How the Music of Madagascar Can Expand Your Fingerstyle Guitar Playing
In this lesson, Bruce Molsky demonstrates how the guitar tradition from Madagascar takes in not only local music elements but classical and pop influences from everywhere.
Learn Eddie Lang’s Jazz Guitar Interpretation of a Rachmaninoff Prelude
Eddie Lang's jazz guitar interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-Sharp Minor keeps the dark and brooding atmosphere of the original piano piece.
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Video Lesson: Learn a Klezmer Classic Arranged for Solo Fingerstyle Guitar
“Yiddishe Hora” is a piece written in the early 20th century by composer, violinist, and bandleader Alexander Olshanetsky. Here it is arranged for solo guitar.
Learn Bryan Sutton’s Take on the Holiday Classic “The Little Drummer Boy”
Cross-pick through a seasonal favorite, The Little Drummer Boy, in the guitar-friendly key of C major.
Three More Christmas Carols for Solo Acoustic Guitar
Check out Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers' fingerstyle guitar arrangements of 3 Christmas classics: “The First Noel,” “Joy to the World,” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”
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‘Home Sweet Home’: Try a Flatpicking Workout Inspired by a Banjo Classic
Try this flatpicking acoustic guitar workout for "Home Sweet Home," inspired by the banjo classic.
Learn to Play the Traditional Flatpicking Duet ‘Old Grimes’ on Acoustic Guitar
Guitarist Alan Barnosky teaches an acoustic guitar arrangement of the melodic fiddle tune “Old Grimes,” as interpreted by Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge
“Salt Creek” Bluegrass Flatpicking Guitar Lesson
A common question advancing flatpickers have is how and when to play up the guitar neck. The old favorite "Salt Creek" gives a good example of how to do it.
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Play Bob Minner’s Acoustic Guitar Tune “VanWart” in DADGAD Tuning
“VanWart” started out as an improvisation, including some of the colorful harmonies inherent to DADGAD tuning.
Learn the Haitian Classical Masterpiece “Dance of the Hounsies” on Acoustic Guitar
Learn a solo guitar arrangement of "Dance of the Hounsies," a voodoo-inspired work by guitarist-composer Frantz Casseus, aka the "father of Haitian classical guitar."
Learn to Play ”Leather Britches”: A Classic Fiddle Tune, Arranged for Flatpicking Guitar
Despite its popularity among fiddlers, “Leather Britches” is less known with flatpickers—surprisingly so, as it is fun to play and lands well on the guitar.
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Learn a Gypsy Jazz Masterpiece: Django Reinhardt’s Arrangement of “Tea for Two”
One should focus on Reinhardt’s total control of harmony, the sophisticated ways in which he moves the chords’ inner and outer voices
“Beaumont Rag”: How to Play Tony Rice’s Take on a Classic Fiddle Tune
Many guitarists flock to Tony Rice because of his jaw-dropping leads. However, Rice’s epic solos are only a small element of what made his music so special.
Learn Four Classical and Traditional Songs in Open Tunings
These approachable pieces will be great additions to your fingerstyle repertoire.
World Premiere: Robbie Basho’s “Great Depression Blues”
This song is a showcase for Basho’s considerable fingerpicking technique
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Learn Manuel Barrueco’s Serene Reading of “Estrellita”
Mexican composer Manuel Ponce's most successful piece by far is “Estrellita” (“Little Star”), a romantic song for which he wrote both music and lyrics in 1912. The tune is beloved throughout the Spanish-speaking world and has been hugely popular since the 1930s.
Learn Bob Minner’s Annual Arrangement of “Auld Lang Syne“
“It’s become an annual tradition for me to do this song, and finding ways to reharmonize it but keep the melody and essence intact is a fun challenge."
World Premiere: A Brontë-Inspired Lullaby by Solo Guitarist Charlie Rauh
This tune is played in the key of E minor, with a judicious combination of fretted notes and open strings creating beautifully textured harmonies.
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Three Christmas Carols for Solo Acoustic Guitar
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers teaches simple arrangements for "Angels We Have Heard on High", "Silent Night", and "O Holy Night" that let the melodies shine.
Alex de Grassi’s Fingerstyle Arrangement of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’
Explore Alex de Grassi's hip and jazzy arrangement of this seasonal favorite, recorded on his signature model Lowden.
Learn Tony Rice’s Take on “House of the Rising Sun”
The guitarist's solo introduction takes liberties with harmony, melody, and tempo.
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Learn J.S. Bach’s “Minuet in D Minor” in DADGAD Tuning
Here's a fun introduction to Bach’s works that’s playable without much classical training—and enjoyable to listen to
Learn Bob Minner’s Solo Guitar Arrangement of “America the Beautiful”
Minner’s dropped-D take on “America the Beautiful” is packed with diverse techniques and ideas
Pickin’: The Delmore Brothers’ ‘Wabash Blues’
Known for their deft guitar duos and close harmony singing, the Delmore Brothers (Alton and Rabon) were popular performers on the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s. In the introduction to Alton’s intriguingly titled autobiography, The Truth Is Stranger Than Publicity, music historian Charles Wolfe recognizes the duo’s historical significance…
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“I Will”—Laurence Juber’s Solo Guitar Version of The Beatles Gem
While the Beatles song kicks off right on the vocal melody, Juber takes structural liberties and begins his arrangement with an adaptation of the guitar figure that appears between verses on the original recording.
