Live Lesson Every Monday for 10 Weeks
If you want to get started with fingerstyle, this live 10 week course is for you. If you've already tried but got overwhelmed, stuck, or even completely failed, this course is especially for you. I'm going to give you the tools to build your foundation on and solve any problems along the way. Fingerstyle is one of the most versatile ways to play the guitar. Whether you're in a band, accompanying another instrument or vocalist, or want to play solo arrangements, fingerstyle is fun to play and brings out many different "voices" of the guitar.
Workshop Overview
View the details below for each week of this bootcamp. Spanning 10 weeks, each class is fully interactive where you can talk with Jim, ask your questions, and get feedback. Our broadcasts are also streaming in full high definition. Supplemental content, along with practice backing tracks and tabs will be provided for each live session!
We'll start with things like:
- Turning your thumb into a rock solid band-in-a-box. It's your drummer, bass player and the first building block.
- Getting your fingers organized to play patterns, chords and melodies.
- Loading you up with cool tools and techniques to add color and variety to your sound
- Discover a thought-out plan for learning any new song, no matter how challenging it is.
- Learn how to play "in the pocket" with smooth, steady timing and technique.
- Going beyond patterns, bringing out more power and variety to your playing
If you've struggled, we'll solve problems like:
- Getting your thumb and fingers to cooperate instead of stumbling - we'll nail that elusive "thumb independence".
- Improving your overall sound, timing and technique.
- How to play music that sounds great, not like a robot reading tablature.
- How to fix and polish up the hardest part of any song.
- What to do when the "right" chord doesn't work, or you can't play it.
Oh, and there WILL be homework every week. Be ready to get to work! Full details of each weekly course below, and be sure to add them to your calendar.
| Date | Topic | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, 10/26/2015 at 8pm EST | Intro and Thumb Orientation | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 11/02/2015 at 8pm EST | Beginning Fingerstyle Patterns | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 11/09/2015 at 8pm EST | Melody Notes | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 11/16/2015 at 8pm EST | Muting and the "Boom Chick" | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 11/23/2015 at 8pm EST | Metronome | Being "In The Pocket" | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 11/30/2015 at 8pm EST | Syncopation | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 12/07/2015 at 8pm EST | Cool Tools | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 12/14/2015 at 8pm EST | Learning New Songs | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 12/21/2015 at 8pm EST | Cool Tools - Inversions | Get Access - 25% Off |
| Monday, 12/28/2015 at 8pm EST | The Crucible - Two Songs At Once | Get Access - 25% Off |
Week 1 - Intro and Thumb Orientation
October 26th at 8:00pm ESTFingerstyle covers many techniques as well as genres of music. It can be used either as an accompaniment technique or to play solo arrangements. In either case, the thumb is usually the foundation, establishing the tempo and lower tones/bass notes. We need to start with the thumb first because your picking fingers will be doing a different job. Many players refer to this as "thumb independence."
Add to Your Calendar 10/26/2015 8:00 PM 10/26/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 1 - Intro and Thumb Orientation Fingerstyle covers many techniques as well as genres of music. It can be used either as an accompaniment technique or to play solo arrangements. In either case, the thumb is usually the foundation, establishing the tempo and lower tones/bass notes. We need to start with the thumb first because your picking fingers will be doing a different job. Many players refer to this as "thumb independence." https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week2 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 2 - Beginning Fingerstyle Patterns
November 2nd at 8:00pm ESTNow that your thumb is going, let's add some finger patterns underneath. The important thing to remember is that no matter what - the thumb keeps going like a clock! These patterns are universal and will be highly useful for learning and creating your own songs, as well as jamming and accompaniment.
Add to Your Calendar 11/02/2015 8:00 PM 11/02/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 2 - Beginning Fingerstyle Patterns Now that your thumb is going, let's add some finger patterns underneath. The important thing to remember is that no matter what - the thumb keeps going like a clock! These patterns are universal and will be highly useful for learning and creating your own songs, as well as jamming and accompaniment. https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week2 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 3 - Melody Notes
November 9th at 8:00pm ESTUp until now, everything we've learned has been playing a pattern with your thumb, a pattern with your fingers, all on a chord shape. If you want to play a solo fingerstyle arrangement though, we need to learn how to play single notes - a melody line - that doesn't happen in a simple repeating pattern in your chord. To play a song's melody line it will often be necessary to either add a finger on your left hand to a chord, lift up a finger in your chord to play an open string, or even move a finger to a different string. This week we will give you the tools and practice you need to play the melody notes!
Add to Your Calendar 11/09/2015 8:00 PM 11/09/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 3 - Melody Notes Up until now, everything we've learned has been playing a pattern with your thumb, a pattern with your fingers, all on a chord shape. If you want to play a solo fingerstyle arrangement though, we need to learn how to play single notes - a melody line - that doesn't happen in a simple repeating pattern in your chord. To play a song's melody line it will often be necessary to either add a finger on your left hand to a chord, lift up a finger in your chord to play an open string, or even move a finger to a different string. This week we will give you the tools and practice you need to play the melody notes! https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week3 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 4 - Palm Muting and the "Boom Chick"
November 16th at 8:00pm ESTOne of the powerful things about fingerstyle is that you're not limited to just patterns, chords and melody notes. A dramatic change to the sound and feel of the guitar can be made by applying "palm muting." In this lesson we will go over palm muting, as well as cover a common sound often referred to as the "boom chick."
