Flatpicking Essentials: Freshman Class 2010

Comment by Jim Wing on April 26, 2010 at 6:22am

My philosophy is that what you are playing is right if it sounds good. Keep plugging away. Train your ears to teach your fingers where to go. If you practice with your eyes telling your fingers where to go, you might get trapped into being able to play only what you have memorized. And you can't memorize very much compared to how many songs you may encounter in social music jams.

Going from G to C is actually pretty easy, just shift down one string. There are a couple of notes different, like on the second string you'll need to finger the first fret in C where in G you would use the open third string. I do this bit of homework every time: Play an exercise 10 times in G, then immediately play another ten reps in C. Knowing those two keys will allow you to accompany most singing voices (with use of capo).

Wildwood Flower is a good song to play in both C and G. If you learn it in C first, G will be pretty easy to get.

D is a different world and is used a lot in old-time fiddle music. I think it sounds particularly appealing on guitar and it's really easy to get good-sounding runs. If you know C, you can capo up to get D, but open-D sounds better for some songs, and I think is easier once you get comfortable with it.

Comment by Jim Wing on April 27, 2010 at 5:51am

Cool! Thanks, Stephen.

I'm going to work on that arrangement next week. This week I will be getting my ducks lined up around the house so I can get up to Merlefest on the weekend.

For you Americana Music fans that don't know about Merlefest, it is an excellent, large music festival in North Carolina. Check out the line-up for the Watson Stage here: http://www.merlefest.org/content.aspx?id=56
And that's just one of 15 stages. Some of the best music can be heard from lesser-known bands. One can find me on the dance stage quite often: someday I would love to play on that stage. Click on my avatar to see photos of me playing on the Cabin Stage with Pete Wernick's Jam Camp. What a hoot!

Comment by Bluesy1 on May 6, 2010 at 7:44pm

Folks still working through this volume? Kinda quiet here. I'm losing some motivation doing the exercises.

Comment by ganon on May 6, 2010 at 9:06pm

Hi Bluesy1, I think we are in the doldrums and maybe finding one of the shortcomings of FE#1: we have been at it 3 months and have not yet played a song. For motivation, you might try take a break and jump ahead and look at one of the songs. I'd recommend "Rhythm in Style of Peter Rowan" (Walls of Time) on p. 76. It is easy to learn with what we have been through so far, the style with short chromatic 1/8 note bass runs is consistent with the current set of exercises. It should 'grab' you and remind you of why we are doing this. Thanks to Lora and Jim for scouting ahead and finding WoT. -ganon

Comment by Lora on May 6, 2010 at 9:54pm

I agree with Ganon -- I need some songs to help motivate me. I started attending local jams again. I made a list of common tunes and will work on laying out the chords so I can practice the songs before attending again. This area of western North Carolina is rich with world-class Bluegrass and Old-timey musicians, especially the fiddlers. They don't seem to care much for fancy backup guitar -- just basic solid rhythm (a few base walks before chord changes are OK). So in other words, I should be fine with the level we are at if I can learn a few songs and keep solid rhythm. Meanwhile, the course work is building a wonderful foundation for more advanced playing and taking lead breaks one day!!

Comment by David Cornelius on May 7, 2010 at 2:21am

Got to admit to having lost motivation with the exercises and, like Lora, have found a three-weekly Bluegrass jamming session here in Glasgow. So really I have been finding lots of new tunes and songs to play - all part of my learning experience and there's no doubt what I have learned so far with the practice has improved my playing. But with my mandolin classes stepping up the pace with with Courantes, Doubles, Fugues (for crying out loud), and a Concerto to learn I am finding it difficult to fit it all in as well as work!
That said, I do still look at the FE material, albeit less frequently.

Comment by ganon on May 7, 2010 at 12:47pm

Actually, I don't find our FE exercises to be much of a burden - I do do them, but they are only maybe 10% of my playing/practice time. I find that a 1/2 hour spread out over a couple of days is sufficient, for the most part, for each of the exercises. I'm never going to play these for pleasure or for other people, so I don't need to memorize them error free and get them into 'deep muscle memory.' Half-hour is usually enough to 'understand' and apply to other things. (A few of the better exercises do become part of the permanent warm-up routine: simple Ex 6 I-IV-V progressions, folded scales and G-runs). Anyway, maybe things, and our approach, will change in a few more weeks when we finally get done with these dang technical exercises and start playing songs.

Comment by Dan Miller on May 14, 2010 at 10:06am

I love this discussion. Everyone is coming up with great suggestions and ideas. The reason most of us learn to play the guitar is for playing songs and enjoying music with other people. Exercises serve a purpose, but the goal of the exercise is to learn how to apply whatever you are learning to a song. So, learning to apply what you learn from each exercise in a song is the right way to go. After each exercise, try to apply what you learned in a song. You could do it with a picking partner, at a jam session, along with a recording, with a back up track, or with a jam-along product like the Flatpick Jam series by Brad Davis.
If you practice one exercise for a while (the 10% of the practice time is a good idea), then move on right away and use that principle or technique in a song. It will not only be more interesting and fun, you'll also learn how to use what you are studying in a practical application. It will make more sense to you and you will progress at a faster pace. Good luck! Dan

Comment by ganon on May 14, 2010 at 2:00pm

Dan- thanks for putting a little perspective on this. Looking both back and forward: if I were to do this again (class of 201?), I'd do parts One and Two of FE#1 in parallel. With maybe Jimmy Martin and B.Davis' 9-lb hammer moved toward the end so that skill levels and styles keep a corresponding rough progression. One thing for sure, the exercises have done their work: last night I was pretty much able to 'sight-read' and play the first 3 songs on first try - never would have happened 3 months ago. I particularly liked the 'up to speed' version of Blue Eyes - I karaoked out the guitar and played my own backup (without too much trouble!) for the mandolin lead - great fun!
-ganon

Comment by Bryan Floyd on August 22, 2010 at 3:41am

Just wanted to join the group. I don't have the FE Volume 1 yet, but plan to get it very soon. I also just joined the Beginner's group and hope to learn with you all. Been playing guitar for over 30 years but this flatpicking feels like a whole new instrument!! :)

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