An Exact Blueprint for Fingerstyle Guitar Foundations
kyle orla stringworks
14,335 views
At its worst, fingerstyle guitar is just playing with your fingers. But at its best? It’s an illusive conversation between the melody, bass and chords that will spin you into a lifetime of obsession, study, and an obscure knowing of hard work if you feel like figuring it out.
And the rewards? Usually a pretty normal sounding song that you’d be lucky to hear someone react with a less than inspiring, “hey, that’s nice” to. But most importantly, the song. Buddy, you get the song.
This free fingerstyle course will give you an overview of all the in-and-outs that make fingerstyle great. We'll go into the right hand thumb, left hand thumb, the basic mechanics, the chords you gotta know. I'll share examples players from country blues idiom, all the way through the folk revival and even jazz dudes that share this common technique of exploring the guitar with your fingers.
Check out the Fingerstyle Foundations PDF!
https://www.patreon.com/kostringworks...
Try the Pinch & Stagger Challenge!
Patreon: pinch-stagger-171215972
Fingerstyle Foundations Chapters:
Introduction:
00:00 Overview
01:14 How to Use Fingerstyle Foundations
01:55 How Fingerstyle Guitar Works
03:18 Steady Thumb Approach
The Right Hand:
06:01 Open Hand Playing
09:20 Closed Hand Playing
14:07 Playing with Thumb Picks
15:32 Playing with Finger Picks
18:09 Alternate Bass Approach
22:27 Adding in the Fingers
The Guitar:
28:25 What's the Right Guitar for Fingerstyle?
The Left Hand:
32:00 How to visualize the Guitar
33:50 Playing Thumb Behind
36:03 Playing Thumb Over
41:14 Fingerstyle Voicings
42:32 Modified Basic Chords
47:17 Common Dominant 7th Chords
50:06 Turning Dominant 7th Chords into Major 7th Chords
51:40 Solving the D Chord Problem for Fingerstyle Guitar
50:49 Slash Chords
58:38 Shell Chords
1:00:48 Swing Chords
Pattern Playing, Fingerstyle Comping & Melodic Fingerstyle:
1:04:15 Pattern Playing
1:06:43 Fingerstyle Comping
1:09:41 Melodic Fingerstyle
1:10:16 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Basic Shapes & Alternate Bass
11:11:56 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Triads & Steady Bass
1:15:03 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ 7th Chords & Steady Bass
1:15:52 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Walking Bass
1:17:14 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Basic Shapes Up-The-Neck
1:18:11 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle Played Freely
Closing Remarks:
1:19:30
----------------------------
SUBSCRIBE TO KYLE ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/kostringworks...
SUPPORT KYLE ON PATREON:
Patreon: kostringworks
FOLLOW KYLE ON INSTAGRAM:
Instagram: k.o.stringworks
BUY MERCH:
https://www.kostringworks.com/store-1
WATCH NEXT:
Innovators of the Acoustic Guitar:
Innovators of the Acoustic Guitar
Living Luminaries Series:
LIVING LUMINARIES SERIES
DIG A LITTLE DEEPER WITH:
The Chords & Shapes of Blind Boy Fuller ($3, you don't need to be a member)
Patreon: chords-and-of-109796409
Book a private one-on-one Zoom session:
https://www.kostringworks.com/#button...
Check out my music on Bandcamp:
https://kyleorla.bandcamp.com
MY GEAR:
Fraulini Erma 6 String:
https://fraulini.com/erma/
Farulini Grand Concert 12 String (w/ a tailpiece)
https://fraulini.com/angelina/
D'Addario NS Soundhole Tuner
https://amzn.to/3XEA0yh
D'Addario Micro Headstock Tuner:
https://amzn.to/4d45na1
John Pearse 700M Strings:
https://amzn.to/4gguM3b
Shubb C1b Capo:
https://amzn.to/3XnenRJ
K&K Pure Mini Pickup:
https://amzn.to/4ggPtMl
Various Vintage things you'd have to dig for online:
Yamaha CP-1 Brass Capo, 1890's Arion Parlor Guitar, 1920's Lyon & Healy Lakeside Parlor Guitar
MY YOUTUBE SETUP:
Sony ZV-E10:
https://amzn.to/3AYndOq
Ear Trumpet Louise Condenser Mic:
https://www.eartrumpetlabs.com/produc...
Focusrite Solo Bundle:
https://amzn.to/3B5EkOo
Macbook Pro M3:
https://amzn.to/3XIJBnT
ABOUT KYLE:
Kyle Orla is a Duluth-born folk musician who champions bygone tunes and instruments from the depression era. Kyle has a deep reverence for the vintage styles of playing guitar, and is constantly looking for new ways to create relevance for folks who feel the same.
Kyle is the sole-operator of K.O. StringWorks - offering education and restorations for vintage music and instruments - and co-owner with his wife of the Northerly School for Music.
My website:
https://www.kostringworks.com
My music school:
https://www.northerlyschoolformusic.com
*Some of these links are affiliate links. I earn small commission with no extra cost to you. It's awesome. I appreciate you and your support!
20 Comments
You mention nut width, but do you have a preference for bridge string spacing?
