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As to good left-hand technique, here is the first rule (which should be obvious): Keep those fingernails trimmed well! You need to be able to press the strings down with the least amount of effort in order to be a good pickerand long fingernails throw a monkey wrench into the works.

Disciplining yourself to play within these guidelines may seem awkward and difficult at first (especially in situations that require the use of Mr. Pinkie). But the long term results of speed and precision will make it all worthwhile!

Next, be sure to grip the pick firmly so that your thumb and index finger cover most of the area of the pick. I use a standard Fender 351 Medium pick (or something comparable). Instead of holding it lengthwise, I hold the pick so that the top (that is, the shortest side) of the pick is lined up over the top of my thumbnail, so that the edge of the top of the pick is hitting the strings. This may or may not be best for you, but, in any case, choke up on that pick! You dont want to play little wimpy licks!

Let's start with your picking hand. If you want to play fiddle tunes or do lead guitar breaks in a bluegrass band, the first thing you need to do is start with a pick that is thick enough! Use at least a medium pickusually about .73-.81mm. This may seem difficult at first, but it is absolutely necessary, so that youll get strong, snappy notes that really make a statement.

Flatpicking Tips for the Acoustic Guitar

The thing I love to do most on a guitar is to play old-time fiddle tunes with a flatpick. It was not until after I had played guitar for about ten years that I took a few lessons Mick Martin, an incredibly fast and articulate flatpicker in Pittsburgh. Mick set me on the right path toward getting those fiddle tunes to flow and to really ring out crisply and cleanly on a guitar. These principles are applicable to not only bluegrass or fiddle tunes, but to all kinds of acoustic guitar music played with a flatpick.

Now, as with most things in life, there are exceptions. The above principle should be regarded primarily as a guideline. From time to time, you will find it necessary to break this rule. Many chords, for instance, simply cannot be played unless the "one finger per fret" rule is violated. Certain licks will be played more speedily and cleanly by straying from the principle. But as a general rule, it is best to discipline yourself to abide by the precept of every finger has its fret and every fret has its finger. Make exceptions only when there is a definite purpose in doing so.

If you are new to picking, get started out the right way. If youve been playing for years, but it doesnt seem to be happening for you, then unlearn your old ways and learn the way that works. You wont regret it!

Last, but not least, DO NOT rest the palm or wrist of your picking hand on the bridge or on the top of your guitar. Your hand needs to float freely so that you can keep the edge of the pick at pretty much a 90 degree angle from the strings. Keep your pinky or ring finger (or both) stiff so that one of these fingers glides LOOSELY over the top as a reference. This will definitely seem awkward if you are not used to it, but it is a must if youre going to be a good acoustic guitar picker!

So, we have looked at some techniques for the picking hand (the right hand, assuming you are right-handed). Now lets consider the question: What should the left hand be doing?

Copyright 2007 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

Now, lets start at the very beginningat the first position. The first position simply refers to musical pieces that are played, for the most part, using the first four frets. Thankfully, the kinds of picking I like to do (bluegrass licks and fiddle tunes) are often in the first position. This allows for lots of open strings to be hit often so that the tunes are anchored by the drone of the open strings. This gives the guitar a full sound even when you play all by yourself!

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Not surprisingly, the two men most responsible for the concert guitar were both Spaniards - Torres (1817-1899) and Tarrega (1852 -1909), Torres, working in collaboration with the guitarist Juilian Arcos, increased the size of the instrument, particularly by making the two bouts of the soundbox wider in relation to its overall length. he also increased the scale length (the distance between the bridge saddle and the nut, where the sting vibrate freely), which ultimately came to be standardized at 26 inches. Torres improved the fingerboard by flattening it and reducing its width to about two inches, thereby making fingering an easier matter than it had been before. Perhaps mast importantly of all, he redesigned the entire internal structure of the soundbox giving it seven fan braces instead of three - placing extra braces at the tail around the sound hole, and on the ribs. this not only strengthened the instrument, but also improved its tone and raised its volume by distributing vibrations evenly to every part of the body below the sound hole. Subsequently, other guitar-makers further refined the instrument, but Torres' contributions remain the most fundamental of any.

But the guitar was soon to make a comeback. Towards the end of the century a sixth string, the low E string was added - most likely in the instance by a certain music-master from Dresden named Naumann. Before long, the sixth-string guitar was standard throughout Europe. At about this time, moreover,there came to the fore in Spain guitarists unprecedented virtuosity and flair, among whom the most noteworthy was Fredinand Sor (1778 -1839). Sor, not only a gifted performer and showman, but also a diligent composer and transcriber of works for the guitar, toured the continent and finally England where his impact on the musical community was tremendous. Thanks to the missionary work of Sor and other talented Spanish guitarists, the guitar regained its popularity and world-famous composers, accepting it for the first time as a usable instrument, began to write music expressly for it. Rossini did so in his score for "The Barber of Seville" and "Verdi in Otello", while Schubert, Haydn and to an ever greater extent Paganini and Berlioz, all composed guitar music.

Until about 150 years ago guitars were normally played solo, with or without accompanying voices to relatively small audiences.

Since Tarrega, a number of outstanding concert guitarists have entranced audiences throughout the world, including two of the master's pupils, Llobet and Pujol. Today there are many great concert artists who give regular guitar recitals in major cities around the world, each one is to some degree, a product of the line of development set in motion by Andres Segovia - the first concert guitarist to confront and conquer the mass media. Via the medium of radio and records, plus his concert performances and teaching, Segovia established the playing patterns, repertoire and attitudes that have prevailed throughout the Western world for more than 50 years. Several great guitarists - Julian Bream, John Williams and Leo Brouer, to name but three, have contributed to the expansion of the Segovian repertoire, but despite their efforts, the run-of-the-mill classical guitarist still draws from the well that Segovia dug.

With the coming of the Renaissance, inspired in part by Moslem learning brought home by returning Crusaders, the lute become the favorite instrument of Western Europe.

The Spanish Guitar Emerges:

During the seventeenth century, as lute-playing declined in popularity, guitars began to find their way abroad to France, Germany and Italy, where the instruments were referred to as "Spanish Guitars". The instrument was played at the sumptuous court of France's Louis XIV and the Sun King himself took lessons on it. By the middle of the 18th century the guitar was firmly established in fashionable circles throughout Contintinental Europe. Thereafter, its voice was increasingly drowned out by those louder and more 'sophisticated' stringed instruments - the harpsichord, piano and violin.

In Spain however, the lute was already overshadowed by a new instrument, the guitar. Two types of guitar were played by the Pyrenees: the vihuela, in the court and among fashionable society, and the guitarra latina, by ordinary folk. The former had eleven strings, five double and one single, and was plucked. The latter had four double strings and was strummed. The vogue of the vihuela reached a peak in the first half of the sixteenth century when many composers wrote works for it. At about the same time a fifth string was added to the guitarra latina, which thereupon gained so rapidly in public favour that by the end of the century it had displaced its rival throughout most of the lberian Peninsula.

History Of The Spanish and Classical Guitar

Once it became a concert instrument, guitarists were called upon to perform in larger halls, often together with musicians playing other instruments. it soon became obvious that the six stringed instrument needed much more volume if it was to make itself heard in these altered conditions. this led to increases in size and hence, in volume - which eventually resulted in the concert guitar we know today.

Enter The Concert (or Classical) Guitar: