Tommy Emmanuel Teaches 4 Steps To Fingerstyle Guitar Technique | Reverb Learn To Play

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Ever wanted to play guitar like Chet Atkins? Why not take a lesson from one of his proteges? Tommy Emmanuel is no stranger to fingerstyle guitar work, and we're lucky to have had him in our offices to run through four simple steps to get you started. These steps will help you incorporate his technique into your playing and conquer your "rebellious digits" in the process.

[@doctorro398]

*His thumb is so independent it left the house and started at business as an adolescent*

[@Tekkerue]

The 27 people who gave this a "thumbs down" need to keep working on step #1 as they clearly have no control of their thumb. 👍

[@Kapueira]

lol you're damn right.

[@Kapueira]

They probably came to the wrong lesson, tried, couldn't get it and blamed the teacher. No one with a minimal musical knowledge would give this lesson a thumb down. This is already hard to get under your fingers... and Emmanuel explains it so easily. Go figure!!

[@avanish2007]

,😅

[@chrishyne2167]

Step one is the rule of thumb! 👍🏼

[@snoop1204]

Disliked cuz he put his pinky down and all those unnecessary lil movements 😞

[@keithbriscoe99]

A free lesson of actual real value for an actual real Legend. Wonderful, thank you Tommy and Reverb.

[@ojasvinayak5906]

He looks so happy, this is what you call doing what you love

[@MathematicianDr]

No instrument fights back at you when you try to play it like the acoustic guitar does. Mastery of fingerstyle on an acoustic guitar displays strength, courage, determination and dedication of the highest degree. This man is a legend.

[@MarcHalikas_surfercook]

So true! The acoustic guitar (especially steel string) is a beast. You hafta string it, tune it, fret and pick it. I practice 90% of the time on acoustic then when picking up an electric it's like white lightening fast!

[@lindsayheywood7195]

So glad to hear you say that! I am just starting finger style on an acoustic guitar, and I seem to get the patterns fairly easily, but string buzz is my nemesis.

[@eduardoprieto5267]

Boy do I need to practice.

[@lucienrobidoux3692]

You lucky devils....ha, ha, ha...indeed. What a beautiful lesson.

[@sbingham1979]

I love this guy. What a gifted artist, as well as a very generous human being. This world is much the better for having him in it.

[@gtrdude6]

He's so genuine!

[@jz4901]

Summary: 1:22 - step 1. Thumb technique. Anchor down. Root on first beat. Palm muting 4:25 - step 2. Spell out the chord. 5:21 - step 3: Create rhythm with the chord 6:00 - step 4: Chord arpeggios Great lesson!

[@gabriellacaroline3915]

thanks.

[@govindshenoy2789]

This video will get a smile on any guitarist's face; regardless of what situation he/she is in.

[@DavidDyte1969]

At some point Mr. Emmanuel graduated from national treasure to world treasure. Thank you so much for this!

[@diannetempletongardner2558]

Agree.. a world treasure...a joy to behold..and hear...just saw him...had no idea he had hearing issues...amazingly modest man. He changed his hearing aid batteries on stage...this is a great lesson..thank you Tommy for just being alive...and sharing your incredible genius with us. Angelina is my new challenge to learn. The kind of man we need in these very troubled times in this country.

[@multiverse1176]

ive practiced for hours on how to get this right, struggling hard but it just makes me respect tommy even more, amazing player and teacher

[@awaywithpaul3423]

Not only is he a glorious guitarist he’s an incredibly humble teacher. Could listen to him for hours

[@BookerTDooku]

He really is. Totally clear and accessible and I love how he drops in these little jokes and occasional flashes of mind blowing skill. Comes across as a really lovely guy as well as an absolutely legendary musician.

[@NylonStrings83]

Quite rare for an Aussie

[@wilwaren8571]

@@NylonStrings83 why is that ? =0 im curious as im european

[@NylonStrings83]

@@wilwaren8571 Aussies are usualy very agressive people kindness and humbleness is a rare thing to see amongst aussies

[@wilwaren8571]

@@NylonStrings83 woo ! thanks for the highlight ! now that u say it i do remember hearing also something like that ;o maybe the heat or sand has got something to do with it 🤣

[@ChewyTheEwoK]

I have been a guitarist for 11 or so years, playing mainly rock, metal blues and a touch of jazz.. This is possibly the hardest thing to play I've ever attempted. Absolutely hats off to anyone who can do the arpeggios while keeping the bass notes going.

