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Matthew Smith's Discussions
Where do you live?
Replied Jun. 17, 2008
Guitar Strings and picks
Replied Jun. 17, 2008
Learning approach for beginners
5 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by Bill Jensen Jun. 28, 2008.
Matthew Smith's Page
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Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
You know... I've been playing guitar for quite a while now... I started out as a kid wanting to be the rock star.. (stop laughing) and later on took up fingerstyly guitar and really enjoyed that immensly and the technique served me well in all of my…
Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
Profile Information
- Favorite Flatpickers
- Dan Crary, Bryan Sutton, Tony Rice and Cody Kilby, ect.
- Favorite Flatpicking Tunes
- Wheel Hoss, Cherokee Shuffle and Salt Creek
(Not that I play any of them well at this point)
- Favorite Guitars
- Martin D16GT is my favorite that I've been able to play
- Tell us more about yourself (place a Bio here if you wish)
- I live in Baltimore, MD. I'm a member of L.U 486 Plumbers and Steamfitters Union. I've been a dabbler musically for about the last 10 years, but never really dedicated my self to playing anything in particular. I've played some guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro and electric bass. I've always just played whatever sounded good at the time, so I've never become proficient at anything. Well, I've finally made the decision to buckle down and stick with flatpicking. For me there's just nothing quite like the tone that you can get from acoustic guitar when it's being flatpicked. O.K, I'll stop rambling on now :)
Comment Wall (2 comments)
- At 2:22pm on December 20, 2008,
Art Headley said… - Matthew, I don't know if you got any response on your difficulty w/ flatpicking rhythm. One suggestion would be to start using a "rest Stroke" on the bass strings and then mae a light strum for the 2nd part. Some ave described it as shaking water off of your hand. Beppe Gambetta goes even further and says it's like shaking a feather off of your hand.
A rest stroke (if you don't know" is instead of slapping at the strings, you come to the very slightest stop and then push through the string, hard enough for it to land on the next string...then go straight through the strum. It will you down at first ("investing in loss" is the Tai Chi term for it. It means that you have to be willing to get worse in order to get better. You feel lousy at first, but it can lead to enormous improvement.
Also check out Bryan Kimsey videos on YouTube on how he holds the pick and different options. He also has some great stuff on rhythm in general.
Orrin Star also has a very good DVD out on rhythm playing. You can get it from Flatpicking Guitar Magazine or HomeSpun Tapes.
Hope that helps some. Art
- At 6:10pm on August 15, 2008,
Rich Guilmette said… - Hi Matt,
Dan Crary will be teaching the first week at Steve Kaufman's Kamp next year (2009). It's a great Kamp and the drive shouldn't be bad from MD. The best part about the Kamp, no one looks down at you, no matter what level they are. It's like one big happy family. I've done lots of work with the Instructors since I left Kamp to generate additional tools to help all students and I pass it on to them. There are no Instructors that don't take the time to help you after you leave Kamp. You notice I also like to ramble.
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Steve, my office is across the street from Dusty Strings in Seattle and it turns out they have a D18GE in stock. I had not even noticed it but picked it up. The neck takes some getting used to (or probably for me the bigger adjustment is tied to a 1…
Extremely Tasteful!! Nicely played. Thanks for posting it..
Sorry to get a little off topic :-( I realized it once I clicked the Add Reply button..
I like what you said about being able to afford a 20 Dollar Hygrometer... if you can spend 4 grand on a box.. and you can't spend the little bit of money on the…
Great stuff !... Very atmospheric the way you play this tune...love it !!
Dedicated to those of us who are just getting started.
So what you are talking about here Jon, is not what I started the thread for( but it IS a nice aside!) You NEED to know what your humidity is at in your house were your axe lives. That is what the Hygrometer is for. There are all kinds of threads ev…
I've never had a gauge that I've used for any of my guitars, but what I have done which only costs a few dollars is to get a travel soap box and a sponge to use as a small humidifier that I keep in my case.
It's works really well and fits perfectly…
Really nice. Great to see someone slowing down and being tasty.
I have to admit I do like D'addarios, once I get my callouses back I may move up to ej17's
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