Gospel Music

Beginning To Play Acoustic Guitar

The acoustic guitar is a popular
instrument amongst all age groups and is
a very rewarding instrument to learn to
play even though you do not get to fool
around with cool electric guitar sounds.
So let us take a look at the techniques
you will learn as an acoustic guitar
player and some legendary guitarists
whose work will need to become familiar
with in order to hang out with other
acoustic guitar players.

You can think of acoustic guitar
technique in two ways: you can be a
strummer or a picker. A strummer plays
by dragging your thumb, index finger or
plectrum across the guitar strings. You
can find a multitude of strumming
patterns on the internet. Start with the
simplest you can find. Some strumming
patterns simply show the names of the
chords you are supposed to be strumming,
and others show that you include only
selected strings. The strings that are
not included can be damped with the
little finger of the left hand or the
heel of the right hand.

You can pick using a plectrum - this
technique is called flatpicking - or use
your fingers. If you decide on
fingerpicking you might want to use
picks which fit on the thumb and tips of
your fingers. Steel strings are hard on
the fingernails so you might need
fingerpicks to stop your nails being
torn to shreds. Nylon strings do not
demand the use of picks but after you
have had some experience playing guitar
you can make the decision based on the
kind of sound you want.

A simple start to fingerpicking is to
finger an E minor chord and place your
fingers on the strings you intend to
play. Do not try and do any picking,
just decide which strings are the ones
you are playing in this chord and place
your right hand fingers in a plucking
"stance" ready to play. So for the E
minor chord you could place your thumb
on the sixth string and your first
finger on the third string, you second
finger on the second string and your
first finger on the first string. Now
pluck each string by pressing down with
the thumb and pulling up with the
fingers.

If you want to see what you can do if
you foster your devotion to the acoustic
guitar, Leo Kottke is a good start. He
is an innovative fingerstyle acoustic
guitarist who is strongly influenced by
folk music, jazz and blues. Another
great is Tommy Emmanuel, an Australian
acoustic and electric guitarist known
for his energetic fingerpicking style.
He has developed his own style based on
the "travis picking" style of playing he
heard played on records by Chet Atkins.

"Travis picking" is a style of finger
picking which involves playing bass with
the thumb, and melody with the first two
or three fingers simultaneously. This
picking style was developed by Merle
Travis, an American country and western
singer and songwriter who composed one
of the early fifties hit songs, "Sixteen
Tons". While we are talking about travis
picking, you have probably heard of Chet
Atkins. He was an influential Nashville
guitarist and producer of records for
many famous recording artists. He played
mostly electric guitar and his picking
technique was inspired mostly by Merle
Travis with musical influences from
Django Reinhardt and Les Paul.

For the acoustic guitar player who
elects to stay with the plectrumn,
"Doc" Watson is an American bluegrass,
folk, country, blues and gospel music
singer and guitar player. He is revered
by other guitar players for his
astonishing flatpicking style although
he does do fingerpicking.

The acoustic guitar repertoire of today
owes alot to the folk revival of the
sixties. Here are some names from that
era whose work you should catch up with:

John Renbourn the English guitarist and
songwriter is best known for his work
with fellow guitar player, Bert Jansch
and his career with the English folk
group Pentangle. Renbourn's musical
interests include early music, folk,
classical music and blues.

Bert Jansch is a Scottish folk musician
whose influences include English
guitarist Davy Graham. His music has
influenced Jimmy Page, Ian Anderson,
Donovan and Neil Young.

John Martyn is an English guitarist who
also sings and writes songs. He has made
twenty studio albums and worked with
famous musician like Eric Clapton, David
Gilmour and Phil Collins. He has
invented his own sound featuring an
acoustic guitar played through a
fuzzbox, phase-shifter and Echoplex.

Davy Graham is a guitarist who featured
heavily in the English folk scene in the
nineteen sixties. Many acoustic guitar
players like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn,
Martin Carthy and Jimmy Page. His
acoustic instrumental piece, Anji was
recorded by Paul Simon on an early Simon
And Garfunkel album.

Who are the pioneers of modern acoustic guitar music? How do
I learn how to play acoustic guitar? Not two of the great
mysteries but very important questions. This article will
help you with the answers.

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