[@hilariouslysuspicious6477]

@chewy dude can u recommend some rock guitar solos for beginner like me. ?

[@ChewyTheEwoK]

@@hilariouslysuspicious6477 Hi mate, give green day's holiday a go :) great solo, and not too tricky!

[@gtrdude6]

I have played guitar for 30 + years and I am struggling with this style. I will say this, I have kept at it and I'm starting to get the hang of it. It has taken some time and lots of practice. I wanted to learn it after hearing Tommy and being BLOWN away.

[@Anteksanteri]

Thanks for the hats. I had been doing fingerstyle for about 7 years so it took me like 4 hours to learn the thumb technique when I tried a month back.

[@stairfall12345678900]

It's definitely a thing you have to learn when you're younger. Fingerstyle is the first way I learned to play guitar when I was 17--I remember only spending an hour or two a day and it only took a week to for me to nail down Travis picking. Fast forward 8 years when I tried to learn how to use a pick. I tried and tried for a month and could not get it, and to this day it still feels very unnatural and I make tons of mistakes.

[@tonyhodge364]

One of the very best instructional videos on KZbin. Absolutely no filler material and so clear and straightforward. Well done Tommy.

[@markowalski1]

He has such a soothing voice I could listen to him (and his guitar) all day

[@warddolfin7038]

his thumb so independent it can play another instrument while he is playing guitar

[@BillyWrightLive]

...while also flying a helicopter

[@paulcarolla8008]

It up to

[@paulcarolla8008]

@@BillyWrightLiveon 9o no no no look to it on

[@battyflaps5410]

His thumb so independent it moved away got a new job a car a house and drives a posh car

[@michaelwood9321]

His thumb is so independent, it works for the independent news paper whilst the ghost of the thumb haunts a bird he shagged at one of his gigs. He then put his independent thumb in her anus whilst shagging her to create a better seal. However, the entire time his thumb was playing freight train.

[@alangoldstein6767]

I've seen him live twice. Fun, energetic, life-affirming shows, sometimes with additional incredible musicians.

[@TheJumpingjim]

Not a single surplus word! Seven minutes of pure gold. Tommy Emmanuel is not just a great guitar player but a wonderful teacher too.

[@Todaro17402]

Thanks Tommy for a great lesson. I've been at the first part of the lesson for about a week at 20 minutes a night. I can see and hear the difference. It's like anything else in life, what you put in is what you get out.

[@vencemcadams2927]

Your love for the instrument always shows in your playing, and now I see it in your teaching. Thanks for sharing your gifts!

[@thomasfontenot4881]

I heard him say at a concert one time that it's about playing with and having passion for the guitar. He said he honestly would rather play with someone that sucks but has passion, instead of the opposite .

[@Whitty43]

For someone so talented and famous he is so down to earth! Not only a great guitarist but seems like a great guy also!

[@colinpoole7653]

For god to take time and give us mere mortals a simple lesson is amazing

[@djkolcun]

I love Tommy! He simplifies the steps so well. Now comes the hard part. Practicing SLOOOOWLY at first!

[@ferpirata76]

What a gift, a lesson by this legend (and awesome human being)

[@Kman1960]

Thank you Tommy, really really appreciate you taking time to make these tutorials ! You’ve provided me with tremendous insight into learning finger-style acoustic guitar!

[@aaaargl]

Tommy is the man!

[@kanapkalol]

Sense of humor of this guy is great. :-D Also if he says "it takes little time" it means a couple of months to 2 years, but if he says it means a lot of determination, then it means decades of practice and going for a lifetime journey.

[@danielmcelhatton1724]

Haven't played in years but started again recently after seeing a Knopf video on fingerstyle. Was getting into a rut so this video came along just at the right time. Big thanks to Tommy and the folks at Reverb.

[@enigmapublius1]

oh for your information the same happened to me :) haven't touched the guitar for almost 5 years and (accidentaly because I couldn't sleep and I had to distract myself), after seeing a video of knofler playing the guitar I knew I should start playing again just for the fun so I'm here to learn some more

[@TheBoomtown4]

enigmapublius1 yep, same. Imagine if we had KZbin when we were learning. It’s such an insane resource for guitar!

[@yasmiiineee]

Damn. Same. Actually picked up a guitar for the 1st time after watching Knopfler. I wish I had discovered him when I was a little bit younger but 22 isn't too old i guess...

[@stratoscorp7]

Tommy, thanks for sharing... you're a legend mate!

