Beyond Basics: Fingerstyle Solo Guitar: Guitar DVD

This DVD moves beyond abstract technique drills by embedding fingerstyle fundamentals into actual musical contexts. Hanson's specially written compositions let students hear what independent melodic, harmonic, and bass lines sound like before they have to play them, making the leap from single-line playing to polyphonic guitar feel inevitable rather than overwhelming.

Liberating. As your right-hand fingers gain independence, the guitar transforms from a rhythm and melody instrument into a complete ensemble in your hands. The folk and blues pieces feel conversational and warm, while the ragtime and new age selections showcase the rhythmic sophistication and shimmer that fingerstyle unlocks.

Guitarists with basic chord and single-line playing skills who are ready to develop independent bass and melody voices simultaneously. This works well for students interested in folk, blues, or contemporary acoustic styles and who benefit from visual instruction alongside written material.

• Build strength in your picking hand by starting with the folk arrangements first; they establish the foundational finger independence patterns before the rhythmic complexity of ragtime demands full command.
• Use the tuning segment to establish consistent reference tones, then return to it frequently as you work through new styles—a loose tuning will undermine your ability to hear voice independence in the compositions.
• Watch the additional artist video clips multiple times, focusing first on hand position and finger movement, then on the overall phrasing and dynamics, rather than trying to absorb everything in one sitting.
• Practice the picking exercises slowly with a metronome set to half or quarter-note pulses, prioritizing clean articulation in each finger before increasing tempo.

Assign this to students between their first and second year of guitar study as a bridge toward repertoire-based learning. The DVD format pairs well with group lessons where students can watch together and discuss fingerstyle challenges, and the matching book/CD preview helps students extend their work beyond screen time.

• Right-hand finger independence and control
• Playing independent bass lines while maintaining melody and harmony
• Chord voicing and inversion for fingerstyle arrangement
• Style-specific picking patterns (folk, ragtime, blues, new age)
• Reading chord charts and lead sheets in fingerstyle context