I feel like I just struck gold. Fantastic. I've played 47 years and many styles. Every once in a while I try to "clean up" some technique. I'm a flat picking lead guitarist -- but knuckled down on Travis picking a few years ago. I developed my own crude dead thumb blues grooves too, but they are never totally satisfying. This is so clear and logical that you've just hooked me. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of finger style guitar.
My only comment is thank god I was lucky enough to find your lesson today. This was the best 11minutes and :05 seconds I've spent on youtube. A great teacher is a treasure and you are a great teacher. Thank you for sharing.
I just paid for this course series before finding it free on the UA-cams, lol, but I don't even want a refund! This material is so good, you earned it. Gonna get through this to prep myself for the Fingerstyle Five. See you again then!
Excellent intro to the finger style blues. Being new to this, I had a little trouble with the right hand (walk and chew gum), but after a while, I caught on to the syncopation. You were recommended to me by the great London blues guitarist Doug Varty. You are indeed Hamburger helper!
I recently tried learning key to the highway and found several attempts on various sites.... Most just about OK.... Then found Mr Hamburger!! But your name took me back to reading lessons possibly in GP and How to play guitar..... Probably about 20 years ago!! You are a great teacher! Please carry on!!!
Thank you! This lesson and upcoming series for me is just the right thing at the right time for my playing. I’ve been looking for a way to combine blues rhythm and lead for a while, and your detailed and patient tuition helps people like me to want to practice and get the approach right. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Just found out about your content. It is really awesome. Im new to playing. I find your explanation and teaching to be superb for a beginner like me. Thank you
Brilliant lesson series David. It would be great to have some classic fingerstyle blues in E listening suggestions to accompany it if possible. Thanks.
David, I really enjoyed this. I struggled going from straight 8's to swing 8's when I started playing Blues; I wish I would have had this guidance back then. I look forward to the other lessons coming out.
For the steady-bass approach, you could start with Scrapper Blackwell's "Mr. Scrapper's Blues" and Dave Van Ronk's "Sunday Street." I'm sure anyone else here will have plenty of favorites to recommend as well :-).
Hi David. Great to hear from you. Funny, I was just going back through the Week 1 TCMGTFB Acoustic material, so this "E" groove is perfect fit with the "A" material from the Course. Throw in a "B" lick and a turnaround and I almost sound like I got it goin' on. LOL In reference to New Course material, I like how this is directly related to the previous course material. An extention of. The same but different. I'd be interested. Dean
Hey Dave, Great stuff and awesome presentation as usual!! I recommend your stuff to lot of folks. Keep up the great lessons I love seeing 'em!!........Paul H.
Extraordinarily valuable lesson, in fact this whole blues series. Clinically analytical and effective. We owe so much to those old African American blues artists. (But I'm wondering if blues requires such a physically dirty instrument!)
Doing fine, David, thanks, enjoying retirement and playing in a (gasp) rock band! Hope you and your family are likewise doing swell. P.S. A good buddy of mine is becoming a real blues hound, playing his new Clarksdale resonator and learning blues licks via your videos! Keep up the good work! Cheers--PC
Ha! Well, at least he's not picking it all up on the street :-). Glad to hear about the band, and yes, everyone here is rocking it, each according to their own individualistic predilections and inclinations.
Hey Johnny! You took the last one, didn't you? I'd have to come up with something different, wouldn't I :-), so let me know what you'd want to work on next!
I took both the fingerstyle course and the "playing the changes" course, and continue to work through the videos for both. I've tried to incorporate the material from second into my fingerstyle playing. What I'd like is the incorporation of more comping, more grabbing chords, into my fingerstyle. I'd probably take whatever course you offered.
Hola, David--when you're doing the index finger up-brush on the E7 chord, wouldn't it be cool to leave the D string open to (maybe) ring, since it's the b7, as long as the A string is damped?
Hey Jeff! You could definitely do that for the reason you say. To me, it does start to sound a little muddy that way, plus I like having the control of choosing to hear the D string or not.
Hi David,every time I play a melody note that is on the beat i,m missing out a steady base note,i don’t seem able to combine the two together.Is this a common beginner’s issue?
I have such a tough time with the palm muting. I've tried every variation I can think of and either the bass string isn't muted or all are muted. Is there a secret?
Practice. Accept that you will suck at it for some time. Practice using the palm muting always when playing other things. Accept that it will sound like crap for a while. Choose one way to do it (use either the base of your thumb or the base of your hand on the pinkie side) and stick with it for a few months. Accept that it won't be perfect. Soldier on. Don't worry about it. Your subconscious will figure it out. Eventually, you will wonder why you ever thought it was difficult and you will have difficulty in teaching other people how to do it.
David, I own several of your TrueFire courses and the content on this site is better, IMHO. You should include a link where people can contribute in return for the good stuff here. Just a thought.
