The acoustic guitar is a popular instrument among all age groups and is a very rewarding instrument to learn to play, although you don’t get to mess around with great electric guitar sounds. So let’s take a look at the techniques you’ll learn as an acoustic guitarist and some legendary guitarists whose work you’ll need to get familiar with in order to hang out with other acoustic guitarists.
You can think of acoustic guitar technique in two ways: you can be a strummer or a picker. A strummer plays by dragging the thumb, index finger, or pick across the guitar strings. You can find a multitude of strumming patterns on the internet. Start with the simplest you can find. Some strumming patterns simply show the names of the chords you’re supposed to strum, and others show that it only includes selected strings. Strings not included can be damped with the little finger of the left hand or the palm of the right hand.
You can pick with a pick (this technique is called flatpicking) or with your fingers. If you decide to pinch with your fingers, you may want to use picks that fit your thumb and fingertips. Steel strings are hard on your nails, so you may need chopsticks to keep your nails from breaking into pieces. Nylon strings don’t require the use of picks, but after you’ve had some experience playing the guitar, you can make your decision based on the type of sound you want.
A simple start to finger playing is to play an E minor chord and place your fingers on the strings you want to play. Don’t try to play, just decide which strings you are playing in this chord and place your right hand fingers in a ready picking “stance” to play. So for the E minor chord, you could place your thumb on the 6th string and your 1st finger on the 3rd string, your 2nd finger on the 2nd string, and your 1st finger on the 1st string. Now play each string by pressing down with your thumb and pulling up with your fingers.
If you want to see what you can do by furthering your devotion to the acoustic guitar, Leo Kottke is a good start. He is an innovative fingerstyle acoustic guitarist heavily influenced by folk music, jazz and blues. Another great is Tommy Emmanuel, an Australian acoustic and electric guitarist known for his energetic fingerpicking style. He has developed his own style based on the “travis picking” style of playing that he heard played on Chet Atkins records.
“Travis picking” is a fingerpicking style that involves playing the bass with the thumb and the melody with the first two or three fingers simultaneously. This style of picking was developed by Merle Travis, an American country and western singer-songwriter who wrote one of the hit songs of the early 1950s, “Sixteen Tons.” While we are talking about the selection of travis, you have probably heard of Chet Atkins. He was an influential Nashville guitarist and record producer for many famous recording artists. He mainly played electric guitar and his picking technique was mainly inspired by Merle Travis with musical influences from Django Reinhardt and Les Paul.
For the acoustic guitarist who chooses to stick with the pick, “Doc” Watson is an American bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel singer and guitarist. He is revered by other guitarists for his amazing flat-picking style, although he does play it with his fingers.
Today’s acoustic guitar repertoire owes much to the folk revival of the 1960s. Here are some names from that era whose work you should catch up on:
John Renbourn, the English guitarist and songwriter, is best known for his work with fellow guitarist Bert Jansch and his career with the English folk group Pentangle. Renbourn’s musical interests include early music, folk, classical music, and blues.
Bert Jansch is a Scottish folk musician whose influences include English guitarist Davy Graham. His music has influenced Jimmy Page, Ian Anderson, Donovan and Neil Young.
John Martyn is an English guitarist who also sings and writes songs. He has made twenty studio albums and has worked with famous musicians such as Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Phil Collins. He has invented his own sound with an acoustic guitar played through a fuzzbox, Phase-Shifter and Echoplex.
Davy Graham is a guitarist who had a great presence on the English folk scene of the sixties. Many acoustic guitarists like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy and Jimmy Page. His acoustic instrumental piece, Anji, was recorded by Paul Simon on one of Simon And Garfunkel’s early albums.