The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #93371   Message #1796750
Posted By: van lingle
30-Jul-06 - 07:04 AM
Thread Name: Beginner Guitar Tips?
Subject: RE: Beginner Guitar Tips?
I second the Happy Traum material for learning. I learned fingerstyle from his first two books that were published in the sixties and I'm still learning from them.
A technique I learned from a Christopher Parkening interview some time ago has been very helpful to me. He calls it burnishing and what it entails is practising very slowly and exerting a lot of pressure(i.e. clamping down harder) with your left hand while you do so. This has helped me remember hand and chord positions and will also strengthen your left hand. Of course, use this judiciously and don't over do it.
Exploring the Fingerboard by Russ Barenberg which is available from Homespun is an excellent introduction to learning scales and modes and how they apply to melodies. Good luck, vl