Not saying that the TrueFire courses aren't good. They're excellent and I've benefited greatly from them. Just saying that the content on this site is good enough to warrant a contribution. Just wanted to clear that up.
Recently discovered this pot of gold. Most excellent wealth of knowledge and teaching. Thankyou very much.
Words fail. Thank you, David.
I feel like I just struck gold. Fantastic. I've played 47 years and many styles. Every once in a while I try to "clean up" some technique. I'm a flat picking lead guitarist -- but knuckled down on Travis picking a few years ago. I developed my own crude dead thumb blues grooves too, but they are never totally satisfying. This is so clear and logical that you've just hooked me. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of finger style guitar.
My only comment is thank god I was lucky enough to find your lesson today. This was the best 11minutes and :05 seconds I've spent on youtube. A great teacher is a treasure and you are a great teacher. Thank you for sharing.
I just paid for this course series before finding it free on the UA-cams, lol, but I don't even want a refund! This material is so good, you earned it. Gonna get through this to prep myself for the Fingerstyle Five. See you again then!
Oh, and the PDFs are super helpful, so there's that!
This is exactly what the doctor has ordered! Thank you so much, David!
Best lesson to start playing blues I ever saw.
These video lessons (and I've watched many) are not only effective in their teaching methods but are so entertaining. Love them.
Great lesson. That intro to "getting the grove" is an eyeopener!
Thanks David. No one breaks it down into clear, digestible pieces like you have. I will really benefit from this series.
Just what I need to start and understand the magic of blues basics💥💥
Excellent intro to the finger style blues. Being new to this, I had a little trouble with the right hand (walk and chew gum), but after a while, I caught on to the syncopation. You were recommended to me by the great London blues guitarist Doug Varty. You are indeed Hamburger helper!
Thanks David. Ravi
Very good lesson David. You are a great communicator sir, thank you.
Thank you, Dave!
Welcome back David. Great lesson. Exactly in my wheelhouse and loving the teaching.
Love the way you play. It is a great pleasure to be allowed to study the way you play. Thank you.🎶
Champion my man. Natural move forward from my country chords. Thanxs
I recently tried learning key to the highway and found several attempts on various sites.... Most just about OK.... Then found Mr Hamburger!! But your name took me back to reading lessons possibly in GP and How to play guitar..... Probably about 20 years ago!! You are a great teacher! Please carry on!!!
Thank you , nice to finally have some clear instruction on the blues progression
Thank you! This lesson and upcoming series for me is just the right thing at the right time for my playing. I’ve been looking for a way to combine blues rhythm and lead for a while, and your detailed and patient tuition helps people like me to want to practice and get the approach right. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Just found out about your content. It is really awesome. Im new to playing. I find your explanation and teaching to be superb for a beginner like me. Thank you
Thank you for this! One of my favorite kinds of blues, and I'm just at a level where this is perfect practice for me. Excellent!
David,you are teaching the real stuff.Bravo!
So happy to have some nice new acoustic grooves. Hoping for more. Looks like that Austin sun has been shining down on you. :-)
Wonderful lesson David....love your presentation and content. Kind regards, Bob (Melbourne, Australia).
Excellent lesson! Many thanks for posting. Looking forward to the next one.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great teacher.
So glad I found your channel! Great stuff! Sincere thanks!
Thank you David!
Brilliant lesson series David. It would be great to have some classic fingerstyle blues in E listening suggestions to accompany it if possible. Thanks.
Thank you. You e distilled many core ideas to their essentials . You've given me a foundation on which to build. Thank you again.
How's that snow!!
Having fun with this David - Thanks!
You explain things very clearly and this is invaluable. Thank you David.
Thank you David for the lesson! It'is going to take some work on my part for sure!
Thank you very much. You made me very joyful.
Thank you for sharing your talent and knowledge.
David,
I really enjoyed this. I struggled going from straight 8's to swing 8's when I started playing Blues; I wish I would have had this guidance back then. I look forward to the other lessons coming out.
Hi Perry! Yeah, that can be tricky :-). More coming soon!
Thanks for taking things slowly. I'm an Australian
Excellent!
Me: Whoa! A lovely groove, 2 bass fills, a chordal move and one very tasty lick all in 11 minutes??? Nah, can't be done.
DavidH: Hold my beer.
hahaha! Thank you, Peter, for making me laugh out loud with this comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the lesson so much.
Excellent!!!!
Excellent - thanks. Do you have suggestions for playing in other keys, say, G?
Enjoyed the lesson thanks!
Wow. I need this. Thank you!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Hi David great lesson.
Could you recommed some good listening in fingerstyle blues. I love Cary Morin Kelly Joe Phelps John Williams Mary Flower.
For the steady-bass approach, you could start with Scrapper Blackwell's "Mr. Scrapper's Blues" and Dave Van Ronk's "Sunday Street." I'm sure anyone else here will have plenty of favorites to recommend as well :-).