An Exact Blueprint for Fingerstyle Guitar Foundations
kyle orla stringworks
14,335 views
At its worst, fingerstyle guitar is just playing with your fingers. But at its best? It’s an illusive conversation between the melody, bass and chords that will spin you into a lifetime of obsession, study, and an obscure knowing of hard work if you feel like figuring it out.
And the rewards? Usually a pretty normal sounding song that you’d be lucky to hear someone react with a less than inspiring, “hey, that’s nice” to. But most importantly, the song. Buddy, you get the song.
This free fingerstyle course will give you an overview of all the in-and-outs that make fingerstyle great. We'll go into the right hand thumb, left hand thumb, the basic mechanics, the chords you gotta know. I'll share examples players from country blues idiom, all the way through the folk revival and even jazz dudes that share this common technique of exploring the guitar with your fingers.
Check out the Fingerstyle Foundations PDF!
https://www.patreon.com/kostringworks...
Try the Pinch & Stagger Challenge!
Patreon: pinch-stagger-171215972
Fingerstyle Foundations Chapters:
Introduction:
00:00 Overview
01:14 How to Use Fingerstyle Foundations
01:55 How Fingerstyle Guitar Works
03:18 Steady Thumb Approach
The Right Hand:
06:01 Open Hand Playing
09:20 Closed Hand Playing
14:07 Playing with Thumb Picks
15:32 Playing with Finger Picks
18:09 Alternate Bass Approach
22:27 Adding in the Fingers
The Guitar:
28:25 What's the Right Guitar for Fingerstyle?
The Left Hand:
32:00 How to visualize the Guitar
33:50 Playing Thumb Behind
36:03 Playing Thumb Over
41:14 Fingerstyle Voicings
42:32 Modified Basic Chords
47:17 Common Dominant 7th Chords
50:06 Turning Dominant 7th Chords into Major 7th Chords
51:40 Solving the D Chord Problem for Fingerstyle Guitar
50:49 Slash Chords
58:38 Shell Chords
1:00:48 Swing Chords
Pattern Playing, Fingerstyle Comping & Melodic Fingerstyle:
1:04:15 Pattern Playing
1:06:43 Fingerstyle Comping
1:09:41 Melodic Fingerstyle
1:10:16 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Basic Shapes & Alternate Bass
11:11:56 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Triads & Steady Bass
1:15:03 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ 7th Chords & Steady Bass
1:15:52 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Walking Bass
1:17:14 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle w/ Basic Shapes Up-The-Neck
1:18:11 Twinkle Twinkle Fingerstyle Played Freely
Closing Remarks:
1:19:30
----------------------------
SUBSCRIBE TO KYLE ON YOUTUBE:
https://www.youtube.com/kostringworks...
SUPPORT KYLE ON PATREON:
Patreon: kostringworks
FOLLOW KYLE ON INSTAGRAM:
Instagram: k.o.stringworks
BUY MERCH:
https://www.kostringworks.com/store-1
WATCH NEXT:
Innovators of the Acoustic Guitar:
Innovators of the Acoustic Guitar
Living Luminaries Series:
LIVING LUMINARIES SERIES
DIG A LITTLE DEEPER WITH:
The Chords & Shapes of Blind Boy Fuller ($3, you don't need to be a member)
Patreon: chords-and-of-109796409
Book a private one-on-one Zoom session:
https://www.kostringworks.com/#button...
Check out my music on Bandcamp:
https://kyleorla.bandcamp.com
MY GEAR:
Fraulini Erma 6 String:
https://fraulini.com/erma/
Farulini Grand Concert 12 String (w/ a tailpiece)
https://fraulini.com/angelina/
D'Addario NS Soundhole Tuner
https://amzn.to/3XEA0yh
D'Addario Micro Headstock Tuner:
https://amzn.to/4d45na1
John Pearse 700M Strings:
https://amzn.to/4gguM3b
Shubb C1b Capo:
https://amzn.to/3XnenRJ
K&K Pure Mini Pickup:
https://amzn.to/4ggPtMl
Various Vintage things you'd have to dig for online:
Yamaha CP-1 Brass Capo, 1890's Arion Parlor Guitar, 1920's Lyon & Healy Lakeside Parlor Guitar
MY YOUTUBE SETUP:
Sony ZV-E10:
https://amzn.to/3AYndOq
Ear Trumpet Louise Condenser Mic:
https://www.eartrumpetlabs.com/produc...
Focusrite Solo Bundle:
https://amzn.to/3B5EkOo
Macbook Pro M3:
https://amzn.to/3XIJBnT
ABOUT KYLE:
Kyle Orla is a Duluth-born folk musician who champions bygone tunes and instruments from the depression era. Kyle has a deep reverence for the vintage styles of playing guitar, and is constantly looking for new ways to create relevance for folks who feel the same.
Kyle is the sole-operator of K.O. StringWorks - offering education and restorations for vintage music and instruments - and co-owner with his wife of the Northerly School for Music.
My website:
https://www.kostringworks.com
My music school:
https://www.northerlyschoolformusic.com
*Some of these links are affiliate links. I earn small commission with no extra cost to you. It's awesome. I appreciate you and your support!