Homespun

A good flatpick guitarist is much more than someone who plays all the right notes. The player who stands out in a crowd exhibits a combination of skill and musicianship that makes the music come alive and leaves the listener craving to hear more.

This lesson will help make you the best guitarist you can be. Russ Barenberg shows you how to achieve good tone, keep solid time, use accents and syncopation, improve articulation and improvise freely and creatively. By applying these universal principals, your guitar will sound better and you'll be playing at a more professional level in no time.

Russ imparts a wealth of advice, providing practice techniques and detailed instruction in basic improvisation that will benefit all players, from novices to experts. He dissects a well-known tune, O! Susanna, showing in step-by-step detail how to start with the simplest melody and end up with a full-blown improvised solo.

As you develop new instrumental skills, you'll learn a variety of great tunes, including For J.L., Old Joe Clark, Dominion Reel, Prince Charlie and Cowboy Calypso.