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About the Author
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Gilbert Isbin, a guitarist from Belgium, favors dynamic improvisations over a mixture of expressive ambient, meditative lines and world music.
His latest project is Red Wine, highlighting all the nuances and subtleties in Isbin's playing.
Send comments to Gilbert Isbin.
© Gilbert Isbin
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The most important distinguishing feature of fingerstyle playing compared to pickstyle is the use of two or
more simultaneously played notes lying on non-adjacent strings. In other words, with fingerstyle playing
it is possible at the same time to play a melody voice, chords and their variations, and a bass voice.
Some players have become real masters using this approach (George Van Esp, Joe Pass, Lenny Breau,
Ralph Towner,Tuck Andress). If you are not accustomed with fingerstyle playing, it is best to first concentrate only on playing the melody and a bass part.
Let's start with creating melodies in Em7 (1,b3,5,b7 = E,G,B,D. Look first for different Em7 chord shapes
all over the neck.
For example:
etc.
E -------------3--------------------------10----10---12---------
B --------3----3---5---5---8----8---------8----------12---------
G --------0----4---4---7---7----7----7----7-----9----12---------
D --------0----5---5---5---5----9----9----9-----9----12---------
A --------2--------5---7---7---------10---------10--------------
E --------0----0---0---0---0----0----0----0-----0----0----------
Play single note phrases: up and down, back and forth movements, open and fretted notes, chord arpeggiations, on adjacent and non-adjacent strings in a selected chord shape. Start with quarter notes and tap your foot on the beat (or use a metronome). Continue with experimenting with only eighth notes, sixteenth notes etc, then mix the note durations. Don't spoil your time with learning all the different scales, but create melodic phrases around the chord. Limit yourself to the available notes in the chord's area (4 to 5 frets over 6 strings) and hum the notes so that you become acquainted with the sound that goes together with them or try to play an already existing melody around the chord
Limit yourself in the beginning to the most common meter 4/4.
Examples:
Chordshape Melody (arpeggiation) consisting only of chord shape
tones in quarter notes
------------|---------------------------------------------------
------3-----|-------------3----------------------------3--------
------0-----|-------------------0----0-----------------------0--
------0-----|------------------------------------0--------------
------2-----|------------------------------2--------------------
------0-----|-------0-------------------------------------------
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
Same chordshape
Add whatever notes you like Experiment with note durations
----------------------------------------------------2------0---
-----3----------------------5------3-----------2-3-5-----------
------------2---4---2---4----------------2--4------------------
--------2-----------------------------4------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
0--------------------------------0-----------------------------
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
Add pinch Arpeggiation
-------------------------------------------------------0--
3-2 --------------------3-2--------------3----------------
-----4-2----------2---------4-------------------4---------
----------4---5----------------------2--------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
0--------------------------------0------------------------
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
Experiment with other Em7 chordshapes all over the neck:
------------------------------------0---------------------------------------
-5------------------------------7-------8-----------------------------------
-7------------------------7--------------------5--7------------------4------
-5-----------------5----------------------------------7---5-----4--------7--
7--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-0-----------0--------------------------0-----------------------------------
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
-10-----10---------------------------------------------
----------------0-----------------0-----------------8--
-9-----------------9-------11--------------------------
-9---------------------9------------------9-----10-----
-10----------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
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