Modern Fingerstyle Guitar

The artist of this episode needs little introduction. Throughout his career, Jon Gomm has redefined what it means to be both a singer/songwriter and an acoustic guitar player. He’s honed a style and technique of playing that is distinct and refreshing, that leaves even some of the best players wondering, how did he do that? But my favorite thing about Jon’s music is that he writes songs that evoke emotion. It’s evident that his music come from an authentic and emotional place, and you can feel that in his singing and lyrics. If you’re not familiar with Jon’s music, check out his website, Facebook, or Youtube page ASAP.   This podcast was recorded a couple of months ago, so my deepest apologies for the delay. In it we cover: Backstory of his obsession with guitar His time on Guitar Star and having “Realizations” on guitar The story of Jon’s iconic Lowden Guitar, “Wilma” The story of Jon’s new Lowden Signature model guitar Slowly Releasing videos for Live in the Acoustic Asylum This was a really fun conversation – I hope you enjoy it.  (Songs featured: Afterglow, Weather Machine)   Documentary Backer “Artist Of The Week” Feature: Paolo Sereno “Italy’s grooviest guitar player!” – Don Ross   Paolo Sereno is an Italian fingerstyle guitarist who’s shared stages with artists such as Thomas Leeb, Don Ross, Antoine Dufour, Michael Manring, Jacqueline Perkins and William Ackerman. During the 2014 he played in Hong Kong, Bejing, Xian, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur on an Asian guitar tour with Masa Sumide (organized by the Naga Guitar Company) and was invited twice to play for the International Fingerstyle Guitar Nights in Shanghai. Paolo also plays in a trio with Violin (Andrea Costa and Leo Gadaleta) and Sax (Stefano Fariselli) playing his own compositions and swing rock standards. In 2016 he created the Fingercussion Connection, a new site devoted to percussion guitar techniques. You can find Paolo’s music and follow him on Facebook and Youtube.   The post EP 20: Jon Gomm (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

This week’s episode features one of the busiest fingerstyle guitarists in the game – Chris Woods Groove. Based in the U.K., Chris Woods Groove has an impressive list of accomplishments in the fingerstyle guitar realm, including the publishing of his book Percussive Acoustic Guitar, creating video lessons for Acoustic Guitar Magazine, organizing and hosting the London Guitar Night, and most recently his latest project – the Chris Woods Groove Orchestra. It was great getting to hear Chris’s story – I think you will really enjoy this podcast. You can learn more about Chris on his website chriswoodsgroove.co.uk, on his Facebook, Twitter @chriswoodsmusic, and his YouTube channel. Songs featured: Edinburgh, Amygdala Pt. 1 (Chris Woods Groove Orchestra) Show Notes: Story of putting the “Groove” in “Chris Woods Groove” Chris’s backstory Percussive Fingerstyle Guitar book Gaining confidence in composing your own music London Guitar Night (Held on 1st Sunday of every month at The Troubadour in London) Chris Woods Groove Orchestra When do you know a fingerstyle song is ready? Red Room collaboration with Jon Hart and Candyrat Records Gear Artist to check out: Amrit Sond Gear Logarhythm stomp box Martin 000X1 Fulltone OCD Overdrive Pedal Mimesis Kudos Pickups The post Ep 19: Chris Woods Groove (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

GUITAR STAR – Final – Latitude – Winning Performance Gary Lutton is the 23-year-old fingerstyle guitarist from Belfast, Ireland and the 2015 winner of the Sky Art’s Guitar Star competition in the U.K. In this podcast, Gary explains his experience competing in and winning the competition, meeting some amazing guitarist mentors, and eventually playing for thousands at the Latitude Festival. You can find Gary on his Facebook Page, Twitter, or on his YouTube Channel. The song featured in the Podcast is Gary’s arrangement of “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac. Guitar Star Abbey Road Notes: Gary’s playing background Early practicing and arranging Six String Theory Meeting Rodrigo y Gabriella Best advice from Paco Peña  Playing at Latitude Festival in front of thousands of people Gear: Alan Carson Guitars Dimarzio Black Angel Boss OC3 Octave Pedal The post Ep 18: Gary Lutton (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

