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Beginning To Play Like Chet
Beginning To Play Like Chet
Part One
“The Right Hand”
Get Picky!!!!.... HintsPurchase thumbpicks that are small enough to fit tightly and
very close to the tip of your thumb, just covering the nail
This enables speed and accuracy due to less motion of the thumb versus when it is shoved up close to the knuckle
If you have problems maintaining your nails,seek out a nail tech at a salon that will put “Gel Nails”
on the four fingers of your right hand
Gel nails are feather-light, hard as a rock, and very durable
I recommend the Golden Gate GP-12 style thumbpicks
The Big Thing!!!Gain as much chordal knowledge as you can!
With chords solos and all finger-style style material, the more chordal knowledge you have, the better
you can express yourself musically by coloring your arrangements and creating interesting movement
A Melody Line is simply a “jumbled up” scaleChords are “specific notes” of the scale
Thus, they co-exist on the fretboard and are found together right under your fingertips!!
Check the Maizeone.com website under “Student Information” / “Student Items”
for many of the categories of chords you will need.These links are found at the bottom/right of the webpages
Merle Travis
“Merle Travis can write youa song and sing it. He could
draw you a cartoon, play youa great guitar solo, or fix your
watch”..........Chet Atkins
Right Hand PositioningAnchor the little finger on the pickguard or top
Advance the thumb a knuckles-length aheadof the fingers placing it on the 6th, 5th, or 4th string
This forces the fingers to pick from the mid-knucklestoward the palm
Place the index finger on the 3rd stringand the middle finger on the 2nd string
Do not yank, pull, drag, or flick the strings
“SCRATCH” the strings toward the palm keeping theright hand steady, using your nails or fingertips,
in the direction that that your fingers naturally move in.
Right Hand PositioningTo get the muted bass note sound like Chet’s
Rest your palm on the back of the bridge to wherejust a slight amount of the palm touches the
6th, 5th, and 4th strings
Don’t move you palm up too much or it will causethose alternating bass notes to be out of tune
and sound dead instead of slightly muted
With fingerstyle acoustic guitar solosthe bass notes are rarely muted
Right Hand Positioning
Your Ultimate Goal:
Minimal Hand Movement&
Clock Steady Timing
Basic Travis Picking Pattern4 Time Only
4
The thumb plays on the beatin an alternating bass note fashion
starting with either the 6th, 5th, or 4th strings
The starting string is determined by the chord being played.
The thumb pattern begins with the root/bass note of that chord and then alternates to the string below.
Basic Travis Picking Pattern
The thumb plays - 5 4 6 4
for theBasic Alphabet A, A7, Am, whose root is the 5th string
Basic Alphabet B7, C, and C7 which requires you to rock the 5th string bass note finger to the 6th string above it to play the
correct alternate bass note.
Bb Chromatic System chords also use the5 4 6 4 alternating bass thumb pattern.
Some chord configurations require 5454 only
Basic Travis Picking Pattern
The thumb plays - 6 4 5 4
for the
Basic Alphabet E, E7, Em, G, and G7
and
F Chromatic System chord system
Some chord configurations require 6464 only
Basic Travis Picking PatternThe thumb plays - 4 3 5 3
And shifts the fingers down one stringto the 3rd and 2nd
Basic Alphabet D, D7, and Dm
and
Basic Alphabet F
Which requires the 4th string to rocks to the 5th stringto play the correct alternate bass note
Basic Travis Picking Pattern
Adding In The Fingers To The Alternating Bass
Example: Basic Alphabet A
5 4 6 4 Thumb 2 2 Fingers 3 T (m) (m) Fingers used (i)
1 2 3 4 Tempo count &
Basic Travis Picking Pattern
Example: Basic Alphabet E
6 4 5 4 Thumb 2 3 2 Fingers T (m) (i) (m) Fingers used
1 2 3 & 4 Tempo count
Basic Travis Picking Pattern
Example: Basic Alphabet D The pattern shifts down one string
4 3 5 3 Thumb 1 2 1 Fingers T (m) (i) (m) Fingers used
1 2 3 & 4 Tempo count
Double Roll
T 4 A* 4 Thumb 3 2 3 2 Fingers T (i) (m) (i) (m) Fingers Used
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & Count
Drop down a string for chords with 4th string roots
A* = Alternate bass note for the chord type
Gallup
T 4 2-3 1 &-uh 2 T (m) (i) T
Double this to alternate the bassThe fingered strings can vary for variety
Intro Roll
T 3 2 T 3 1 (i) (m) (i) (m)
This roll has a “triplet” feel to it
Arpeggio
654-543-432-321Tim-Tim-Tim-Tim
Lightly accent the thumb notes
No separation in the timing at all
These are “triplets”
1&-uh2&-uh3&uh4&-uh
(Tim = Thumb, Index, and Middle fingers on the right hand)
Beginning To Play Like Chet
Beginning To Play Like Chet
Part Two
“The Left Hand”
Beginning To Play Like ChetLeft Hand Tips
Always wear a strap that totally supports the guitarand gives you “hands-free” playing ability
Keep neck pointed upwards at about a 45° angle
Keep your thumb on the middle to lower half of the neck
Use you fingertips and don't “flat-finger”
Keep your left arm totally free
This is a general track to run on that provides power and ease of playing. There are variables.
Chordal KnowledgeChords are the basis of your musical speech
Your level of musical expression is determined by your chordal knowledge
Memorize these chord systems as quickly as you can
It is best to learn chords by category rather than by use in songs
Go to the Maizeone.com websiteand click at the bottom/right on
“Student Information” then “Student Items”
Chordal KnowledgeBasic Alphabet Of Chords or “Open Chords”
Basic Chromatic Chord Systems (F, Bb, and C7)
Chromatic Jazz Chords
Compound Chords – 9ths, 11ths, & 13ths
Diminished (°) and Augmented (+) Chords
Embellished Chords – b9,#9,b5
Chordal theory knowledge also allows you to “invent”chords that you might need to enhance
your personal arrangements
Listen to and watch other guitarists for ideas
Chet's Frequently Used Chords
There are some common chord types usedin Chet's arrangements
Let's look at a couple of them and from where the are derived
Great For An Intro! Roll On!!
Move this chord up 2 frets and it become a great E7 roll
Versatile 7th Chord
The E7 has a 6464 bass pattern
The D7 has a 5454 bass pattern
These are the first and third chords of“Cannonball Rag”
Chet uses variations of the E7 extensively in many songs
Diminished Capacities
Chet used diminished chords( dim or ○ )
to harmonize notes that were passing tonesin a melody
Diminished chords repeat themselvesevery three frets and are extremely useful
to fill in between base chords of a song
Check the Maizeone.com website more infoClick on the lower right-hand corner on
“Student Information” then “Student Items”
Augmented Chords( aug or + )
Chet used these to end a phrase as it was moving to the next phrase such as from the Verse to the Chorus
G/G+ to C
The augmented chord works well as asubstitute for a 7th chord
Check the Maizeone.com website for more infoClick on the lower right-hand corner on
“Student Information” then “Student Items”
Good Luck!!!
I hope this material will help you to enter the world of finger-style guitar and the incredible music legacy
that Chet Atkins and Merle Travis have left us.
…. Dr. Pat Corn
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