[@foosiew]

God pls protect this angel at all cost

[@IGarrettI]

He's a great great guitarist, and those usually cant teach at all, not a case here. Such a great teacher

[@drutgat2]

I completely agree with you - exactly what I was going to say.

[@rfabadguitar]

hahaha you hit it right

[@houstonwalker7108]

I think he was a teacher before

[@marlonbrandoseyes1443]

I think the greatest ones are usually the best teachers e.g. Socrates Plato Aristotle Alexander

[@justinemarkdajay7485]

@@marlonbrandoseyes1443 i agree. "If you can't teach it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

[@paulmurphy8993]

That may be the simplest yet most comprehensive finger picking lesson you could have ever squeezed into seven minutes! Thanks Tommy.

[@roberthamilton2334]

For being one of the world's best guitarists, you have such a passion for learning people like me.!! Thank you

[@joshuastine7316]

This lesson is just amazing. Thank you. I needed this.

[@mohiki69]

Thank you sooo much Tommy! YOU are a living legend! Stay safe and healthy! 🙏🏾

[@sdip193]

Thank you , so generous of you its a privilege to watch you play and spread your gift

[@DaigoParry]

Magician showing how the magic trick is done...

[@raserx63]

Step 5...repeat for 10,000 hours

[@probabilitysurfing]

Me too. Guitar practice is is 6:00 to 6:20 every morning.

[@joshfoss7407]

@emre er If noise is a problem and you can afford it, you could try a different guitar for late/early practice. A Godin multi-ac takes acoustic strings, but doesn't have a sound-hole so it's going to be more quiet acoustically. Likewise, my OM model guitars are much more quiet than my dreads. You can even do this on a regular electric guitar without a problem

[@acoustic61]

Yep. That's why many people give it up. Most great accomplishments took a lot of work.

[@sir2212]

I can't agree more.

[@leventopoulos]

haha so true!

[@crlguitar1]

I so appreciate how Tommy shares his knowledge with us on how to play guitar more effectively. I know that this lesson he gave here was simplistic to him. It is kind of like a calculus teacher having to teach basic algebra.

[@grundvater]

Tommy ist für mich einer der besten Gitarristen, ein großartiges Vorbild. Greetings from Germany.

[@talkless8747]

Sir when I listen to you I feel heavenly,, nothing makes me so happy but your guitar.. Thank you so much sir 🙏 🙏 🙏

[@KerryFairbanks]

Step 3 is insane to think about as you're doing four things with two hands. Alternating the left index finger while holding the bottom half of the chord, alternating your right thumb over 3 strings and picking off beat with your first three right hand fingers. As someone who only played with a pick for years, here I go repeating this for hours till I get it.

[@wilwaren8571]

did you get it ?

[@JohnMoseley]

Yeah, it's really hard. I'm having to take it very slow.

[@f.a.grieger9587]

Tommy - you're magnificent ! Love your style, love your skill, love your sense of humor, love everything about you man ! Thank you for sharing your knowledge in a way that is actually understandable.

[@richardmilner8469]

Brilliant Artist, Teacher and Musical Genius!

[@madgeniusmusic]

Amazing guy.

[@dangoleshootnetwork6036]

This always sounds like it's more complicated than it looks. Thank you for the simple explanation. That was awesome. 🙂👍

[@tommihail282]

Love from Australia Tommy, youre a national treasure for sure! God keep you and those fingers safe!!!

[@harryohanson]

Tommy is just an amazing player!!!! Thank you, Tommy!

[@IvanSuarezGuitar]

Steady thumbs up!!! Congrats for Reverb and Tommy, great mini lesson. Greetings from Spain!

[@yifeima5524]

When he says "a little time", it means a century.

[@wheres_bears1378]

Love this have loved him since introduced to him in highschool 20 years ago .... this man has such a love for his instrument

[@guybross1200]

Hea Tommy, you cant be beat. I have been to see you 4 times over the years at the Palatium in Tampa, great small venue. Cant wait to see you again. Thanks for the music.

[@banjothebandit]

Would love to see tabs with these videos! I've only been playing for about a year and a half or so, so I can pick up a few things but not everything. Reverb's videos have been such a great learning tool. They really do a great job of keeping you interested and moving along and expose you to things you might not be into yet

[@tommyabernathy9880]

7 minute lesson and, for me, months and months and months of practice! 😆🍻 Love it!