  The Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast is back after a short hiatus, this time featuring self-taught 21-year-old guitar player from Dublin, Ireland named Shane Hennessy. Shane has been steeped in traditional Irish music his entire life, starting out by playing the Concertina. You can hear the distinct influences of Irish melodic ideas in songs like The Rebellion, but Shane can also bring some serious funk, especially on his tune Avenue (both featured on the podcast). You can learn everything you could ever want to know about Shane and his music on his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. His latest album Zephyrus is out now. Show notes: Shane’s roots in traditional Irish music Inspiration and influence fingerstyle guitar and Tommy Emmanuel and Andy McKee The new album Zephyrus Shane’s creative process to composing Gigging in Dublin Artists to check out Gear Links from episode: James Taylor – Fire and Rain Clive Carroll Nile Rogers Snarky Puppy Casper Esmann Lars de Rijck Mal OBrien Moxie Gear Maton Guitars (read his full customization of the guitar here) SR Technologies Jam 150 AER Pocket tools, Dual Mix, Colorizer D’Addario Strings 12-53 NY EXPs The post Ep 17: Shane Hennessy (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

This week’s episode features Australian fingerstyle guitarist Dylan Ryche. Dylan has a deep knowledge of the guitar spanning theory, composing, teaching and much more. In this interview, I really enjoyed hearing about Dylan’s approach to composing and how you can use limitations and parameters to spawn creativity in songwriting. In addition to being a great guitar player (and all around great dude), Dylan is a full time family-man with a young son and another child on the way. Though he gigs sparingly, you can always find his music on his personal website, iTunes, YouTube, and Facebook. Dylan JUST released his latest single (with tabs) titled Ready or Not – you can download it for free by signing up for his newsletter here. I learned some things in this interview and I hope you will too! (The songs featured in this episode are titled Mulberry Street and A Platypus In Sheep’s Clothing) Show Notes: Dylan’s musical background Why do you think so many fingerstyle guitarist seem to come from a metal background? When did you decide music was your path? What is your process and philosophy for composing? Do you use theory or do you use your ear? Dylan’s experience competing in the Canadian Guitar Festival What is the inspiration behind your song A Platypus in Sheep’s Clothing? Other links: Composing with Voices (video) Fingerstyle Documentary Backer “Artist of the Week” – Christian Brock Christian Brock is a Scandinavian fingerstyle guitarist and composer from Denmark. Like many fingerstyle guitarists, Christian started out as a metal guitarist until the summer of 2012 where he was exposed to Australian guitarist John Butler, in particular his song titled “Ocean”. From that moment on, Christian was a changed man. He put down the seven string Ibanez and picked up a steel-string Avalon acoustic to fully pursue modern fingerstyle guitar. In May of 2015, Christian released his latest 4 song EP titled “The Ride” which is available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes. You can follow Christian on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for updates on music and performances. The post Ep 16: Dylan Ryche (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

  This week I spoke with  the 2014 Ernie Ball Acoustic Prodigy competition winner Travis Bowman. Travis was selected out of a sea of over 200 applicants based on his submission of his original fingerstyle guitar song titled Torture Chamber (song included in podcast). In winning, Travis was awarded an expenses paid trip to California to record his 3 song EP Super Hero with Andy McKee at the helm as producer. Travis is super down to earth dude, I think you guys will really enjoy this one! You can download his brand new EP Super Hero here and follow Travis on Facebook and Instagram.   Show Notes: The story of his submission to the Ernie Ball Acoustic Prodigy competition How Travis became interested in Fingerstyle Guitar Inspiration behind the song Torture Chamber Recording in the studio with Andy Mckee Travis’s Stonebridge/Furch S21 SWC Jumbo Sitka Spruce walnut. Other links:   Leo Kottke’s version of Little Martha (Duane Allman) The post Ep 15: Travis Bowman (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

Finnish modern fingerstyle guitarist Petteri Sariola has been described as the “one-man-funk-band” which is a pretty accurate four-word summary of his abilities on the acoustic guitar. He combines his clear command of percussion with a background as a classically trained guitarist. Layer that with his groovy slapped bass techniques and his vocal lines and the result is something truly special. But to truly understand the level of mastery that Petteri has reached — you have to hear (and see) it for yourself. Make sure to check out Petteri’s “Beat of the Week” series on Youtube that he’s done with artists such as Andy Mckee, Jon Gomm, Mike Dawes, Adam Rafferty, Newton Faulkner and more.   Petteri plays a custom guitar built by Andreas Cuntz with a thicker top to withstand his assorted hits and thumps that make up his percussive style –  you can find his full list of gear and setup here. Show notes and questions asked: Petteri’s playing story, from classical music to percussive fingerstyle How Petteri approaches composition and tunings Inspiration and dealing with writers block Practicing and playing cleanly Fingerstyle gigging horror stories What makes a great live performance Dead Sirius 3000 Touring Germany with Mike Dawes Rapid fire questions links:  First song to come out when you pick up the guitar at the moment? Antonio Laouro – Registro Any artist that you think people should check out? Declyn Zappala & J-P Piirainen The post EP 14: Petteri Sariola (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

