EMMANUEL TOMMY, FINGERSTYLE GUITAR METHOD. CD TABLATURE
The incomparable Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel presents four fingerstyle exercises plus an arrangement of the classic tune Freight Train and two signature compositions- Mister Guitar and Dixie McGuire. This book would serve either as a reference text for one of Tommy's workshops or as a helpful guide to developing fingerstyle guitarists working on their own. All selections are written in notation and tablature for the guitar in standard tuning. A convenient chord chart is provided in the appendix. All of the selections in the book appear on the companion CD.
Intermediate to advanced in difficulty, playing these tunes literally involves the thumbs of both hands! Gaining flexibility and control of your left thumb, you too can play like TE!
Dictation Notes with Tommy Emmanuel Getting Started on Fingerstyle ...
GETTING PREPARED
• Make sure your guitar is set up so it is comfortable for you to play.
• Choose a good set of strings
• Get in tune ...
TUNING
• If you have an electronic tuner and you just tune acoustically, that is fine.
• If you plug into a tuner, make sure you turn the microphone off.
• When you have a pick up in your guitar and you plug into the tuner, put the midrange flat out or on the lever,
whichever you understand. That gives the tuner, a real accurate tuner, a sparky signal and you will be able
to get your guitar really and truly in tune.
• It is always a good idea to practice tuning up as well as playing the guitar so you can get use to your guitar
sounding in tune. After a while you will find that you will end up training your own ear into what the sound
of being in tune really is.
NAILS ... ACRYLIC NAILS, NO NAILS OR FINGERPICKS
• What works for you?
• What sound are you going for?
CHOICE OF THUMBPICK
• I use Dunlop medium thumb pick ... not too big, small, thin, or thick ... it is right in the middle, like a
plectrum, but it is wrapped around your thumb.
• Some people use the slick picks, which are thinner.
• It depends on what kind of dynamic or strength you play with. Personally, if I use a slick pick, it would
probably fly across the room after the first bass note.
• I like something that hangs on to my thumb, doesn't make it turn blue on the end and it sticks on your thumb
properly.
• The thumb pick ~hould be pushed back so when you look at your thumb it is covering the end of your nail,
where it meets the flesh, first knuckle joint. When I look down at my thumb, it looks like there is 1/2 inch
of thumb sticking out.
• The thumb has to be independent to the fingers. It is important that you develop the thumb first before you
do anything with the fingers. You have to start training it. This takes time and dedication.
• In the key C. pick C, F, and G to play. Put your fingers down on the place of the guitar where the fret guard
is, down at the mouth. I rest the heal of my palm, the corner of the heal down and I take a little bit of
resonance out of the string to give it that music sound. Leave your fingers down and start with the A string
on the 3rd fret of the C chord. When you can get this slow and steady and use to it, go to C, G, and C.
• It is very important that with each chord change, I start the bass note on the root note. When I am playing
in C, the first note you play is C. Whatever chord you are playing, the first bass note should be the root note,
the note of that chord.
• Practice slowly. Keep the fingers down. Do in any key, E, A, G, B, A ...
• Practice until you can get a good feel, groove going and playing the thumb without the fingers coming up.
Get the thumb going first.
• It is important for you to become good at tapping your foot when you play. Chet use to say, pat your foot. It
will help you with your groove and your time. It will put a bit of bounce and confidence into your playing
and timing. You need to have a good time.
• I always tap my foot on 1 and 3. The only time I don't tap on 1 and 3 is in an extreme situation where I
would playa song where for me to get the right feel on it I would tap on the other beat or where I would tap
like a bass drummer.
(CONTITUA)
Contents
Holding Position
Fingerstyle Notation
Learning to Read Tablature
Dictation Notes with Tommy Emmanuel
Getting Started On Fingerstyle Guitar
Tom's Thumb
Freight Train (simple version)
Freight Train
Mr. Guitar
Dixie McGuire
Thumbpickers Chord Chart
Italiano
English
