Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson 3 - by Gary Shepherd

[Beyonder1881]

Hi Gary - thanks for the good lessons, I am practicing the picking technique and the chord shifts you introduce - gotto get a hang of it at some stage to pepper up my blues scales. Good on ya' mate!

[number1guitarplayer]

@Beyonder1881 Thanks very much for the nice words. It's always a thrill for me to hear that the lessons are helping players.

[brkcn1581]

Oh really nice blues Gary thanks so much when i saw this video i realized im going to learn such nice tricks from you..

[number1guitarplayer]

@brkcn1581 You are welcome. Glad you like the videos.

Cheers,

Gary

[DirkLind]

These are really great. I've been playing guitar for over 25 years, and I do a lot of fingerpicking. However, I taught myself, and as a result I use only my thumb, index and middle fingers. I'm going through your lessons because I want to incorporate my ring finger. I can do some nice stuff using two fingers, but I feel a bit limited! Thanks so much for these.

[number1guitarplayer]

@DirkLind Thanks a lot. It means a lot to me to hear that my lessons are helping people improve their playing. Keep in touch and let me know how you get on as you progress through all the lessons.

Cheers,

Gary

[The1RedG]

Was that a dog howl at 3:33 mark? LOL

Your instruction is so easy to follow. I'm getting excited about fingerstyle guitar again.

[number1guitarplayer]

@The1RedG Could be a dog??? Could be just my crappy videoing :-)

Thanks for the nice comments. I'm really glad to hear that my videos have inspired you to pick up fingerstyle again. I've spent a lot of years trying to come up with a 'painless' method of teaching fingerstyle, and comments such as yours give me hope that I'm on the right track.

Cheers,

Gary

[number1guitarplayer]

@The1RedG Hey, that does sound like a dog howl. I've never noticed that before. That'll be my Kelpie.

[ShadowedAce]

Gary, Thanks so much for your videos. They have taught me a lot. Your videos made playing clear and easy. Could you please recommend some songs that I can start of with using fingerstyle. Also do you have any tips on creating tabs for songs? God Bless :)

[number1guitarplayer]

@ShadowedAce Thanks for the nice comments. I'm not a fan of TABS so I haven't looked at any software for making them , but I know there are programs available. I only find TABS useful for single note lines. Problem is TABS don't give you the feel. As for songs to learn, I'd suggest you practice using some of the chord progressions contained in songs of people like Dylan, Paul Simon, Don McLean. That'll get your hands working well. I'm working on some follow-up clips with specific solo tunes.

[ReverendJohnH]

Thanks for the heads up Gary. I love Youtube lessons - its like having a cool big brother in the house at my beck and call! I'll be using the techniques I learned from this vid as a basis for my Grade 6 electric exam piece in the summer. If I get this down I might even try 4A (although I must say at first glance that looks like a bit of a quantum leap from this piece :)) Great work all the same and cheers mate! (off to the local Geetar outlet for a thumbpick now!)

[number1guitarplayer]

@ReverendJohnH Thanks for the nice comment. I think you'll find it easy enough to move from Lesson 3 to lesson 4 [a]. I've worked this stuff out over 35 years of teaching, and the order of the lessons is intended to make it as painless as possible for anyone working their way through. BTW there should be a lesson 4 [c], and I've been promising YouTube viewers for ages to film it and get it up there. Hopefully I'll get a chance before the weeks out.

Cheers,

Gary

[ReverendJohnH]

Thanks for the heads up Gary. I love Youtube lessons - its like having a cool big brother in the house at my beck and call!  I'll be using the techniques I learned from this vid as a basis for my Grade 6 electric exam piece in the summer. If I get this down I might even try 4A (although I must say at first glance that looks like a bit of a quantum leap from this piece :)) Great work all the same and cheers mate!

[number1guitarplayer]

@Tam1297 Thank you so much for your nice comments. I try, in my lessons, to make sure that I don't move forward too fast for people trying to learn this style. I'm really glad to hear from people like yourself, who are getting something from my videos.

Cheers,

Gary

[dancan5000]

Gary, great video -thank you so much for your awesome lessons!

