Interactive Video Masterclass for Flatpicking Guitarists Style: Acoustic, Bluegrass Official Course Page Bryan Sutton’s Wide Open Flatpicking is a course that I had the pleasure of transcribing for TrueFire.com, launching on August 22, 2024
About The Artist I’ll be honest, I was not familiar with Bryan Sutton prior to diving into this project. However, I was very impressed with his abilities both as a teacher and as a player. In this course, Sutton offers an approach to flatpicking on acoustic guitar with a variety of awesome tunes that is both detailed and easy to grasp. Course Overview The ten songs Bryan chose for this course cover a wide range of techniques, ensuring that you can get the most out of learning from Bryan as your teacher. I was blown away when I realized just how much improvisation Bryan is doing in these performances at such a high speed. He is a truly a master of his craft. This is one of those courses that, even if you spend a ton of time on one example, you’d be able to see some great improvement in your playing. There is so much content in each tune that, even after I transcribed every single note, I found myself wanting to go back and dissect what he was doing. Approach It’s very obvious that Bryan has spent a lot of time thinking about how not only how to play pieces that sound great, but our relationship tot he instrument and how to optimize the quality of what we play. In this course, Bryan goes through 10 tunes that will help you hone your abilities to cleanly play through these awesome tunes, many of which are quite fast! Just as valuable as the performances, the demonstration videos highlight man great insights for playing the instrument well. Bryan challenges you to observe your playing deeply so as to ensure you sound as good as your potential will allow. He talks about how you should really listen to the fine details of your playing and how this detailed listening will make you a better musician. Bryan’s teaching style is just as articulate as his playing. You can rest assured that you will come away with a focused approach to set you on the path toward mastery of this style. Recommended Prerequisites
If you’re looking to add a couple of quick licks to your playing, this is not the course for you. Depth is the name of the game here and Bryan Sutton delivers a course loaded with years of knowledge. If you’re looking to develop bluegrass flatpicking mastery, look no further than Bryan Sutton’s Wide Open Flatpicking. Tags:
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Mixolydian Connections is a course that I transcribed for TrueFire.com, launching on July 11, 2024.
About The Artist Before transcribing this course, I was unfamiliar with Rick Stickney, but I quickly grew to appreciate his style and teaching approach. He runs a fantastic YouTube channel called Tasty Guitar, boasting over 73k subscribers at the time of writing. After exploring his channel, I understood why he is such an articulate teacher. This course is another example of his clear and concise teaching style, from which I learned a lot and have begun applying with my own students. Course Overview This course focuses on applying the Mixolydian scale to the blues. Many of us, when we’re learning to play over the blues while also learning the theory behind it, encounter the idea that "the Mixolydian mode pairs with the Dominant 7th chord." Although this is theoretically true, you will quickly find (as I did to my own dismay) that playing this scale over a 12-bar blues doesn’t sound like the blues at all! This is where a course like this comes in handy; using standard blues conventions to apply the Mixolydian in a, dare I say, Tasty way! Approach Rick’s approach to teaching this concept uses what he refers to as “puzzle pieces.” These are 2 or 3 note patterns that are described based on scale degrees. Aided by my transcription, he demonstrates the puzzle pieces to you in a musical way, always connected to the root in some way. Rick then shows you how to play with each of the puzzle pieces in 5 positions around the neck so you have a grasp of how to play these melodies anywhere on the fretboard. Recommended Prerequisites
Conclusion Even without a guitar in hand, transcribing this course taught me a lot, and I know that anyone interested in these concepts will learn a lot as well. Rick and TrueFire make it easy to work at a comfortable pace to master these techniques and also have fun while doing it! Tags:
Hands-On Fingerstyle, Vol. 3 is a forthcoming course I collaborated on for TrueFire.com, scheduled to launch on June 24, 2024.
About The Artist I've had the privilege of working on several courses with Dave Isaacs (details available here), and I've consistently found his approach deeply insightful. Beyond his musical expertise, Isaacs places a strong emphasis on healthy playing techniques, which is invaluable, especially for those who have encountered playing-related injuries. Course Overview Hands-On Fingerstyle, Vol. 3 is the latest installment in the series dedicated to mastering fingerstyle guitar. Approach Dave guides learners through the complexities of fingerstyle technique with a gentle and structured approach. He incrementally introduces more challenging passages, ensuring learners are not overwhelmed. Each example is repeated to facilitate learning by ear, and Dave meticulously breaks down the mechanics required for effortless performance. Recommended Prerequisites
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Conclusion For anyone eager to explore fingerstyle acoustic guitar in a musical, enjoyable, and safe manner, Dave Isaacs offers exceptional guidance. If you're new to fingerstyle, consider starting with Vol. 1 of this series and progressing through all three volumes for a comprehensive learning experience. Tags:
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AuthorAndrew Pevny is a New Jersey based musician. He currently plays in the bands Framework and Archives
December 2024
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