Tommy Emmanuel is a man that needs no introduction. He is hands down, one of the most influential and talented fingerstyle guitarists of all time. Recognized for his music globally, Tommy consistently plays 200-300 shows per year all over the world –  arguably the, ” hardest working man in the fingerstyle-business.” I had the pleasure of chatting with Mr. Emmanuel a few weeks back about all things guitar. We touch on things like Tommy’s writing process, playing breakthroughs, live performance tips and much, much more. This is definitely not one to miss – I hope you all enjoy it!   I’d like to thank everyone that participated in the r/Guitar sub-Reddit for sending in your questions. The songs featured in this podcast are Lewis and Clark and The Mystery. Show Notes:  What’s your schedule like touring? When do you find time to compose new music? What is your writing process? On writing melodies that sing Have you ever had any big breakthroughs on the guitar? If so what caused them? Tommy Emmanuel Guitar Camp Tips for performing live Tune, tune, and tune some more! Rapid fire questions to end. What is the best piece of guitar advice you ever got? Artists mentioned in the Podcast: Clive Carroll  Joe Robinson The post Ep 13: Tommy Emmanuel CGP (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Drew Roller and Mark Fisher, the guys behind the idea and Kickstarter for the first and only documentary film about Modern Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar. The goal of the film is to take a magnified look at this incredible musical form through the lens of it’s history, culture, and the people that play it. Link to the Kickstarter page here.  The main thread of the film’s storyline will be in a small village high in the secluded Austrian Alps, where once a year, guitar players from all over the planet meet to participate in a Fingerstyle Guitar Bootcamp to learn from the masters. The documentary will also be suplimented with as many voices from the fingerstyle guitar community including Thomas Leeb, Jon Gomm, Antoine Dufour, Preston Reed, and many others. I’ll be teaming up with Drew and Mark to help make this film a reality, and I couldn’t be more thrilled and honored to be onboard!  —- UPDATE: WE’RE FUNDED! —- Thank you sincerely for all the support in making this project  a reality! The post Ep 12: Fingerstyle Documentary (Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast) appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

Brandon Waardenburg isn’t a fingerstyle guitarist. He is however a musician, songwriter, consultant, and creator of Apparatus, a musical accelerator that supports independent artists, songwriters, producers and engineers to empower them in their quest to make it doing what they love. I found out about Brandon after reading his article on Reverb titled Making It Professionally As A Self-Taught Musician and was compelled to reach out to learn more. After exchanging a few emails, I invited Brandon on to the podcast to share his experience in helping musicians get out and play their music and even help them to get paid doing it. This episode is a little different that what you’ve heard to date. It’s primarily filled with tips and advice for promoting yourself as a musician, navigating ways to book yourself gigs, and performing. What else is unique about this episode? Brandon is giving away a GraphTech set of bridge pins with a saddle to one winner selected from listeners that join his mailing list through this link apparatus.ca/modernfingerstyle/. By signing up for his list you will get the latest blog posts on his site which are packed with awesome content for musicians. Show Notes: What is Apparatus? Where to get started when performing live? How to work with venue owners to get paid? How to haggle blog post What materials do you need in your musical resume? What are some tips for self promotion? Advice on performance and connecting with an audience? Storytelling What’s the deal with busking? The post Ep 11: Making It As A Musician w/ Brandon Waardenburg appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.

Can you remember the first song you learned on the guitar? Chances are it was something simple, probably a few power chords or a simple melody. But while you were in your room learning “Smoke On The Water,” Casper Esmann began his guitar journey by getting Tommy Emmanuel’s Classical Gas under his fingers. Casper Esmann is a 22-year-old Modern Fingerstyle Guitarist from Denmark who wildly talented beyond his years and got there in a remarkably short amount of time. Casper has played all over Europe and has toured with fingerstyle masters such as Sungha Jung and others. This is one of the most fascinating podcasts I’ve done to date. Casper is a shining example of someone that has taken a non-traditional approach to not just fingerstyle playing, but learning the guitar in general. Casper plays Maton guitars on tour and a signature Christina Kobler guitar in the studio. Show Notes – Casper’s musical journey – Early practice regimen – Casper’s advice for learning songs – Advice for Fingerstyle Guitarists and Youtube – Touring with Sungha Jung – Casper Esmann Productions – Booking live fingerstyle performances – Guitars and heavy string gauges Links: – Tommy Emmanuel Interview: Straight From The Heart – I go to Rio – Tommy Emmanuel – Guthrie Govan – Gabriella Quevedo – Joe Robinson – Shane Hennessy – Petteri Sariola  The post Ep 10: Casper Esmann – Modern Fingerstyle Guitar Podcast appeared first on Modern Fingerstyle Guitar.