[budcracker]

Gary, you perform a real service by making these lessons available. I've played guitar for many years with a pick, and I recently decided to learn fingerstyle. After taking a stab at some simple tabs, I realized I needed an organized and theoretical approach, so I went on YouTube and found exactly what I was looking for in your lessons. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help, and I expect to be much better a year from now as a result. Best wishes and, again, thank you.

[number1guitarplayer]

@budcracker Thanks very much for the nice comment. I'm really glad to hear that you are getting something positive from my lessons. Keep in touch as you work your way through them.

Cheers,

Gary

[KudlatyMK]

You are AMAZING, I had no idea how to play finger style but I always wanted to do it, and with your help I learned that song just in three days. Many many thanks :D

[number1guitarplayer]

@KudlatyMK You are very welcome, and thankyou for the nice compliment. I'm really glad you are getting something positive from my lessons

[matkogrgas]

Hey Gary, your videos really helped with my fingerstyle attempts, so, thanks very much! :D

[number1guitarplayer]

@matkogrgas You are most welcome. I'm glad that you've got something positive from my lessons.

Cheers,

Gary

[allahnichi]

Gary, you are a great teacher and guitarist as well. Thank you for the big heart to help us play fingerpicking blues which, thanks to your great teaching method, helped me learn how to play this song in about two weeks. Thank you Gary!

[number1guitarplayer]

Great. I'm glad it's working for you. Thanks for the nice comment. Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Gary

[FullMetalJacket0903]

fantastic video gary! loving the shirt too :P

the lessons are very usefull thanks to these my fingerpicking has greatly improved!

[number1guitarplayer]

Thanks for the nice comment. I'll hopefully be getting some more videos posted soon.

Gary

[joe050708]

Hello Gary

I found your videos a few weeks ago and have been working my way through them.

I just wanted to say thanks for making the videos available. I'm finding them easy to understand and follow, the pace of the lessons is perfect too. I've learned a lot learning Shallow Creek Blues (I've got it to a point where its starting to sound ok, and I'm adding my own touches to it). I've just started work on the next lesson and can't wait to learn more..

Thanks very much

[number1guitarplayer]

Thanks very much, Joe. I've always felt that a lot of video guitar lessons make too many presumptions, and are hard to follow. It makes me happy to hear from players such as yourself, saying that my lessons are easy to follow, and that you're getting a lot out of them. I'm hoping to post some new lessons soon. It's just hard to get the time to do the filming, and I'm not exactly technically proficient with the film-making process.

Cheers,

Gary

[carpog]

I'm so glad I stumbled across these brilliant lessons.. really enjoying them, very well paced and already feeling the benefits. Many thanks Gary, you're a great teacher.

[goshep1]

Thanks so much for your nice comments. I hope to post a few more videos soon. I decided a long time ago that most video lessons were just not all that useful - and I think you have nailed it when you mention pacing. Many teachers gloss over some techniques, assuming that everyone will simply pick them up.

[LtEarlCCSO55]

My Dear Gary:

As a retired person just taking up guitar, I can't thank you enough for your valuable instruction and making lessons fun.

Keep up the good work.

[goshep1]

Thanks so much for you kind words. I tend to specialize in teaching older players. I leave all the youngsters to my son Sam, these days. I'll be posting some more instructional videos in the not too distant future, and I'm in the process of producing an instructional DVD that will take people from the beginning to playing competently in the shortest possible time.

[jteblue]

I realy like this lesson you make learning blues easy thank you

[number1guitarplayer]

Thankyou very much. I think it is important to get people playing something that sounds good as soon as possible, and then build on technique from that point. I've just filmed some new lessons, and hopefully I'll get them up on YouTube in the next week or so.

[westcoastend]

You do a great job of moving along from lesson to lesson.

[number1guitarplayer]

Thanks for the nice comment. New lessons coming very soon.

[bncj69]

Great videos please post more more more

[number1guitarplayer]

Thanks. I will post some more as soon as I get some time to do the filming. I'd appreciate any feedback on the type of stuff people want to see in these lessons. One of the areas I was thinking of covering is the styles of some of the more famous singer/songwriters [for example, Paul Simon, Don McLean, Gordon Lightfoot etc.]