this book if you are just beginning with fingerstyle guitar.
1) The book expands on basic alternate-bass driven solo arrangements with lessons on how to create variations in your picking patterns, how to use chord inversions to modify your bass lines, how to play in alternate time signatures, how to add picking hand rolls to your picking patterns, how to use fretting and picking hand damping, and how to gain speed.
2) Excellent info on picking hand positions and technique. More detail than almost any book I’ve seen.
3) After presenting a concept there is always a song that utilizes that concept. This immediate application is satisfying and makes the book feel cohesive.
4) Great repertoire. Mostly the author’s original songs or arrangements. No famous songs that you’ve heard on the radio, but the included songs are legitimately catchy, dynamic, and stylistically varied (within the umbrella of the alternating-bass style).
5) High quality audio access is included.
The book does not discuss arranging for fingerstyle guitar (taking a tune or melody and creating a solo fingerstyle arrangement/version). It also doesn’t get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top.
Published by Accent on Music and Mark Hanson. Original © 1988. Distributed by Hal Leonard.
eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. -
You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.
Mel Bay’s Complete Chet Atkins Guitar Method is an excellent method book aimed at beginner and intermediate guitar players who want to learn to play solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements in the style of Chet Atkins (the majority of which utilize an alternating bass/ Travis Style). If you are interested in this country-blues style of playing that Chet Atkins made popular starting in the 1950s and lasting until his death in 2001, this is a great place to start. This book ranges in difficulty from easy to intermediate, although a few of the final arrangements are fairly difficult.
Starts with the very basics of music and playing the guitar, but focused on fingerstyle and fairly quickly gets you playing music with both melody and bass parts.
Excellent and thorough look at playing solo fingerstyle arrangements utilizing alternate bass patterns. Goes through one key signature at a time and covers all the normal guitar-friendly keys (C, Am, G, Em, F, Dm, D, Bm, A, F#m, E).
Very accessible tunes that you can learn and perform. Many of these tunes are old folks songs – you won’t find any arrangements of popular modern music.
Useful picking exercises to develop technique.
Several classical-esque tunes that are refreshing after lots of alternate bass.
All standard tuning until the final arrangements (a couple are in alternate tunings).
This book does not get into the modern percussive techniques used by modern players like Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Mike Dawes, etc. No thumb or string slaps, guitar body percussion, or tapping.
Audio Access included.
This is not a bad first fingerstyle guitar book to purchase and work through. Obviously working with a teacher will streamline your development and prevent you from developing bad habits. If you make it through this book, you’ll have a great foundation for playing fingerstyle guitar. You’ll also learn some useable and fun arrangements of old tunes.
I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top.
Published by Mel Bay, written by Chet Atkins. © 1993
My eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to https://joemcmurray.com/index.php/merch/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.
Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms. - Show more
