One of the most beautiful elements of blues, country, and Americana guitar playing is the flow between acoustic and electric tonalities, gritty and clean soundscapes, slow and fast tempos, fingerstyle and flatpick techniques, and more. All of these different approaches and tonal textures are utilized throughout these iconic genres, and thus, it’s important for blues, country, and Americana guitarists to be able to execute all these various methods. An artist who consistently accomplishes this in spades is five-time Grammy Award-winning guitarist, singer, songwriter, and performer, Keb’ Mo’.

In this online guitar lesson from Keb’ Mo’s brand new Americana Roots interactive video masterclass, Keb’ outlines his unique approach to fingerstyle guitar playing, and provides a handful of exercises to improve finger independence and dexterity. He also provides insight on ways to create your own exercises that will not only strengthen your fingerpicking but also allow you to express yourself creatively.

LEARN MORE: Want to learn how to play the acoustic & electric guitar from a master musician like Keb’ Mo’? Try some free online Americana & blues guitar lessons now!

“To learn how to finger pick, I started by taking one chord that I knew and selecting two notes from it,” Keb’ explains. “Then, I would take my thumb and index finger on my picking hand and alternate between the two notes from the chord in different rhythmic patterns. I would then repeat the process using my thumb and middle finger, thumb and ring finger, etc.”

Learning to fingerpick can feel like a tedious process when you’re first working out the technique. It’s often helpful to fingerpick different rhythmic patterns along to a metronome, first starting slowly and gradually increasing the tempo as your fingers become more dextrous and your confidence grows. That being said, there is still plenty of room for creativity and musical exploration when learning to fingerpick. This is a huge part of Keb’Mo’s philosophy on musical education.

“If you make up your own exercises when learning to fingerpick, that’s a great way to become musically unique,” Keb’ expresses. “Even though these are very technical exercises, there’s always room for bringing out your unique personality in everything musical.”

To learn more about Keb’s unique approach to fingerpicking and how to apply it in your own playing, dive into this online blues & Americana guitar lesson from Keb’ Mo’:

Keb’ Mo’s Approach to Fingerpicking:

ABOUT “KEB’ MO’ AMERICANA ROOTS: INTERACTIVE VIDEO MASTERCLASS SERIES:”

Presented across 3 standalone editions, Keb’s Masterclass Series features 10+ hours of detailed video lessons, 29 song performances, and a wealth of creative insight from “one of the most important and influential musicians of our time.” Keb’ uses his songs as the framework for this series—providing the perfect framework through which to learn the true feel of his guitar playing, songwriting, and creative process. Individual Editions and the 3 Edition Collection are available now!

Americana Roots: Series

Secure lifetime access to the entire three-volume guitar course taught by legendary blues master, Keb’ Mo’!

Americana Roots: Origins

64 multi-angle video lessons & 10 song performances from Keb’ Mo’s first two albums: Keb’ Mo’ & Just Like You.

Americana Roots: Progression

54 multi-angle video lessons & 9 song performances from Keb’s The Door, Big Wide Grin, & Suitcase albums.

Americana Roots: Evolution

55 video lessons & 10 performances from Keb’s The Reflection, BLUESAmericana, Oklahoma, & Good To Be albums.

READ MORE:

“Americana Roots with Keb’ Mo’” is Now Open!

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