David a great lesson!
great teacher
Excellent! Thank You! :)
Doing the 6 then joining 😊👌
Hi David. Great to hear from you. Funny, I was just going back through the Week 1 TCMGTFB Acoustic material, so this "E" groove is perfect fit with the "A" material from the Course. Throw in a "B" lick and a turnaround and I almost sound like I got it goin' on. LOL
In reference to New Course material, I like how this is directly related to the previous course material. An extention of. The same but different. I'd be interested.
Dean
Ha! That's right, the groove exercises in last year's course were in A, weren't they. Glad you're still getting some mileage out of all that material!
There are many, many miles in that course material.
🎉 thank you for sharing, great channel 🎉 hope you are well God loves you deeply shalom 🤗🐼♥️✝️💐 Philippians 4:8
Hi David love all your lessons. Any chance of some insight into Leon Redbones playing. Many thanks
mIck.....maybe we should barrage him with requests for Redbone's stuff. I've been wanting the same thing.
Hey Dave,
Great stuff and awesome presentation as usual!! I recommend your stuff to lot of folks. Keep up the great lessons I love seeing 'em!!........Paul H.
Aw, thanks, Paul! That means a lot coming from you :-).
Extraordinarily valuable lesson, in fact this whole blues series. Clinically analytical and effective. We owe so much to those old African American blues artists.
(But I'm wondering if blues requires such a physically dirty instrument!)
Great lesson, followed you over from TF
Thanks a lot. Very useful lesson
nice lesson
You. Are. Awesome.
Thank. You. Seriously!
Good stuff, David! Cheers--PC
Hey Phil!! Thanks for saying hello - it's been waaaay too long. Hope you're well!
Doing fine, David, thanks, enjoying retirement and playing in a (gasp) rock band! Hope you and your family are likewise doing swell. P.S. A good buddy of mine is becoming a real blues hound, playing his new Clarksdale resonator and learning blues licks via your videos! Keep up the good work! Cheers--PC
Ha! Well, at least he's not picking it all up on the street :-). Glad to hear about the band, and yes, everyone here is rocking it, each according to their own individualistic predilections and inclinations.
Thank soooo much
As good as it gets!!
Legend
I hope this means that there's a course coming for fingerstyle. Thanks!
Hi Carlos, thanks for stopping by! Could be :-). What are you interested in working on?
Makes sense!, thanks
Hi David. You taught me on St. marks many years ago. Am Dennis n
Dennis! That's going back a while :-). Great to see you here.
Indeed. Your video was posted on Reddit. You look great and your teaching remains at the upper level. Hope you are thriving!!!
great
Excellent, David. A fingerstyle course in the offing? Johnny
Hey Johnny! You took the last one, didn't you? I'd have to come up with something different, wouldn't I :-), so let me know what you'd want to work on next!
I took both the fingerstyle course and the "playing the changes" course, and continue to work through the videos for both. I've tried to incorporate the material from second into my fingerstyle playing. What I'd like is the incorporation of more comping, more grabbing chords, into my fingerstyle. I'd probably take whatever course you offered.
Hola, David--when you're doing the index finger up-brush on the E7 chord, wouldn't it be cool to leave the D string open to (maybe) ring, since it's the b7, as long as the A string is damped?
Hey Jeff! You could definitely do that for the reason you say. To me, it does start to sound a little muddy that way, plus I like having the control of choosing to hear the D string or not.
Got it--thanks, Sir.
Just my opinion - as with all this stuff, if it sounds good to you, make it part of how you play it!
Hi David,every time I play a melody note that is on the beat i,m missing out a steady base note,i don’t seem able to combine the two together.Is this a common beginner’s issue?
I have such a tough time with the palm muting. I've tried every variation I can think of and either the bass string isn't muted or all are muted. Is there a secret?
Practice. Accept that you will suck at it for some time. Practice using the palm muting always when playing other things. Accept that it will sound like crap for a while. Choose one way to do it (use either the base of your thumb or the base of your hand on the pinkie side) and stick with it for a few months. Accept that it won't be perfect. Soldier on. Don't worry about it. Your subconscious will figure it out. Eventually, you will wonder why you ever thought it was difficult and you will have difficulty in teaching other people how to do it.
Dave what gauge strings do you use?
Hi Kevin! Usually John Pearse Phosphor Bronze lights - with a .012 on top.
Thank you,at last I must persist.
David, I own several of your TrueFire courses and the content on this site is better, IMHO. You should include a link where people can contribute in return for the good stuff here. Just a thought.
Not saying that the TrueFire courses aren't good. They're excellent and I've benefited greatly from them. Just saying that the content on this site is good enough to warrant a contribution. Just wanted to clear that up.
I recently got the thumb independence and thought I was doing pretty good until I watch a video of myself.
No groove sounds terrible needs much work
Welcome back David. Great lesson. Exactly in my wheelhouse and loving the teaching.
Cool, glad to hear it!