Course: Acoustic Level 1

 

There’s something special about acoustic guitars. The resonance of the wood right up against your ribs is a unique experience. In Acoustic Style Course 1 & 2 you’ll learn this amazing instrument inside and out. We’ll show you everything from solid strumming of foundational chords to fingerpicking, chords and melody at the same time to music theory. Begin to master the acoustic guitar in this course.

Chapter: 1: It All Starts At The Campfire!

In Acoustic Chapter 1 you’ll learn the basics of strumming, Cowboy Chords, classic chords and different rhythmic feels.

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Anders will show you the basics of the simple acoustic guitar strumming pattern.

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Anders will show you how to embellish the basic open chords.

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Anders will add another classic strumming pattern to your arsenal.

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Anders will explore a series of chords where certain notes on the treble strings remain static through all of them. We call these common tones and it's a great sound. The common tones give these chords some wild names, but don't worry too much about that for right now. Just consider them minor or major chords with some extra flavor added.

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Anders will show you a different right hand strumming pattern using a 3/4 time signature, or waltz feel.

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Anders will show you helpful tips for dealing with difficult to play chords.

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Chapter: 2: Finger Picking: Poor Man's Piano

This chapter is all about fingerpicking. We’ll take you through the basics and even go next-level. You’ll learn some simple melodies, some finger- strumming and alternate bass notes.

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Anders will introduce a really simple version of a finger picking pattern, and as always it's really important that you take your time and don't rush ahead with this. And if you're lucky enough that this is easy for you, try to use these lessons to zoom in and perfect your right hand technique.

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Anders will show you a slightly more elaborate finger picking pattern. It's a little more complicated than the one we used in the previous tutorial, but it is absolutely worth the hard work. This one uses the concept of inside and outside picking.

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Anders will show you how to use the basic fingerpicking patterns to weave melodies into your playing and effectively accompany yourself, while also playing the lead.

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Anders will show show you a very basic way to strum with your fingers, which is similar to how you hold a pick, but it does have a slightly different sound. This will enable you to switch seamlessly between strumming and fingerpicking, which is good for accompanying a singer, but it'll also enable you to come up with cool hybrid strumming and picking patterns.

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Anders will show you how to incorporate alternating bass notes into the basic fingerpicking techniques learned so far. It inherently has a country sound, which is fun, but if that's not your thing, simply consider it an exercise in right hand independence and overall finger picking technique.

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Anders will show you a practice tune using the various fingerpicking techniques taught in this chapter.

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Chapter: 3: Look Right, Then Left, Then Right Again

Let’s kick things up a notch! Here you’ll learn faster strumming and done style chords. You’ll also be introduced to the Blues and barre chords.

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Anders will you how to strum using 16th notes. He'll explore a groove using this subdivision and come up with a cool strumming pattern that fits it. You'll recognize the sound of it, as this rhythmic feel is used in a million classic songs.

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Anders will show you how to explore the most basic tools used to create this classic sound of the blues with dominant 7th chords in a few different keys.

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Anders will show you how to combine fretted notes and open strings in your chord voicings to make your acoustic rhythm playing more interesting.

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Anders will show you a strumming technique that separates the main bass note from the rest of the chord. This will strengthen that rhythmic element we explored in previous tutorials.

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Anders will show you how to play barre chords with a strumming and muting technique that will help us get used to these sometimes difficult chords.

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Anders will show you how to arpeggiate chords. This means to rhythmically separate the notes of a chord by playing them one after the other instead of all together in one strum. This is a great way to add variety to our chord playing!

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Chapter: 4: Finger Picking Party Tricks

Take your fingerpicking to the next level. In this chapter you’ll learn how to incorporate bass lines, back beat slapping and other new combinations. We’ll also introduce you to Travis-picking.

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Anders will show you how to integrate techniques from previous tutorials into your acoustic playing.

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Anders will show you some basic examples of how you can add some bass lines to lead between, into and out of your different chords.

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Anders will show you how to use a percussive slap technique to create the illusion of your guitar being more than just one instrument, because it sounds like a clap or a snare drum. The combination of the chord plucking and the percussive slaps is an extremely useful sound that can be used for thousands of songs in many different styles of music.

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Anders will show you an introduction to the finger picking technique known as Travis Picking.

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Anders will show you how to simplify the chords and picking patterns and the focus on the melody notes.

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Anders will show you a practice tune that incorporates all the techniques taught in this chapter.

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Chapter: 5: Music Theory In Action

Knowing a bit of music theory will propel your guitar playing. You’ll learn about chord qualities, some chord anatomy and other aspects like secondary dominant chords.

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Anders will some basic music theory and look at how it applies to acoustic guitar playing. He starts with how chords are made from a scale and how that translates into basic triads and full chord voicings.

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Anders will explain and demonstrate the basic concept of I, IV and V chords, and we'll play through a a few examples in different keys, so you can hear and feel the close relationship between these three chords.

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Anders will show you the relative minor chords of the standard I, IV & V chords learned in the previous tutorial.

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Anders will show you the concept of using dominant 7th chords as secondary dominants which are used to spice up many chord progressions.

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Chapter: 6: Songs Without Singers

Put together everything you’ve learned in Acoustic Level 1 and apply it to various practice songs.

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Anders will break down, practice and ultimately play through a practice tune with heavy emphasis on rhythmic elements like strumming, hits and accents and overall groove.

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Anders will show you a practice tune that features elements from a few different styles of music including country, rock and pop.

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Anders will show you a practice tune in a different stylistic universe. It's a cool pop type sound and it features a lot of extremely useful right and left hand tricks and techniques.

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Anders will break down, practice and play through a practice tune that'll create a whole new kind of mood and vibe with our finger picking tools. Most of what we'll use are things you've already learnt, but we will add a few new elements as well.

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