Expressive Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques

Master the Art of Expressive Acoustic Guitar



Do you want to become a more expressive guitarist? Struggling to find the techniques and tools to make your playing truly musical? 

Look no further... 



Will McNicol, The UK's Acoustic Guitarist of the Year has been called "one of the best acoustic players on the planet right now" and has spent a lifetime perfecting the art of expressive fingerstyle guitar.



In Expressive Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques, he breaks down the art of musical expression into simple subject areas, and puts you on a path to mastery through 100 uncomplicated exercises, musical examples and beautiful etudes. 



Expressive Guitar Playing - Step-By-Step

It may surprise you, but expressive performance on acoustic guitar is mainly dictated by your picking hand, and by getting deep into just four topics you can become a more musical player almost overnight. 

 

In Expressive Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques, Will tackles the four essential elements that combine to create your own jaw-dropping performance. You'll master:



DynamicsArticulationToneTiming

You'll also discover how to combine these elements to create what many consider to be the "holy grail" of performance on guitar: incredible phrasing.



Perfect Phrasing - One Finger at a Time



You'll begin with a paradigm shifting concept: Treat every finger on your picking hand as an individual tone and volume control. From there, you'll study the art of micro and macro dynamics. It's like turning your hand into a finely tuned mixing desk. 

You'll quickly learn delicate volume control with every digit, so you can make any note of a melody or inside voice shine though in your playing. 

From there, you'll discover how to create varied and beautiful tones using any finger in any musical piece, to add texture, depth and emotion to your playing.



A Journey Through Space and Time



Expressive guitar playing doesn't end with precise control of your volume and tone. The next stage is to master your control of speed and timing. You'll learn the art of subtly and intentionally speeding up and slowing down throughout phrases and discover how to push and pull against the beat.

The secret is that expressive music is rarely played "on the grid" of metronomic beat divisions, and the subtle push and pull of each note against the beat, along with acceleration and deceleration throughout a phrase, is what separates the heroes from the zeros. Once again, everything is taught through musical examples, meaningful exercises, and beautiful etudes.