What is flatpicking? Despite the name, it’s more than simply playing with a pick. Flatpicking refers to the acoustic guitar style, heard primarily in the bluegrass and folk idioms, of playing individual notes with a pick to form melodies, solos, and fills. The approach characteristically has a crisp and snappy sound achieved by combining quick picking, open chord voicings, melodic lines, and concise licks.
Play the Traditional Song “Down in the Willow Garden”
This excerpt of “Down in the Willow Garden” is arranged to be played with a plectrum. I play the melody on the low strings and the accompaniment on the high strings.
Flatpick the Fiddle Tune “Forked Deer”
Dan Crary describes it as “one of the great, majestic fiddle tunes.” The first eight measures of Scott Nygaard's arrangement are transcribed here.
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How to Play ‘William Tell Overture’ Like Glen Campbell
Glenn Campbell was not just a charming, golden-voiced entertainer; he was a hell of a guitarist as well.
Learn to Play the Fiddle Tune “St. Anne’s Reel” on Guitar
Fiddlers play this tune in the key of D, and it can be played effectively on the guitar in D without a capo or capoed up to the second fret and played out of C position.
Video Lesson: Build Accurate Flatpicking Skills to Make Your Guitar Parts Richer
From the August 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar | BY DAVID HODGE Sometimes playing guitar requires finesse. It may certainly look like guitarists flail away at the strings. But if you listen carefully, you’ll hear that seasoned players have a subtle control over their instruments. They can hit one, two, three, four,…