Creating fingerpicking tunes

This is a "quick'n dirty" video which aims to show how to get started with the business of creating fingerpicked tunes. It begins with placing the notes on the fretboard, playing the chords, combining the two, and then adding some alternating bass and syncopation. The tune used as a guinea pig is Libba Cotten's "Freight Train".

The video was made very quickly just using a DVD camcorder, so the overall sound is a little hissier than usual...

http://www.mjra.net/WillFly/

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Will
• Fly
• Freight
• Train
• Libba
• Elizabeth
• Cotten
• acoustic
• guitar
• folk
• song
• fingerpicking
• fingerstyle
• educational
• instructional
• video

[Duffdogga]

How long have you been playing for Will?

[HenfieldWill]

@Duffdogga Since 1964 - when I was 20. :-)

[jefgees]

Perfect Will!! Thanks a lot for helping me with your "youtube_instructions". I goy a question. In another video (Rough Guide to Fingerpicking ) you're mentioning the "clawhammer". In this instructional video you don't. Is there a reason?

Is it also possible to receive the beginning notes of Freight train? I've got some papermusic, but do not know if it's the right one. I can even send it to you. I picked up the guitar again, thanks to you!!!!

Thanks a lot .

[HenfieldWill]

@jefgees The" clawhammer" is really a fingerpicking pattern that can be applied to any sets of chords. But the art of picking a specific tune is to pick it in such a way that the melody line stands out over the other strings - which makes it more than just a pattern. The clawhammer is very useful - but it has to be modified to allow a melody line to "sing". :-)

[Testacabeza]

Excellent, thanks! I think I will practice the basic pattern, I understan now how it is generated.

As usual I "discoveerd" a new song :) I watching all I can from Libba Cottens now.

One question: in this example you knew the melody and the chords, what if you only know the melody notes, is it difficult to get the chords?

Cheers.

[HenfieldWill]

No time in the 10 minutes allowed to cover this, I'm afraid. It's possible to get loads of chords from the web (Google, etc.), but they aren't always reliable. I quite often buy sheet music over the web, print it off and transpose, if need be, into the key I want. I'm doing this more and more with jazz stuff if I don't already know it. So - try the web first and, if chords don't sound right, investigate books and sheet music. :-)

[wildwestpoint]

would be better if u show the right and left hand simultaneously or put the Slow Motion animation

[wildwestpoint]

would be better if u put the Slow Motion animation

[Testacabeza]

Finally I can play this up to the second way you show here, syncopation will take me some more time, a long time I think.

Thanks!

[jefgees]

@HenfieldWill You're right. it's the singing that causes me problems. I'm able to do the mechanical version. But the more relaxed version is a problem. do not know how to make it sing. If you have the golden tip it would be fantastic. In any way thanks for your reaction and I know now, that I still have a long way to go :-)

thanks

[sundownsigns]

Outstanding! Your explanation of fingerpicking surpasses anything i have seen, laying everything out in a simple step by step logical manner. The quality of your audio and video tops anything i have seen on uTube. After 48 years of flat picking i'm trying to learn fingerpicking and i need all the help i can get. Thanks!

[noazarkle]

Thanks,Will.There are now several good teaching sites on the tube,but for my money yours is the best for folk-type music.