Add to Your Calendar 11/16/2015 8:00 PM 11/16/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 4 - Palm Muting and the "Boom Chick" One of the powerful things about fingerstyle is that you're not limited to just patterns, chords and melody notes. A dramatic change to the sound and feel of the guitar can be made by applying "palm muting." In this lesson we will go over palm muting, as well as cover a common sound often referred to as the "boom chick." https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week4 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 5 - Metronome Practice | Being "In The Pocket"
November 23rd at 8:00pm ESTThe title of this lesson will scare off a lot of students, but don't be that person! The metronome is an invaluable tool, and one could argue that it's not possible to become an excellent guitarist without it. In this lesson we talk about the metronome, and how to use it to achieve fingerstyle mastery.
Add to Your Calendar 11/23/2015 8:00 PM 11/23/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 5 - Metronome Practice - Being "In The Pocket" The title of this lesson will scare off a lot of students, but don't be that person! The metronome is an invaluable tool, and one could argue that it's not possible to become an excellent guitarist without it. In this lesson we talk about the metronome, and how to use it to achieve fingerstyle mastery. https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week5 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 6 - Syncopation
November 30th at 8:00pm ESTNow we're going to add syncopation to your fingerstyle playing. This is a technique that helps you make a song much more interesting to listen to than if every note is played on the beat.
Add to Your Calendar 11/30/2015 8:00 PM 11/30/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 6 - Syncopation Now we're going to add syncopation to your fingerstyle playing. This is a technique that helps you make a song much more interesting to listen to than if every note is played on the beat. https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week6 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 7 - Cool Tools
December 7th at 8:00pm ESTNow that you've got the idea of syncopation - playing notes just ahead of or behind the beat - here are two techniques that will help you do just that, hammer-ons and pull-offs. We also include a bonus exercise to help you master the idea of walking bass-lines.
Add to Your Calendar 12/07/2015 8:00 PM 12/07/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 7 - Cool Tools Now that you've got the idea of syncopation - playing notes just ahead of or behind the beat - here are two techniques that will help you do just that, hammer-ons and pull-offs. We also include a bonus exercise to help you master the idea of walking bass-lines. https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week7 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 8 - Learning New Songs
December 14th at 8:00pm ESTYou can learn a song several different ways - by standard notation, tablature, video, by ear only, or a combination of these. The key to learning it quickly and accurately though is you have to "know" the song - better than you might realize. We tackle the subject and give you the tips necessary to learn songs faster and better.
Add to Your Calendar 12/14/2015 8:00 PM 12/14/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 8 - Learning New Songs You can learn a song several different ways - by standard notation, tablature, video, by ear only, or a combination of these. The key to learning it quickly and accurately though is you have to "know" the song - better than you might realize. We tackle the subject and give you the tips necessary to learn songs faster and better. https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week8 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 9 - More Cool Tools - Inversions
December 21st at 8:00pm ESTI want to get another cool tool in your bag of tricks. While learning fingerstyle arrangements, you are trying to combine chords and melody notes. As we learned in Week 3, you can find a lot of melody notes with only minor modifications to basic first position chord shapes. However, songs in the real world are not all the same. Sometimes the melody notes may wander way outside of what you can reach while still holding even a portion of the first position chord. Playing that song in a different key (using different chords) may solve that problem but not always. The real solution is to have an arsenal of chord inversions at your beck and call, and not just barre chords. This week we teach you everything you need to know!
Add to Your Calendar 12/21/2015 8:00 PM 12/21/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Fingerstyle Foundation Live - Session 9 - More Cool Tools I want to get another cool tool in your bag of tricks. While learning fingerstyle arrangements, you are trying to combine chords and melody notes. As we learned in Week 3, you can find a lot of melody notes with only minor modifications to basic first position chord shapes. However, songs in the real world are not all the same. Sometimes the melody notes may wander way outside of what you can reach while still holding even a portion of the first position chord. Playing that song in a different key (using different chords) may solve that problem but not always. The real solution is to have an arsenal of chord inversions at your beck and call, and not just barre chords. This week we teach you everything you need to know! https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week9 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYYWeek 10 - The Crucible - Two Songs At Once
December 28th at 8:00pm ESTThis may sound daunting, perhaps even impossible. But don't worry, it is, and it's surprisingly valuable thing for every fingerstyle guitarist to know. Join us this week to learn to drop jaws on command.
Add to Your Calendar 12/28/2015 8:00 PM 12/28/2015 10:00 PM 16 JamPlay Live Bootcamp - Session 10 - The Crucible - Two Songs At Once This may sound daunting, perhaps even impossible. But don't worry, it is, and it's surprisingly valuable thing for every fingerstyle guitarist to know. Join us this week to learn to drop jaws on command. https://members.jamplay.com/bootcamp/fingerstyle-foundation-week10 JamPlay, LLC support@jamplay.com false MM/DD/YYYY