Lessons & Tips

In my last article on fingerpicking, I introduced some of the basics needed to turn simple chord knowledge into some basic finger-picking techniques.  Now, I’d like to introduce some slightly more advanced right hand techniques and start getting into some intermediate level exercises with a focus on Travis style picking. Travis picking is a very distinctive and specific right hand technique that takes its name from American music pioneer Merle Travis (1917-1983). Although the technique bears the name “Travis” today,

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During the fifteen years I’ve been teaching at The Twelfth Fret I’ve noticed my beginner and intermediate students seem to hit the same road blocks. Students of all ages can get really discouraged that they’re not improving and wonder if learning an instrument is something they have the ability or the time to do. It’s almost always the same things that bog them down and the following five tips can help you overcome frustration and grow your skills as a

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If you have ever wanted to expand your guitar playing beyond strumming an accompaniment chord part then finger-style guitar is great way to add variety to your playing and a great way to impress your friends too. In the following article I’m going to talk about some simple techniques to get any guitar player started down the road to finger-style playing and answer some of the most frequently asked questions – FAQS –  I get from students learning to finger-pick.

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The guitar is a great instrument for many reasons, it’s a folk instrument, meaning “of the people”. It’s compact, portable, capable of different tunings and it comes in many different varieties; acoustic, electric, nylon string, baritone, 12 string or even 7 string. With this much variety it’s no wonder there are so many musical styles that the guitar can cover. One thing it is not however, is a piano. By that I mean it does not have the capability of

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Every now and then a student arrives for a lesson and complains that they cannot play up to the speed they would like. “Speed” meant literally; they can’t play fast. When they try, their lines sound sloppy and disjointed, with lots of unintentionally muted notes. They try over and over to increase the tempos and simplify their lines, but to no avail. This is actually a symptom of a larger issue. It’s an issue of technique for sure, but not

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