[@gregherd6936]

So brilliantly explained...the sequencing of the skill is so often a barrier to developing the skill. Thanks so much for sharing

[@nodgelyobo1]

I'm doing one of Tommys online courses, it has taken me about 3 weeks to learn one small section, but the stuff I have learned while practising this is invaluable....He teaches you slowly and precisely, but he doesn't hold your hand ....learn slow, build up to speed, great fun.

[@ClassicalPan]

Awesome! I wanna try this soon. I often play fingerstyle, which I learned when I was studying classical guitar, but that's obviously way different than playing these types of rhythms with a pick on your thumb. As comfortable as I am with how I play, this more rhythmic style is pretty foreign to my fingers and I am excited to take on the challenge and learn something new!

[@graemej2599]

Trying to develop 'thumb independence' in the right hand can be difficult and take a long time, especially when you are also trying to master chord fingering with the left hand. You need to develop the thumb independence upto the point where your thumb plays automatically without you even thinking about it. Then you can solely concentrate on perfecting the melody. A method I found to help achieve this 'thumb independence' was to tune the guitar to an open chord, say D major (D1, A, D2, F#,A D3), and so not worry too much about playing diff chords, instead play the open D major chord, and noodle around with the notes that sound good in that key - in other words practise with your ears, which is what music is all about - hearing and listerning ! - and practise with the thumb low D1-D2-A-D2 to the 4 beats in the bar for 4/4 time.

[@fritzthecat-coversband860]

What a legend, great video, clear instruction. Legend Tommy!

[@bit_mania]

One of the best tutorial I've ever seen, thank you so much!.. It's help to get rhythm and practice for the right hand,..

[@ChiliPumpTheFunk]

More more more...gimmi more. Love you Tom! Seen in North Carolina last year. The first time I heard you I came across "Angelina" and wow your music brought me finally to a taste in music I hadn't yet fallen for, but always appreciated. I learned Angelina the same weekend I discovered you. This way of playing only makes you an overall better player. If you ever get a chance to see him live, do it! Great Showmanship, very entertaining with and without his guitar. An absolute superb player. P.S. I anchor down too... Ever since my mama taught me to play.

[@user-jl1vr2sl8o]

. .

[@bealotcoolerifyoudid7217]

Angelina is amazing :-)

[@MFDOOOOM]

Lmao i wish my mum stuck a guitar into my hand too when i was a child :(

[@petrf350]

Arpeggio...that´s a big word for an Australian XDDD I love this guy! :-)

[@danielboit5632]

Compartiendo su maestria, grande Tommy. Esto es calidad humana.

[@aussiedadreviews]

Yup. Practicing again now. God bless you Tommy

[@andrekarsenty1]

Thanks for this tutorial, you are a great player

[@Palindrome3945]

Great, now that chord progression is carved in my head for the rest of my life

[@marcoVGpolo]

Thymus-chan 81 yup. Still think about it every once in a while

[@emoses]

Thank you Tommy Emmanuel Sir! Huge Respect for you.

[@soumojitsarkar]

Thank you reverb team. Pls continue it with Tommy Sir. God bless you.

[@dangeorge6614]

A strong independent thumb that don’t need no man.

[@adamjoseph6122]

I'm low-key bragging here, but I had the opportunity to attend one of Tommy's classes back in 2014, and then even got to play a song with him! Then at the end, my wife and kids came to pick me up, and he insisted on meeting and talking with them! He is one of the kindest people I've ever met!

[@seemaairy4789]

You're so lucky. I'm jealous of you.

[@michaelenglish1030]

The best explanation and demonstration of fingerstyle guitar this picker has seen.

[@satishsubramaniam85]

This is an amazing lesson. Thank you Tommy and reverb.

[@rustyshackleford7984]

Who does this guy think he is? Tommy Emannuel??

[@eidurnavkijd]

Rusty Shackleford are you any better?

[@S_Heavens]

Ruud van Dijk. lol you didn't get the joke. noob!

[@2nn1i]

Ruud van Dijk r/woooosh

[@petermccaffrey9667]

Finger picking don’t close your eyes

[@XAVYMARTIN]

Rusty Shackleford kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIvQhZyshM1qe9E

[@bigpetroller-multi-game1339]

Tommy Emmanuel is the Tony hawk of guitar

[@riccardo4362]

Tony Hawk is the Tommy Emmanuel of skateboarding

[@jaelsosa]

occamsrager what do you mean by Clint Eastwood? westerns?

[@filipedias8397]

Best learning video EVEY!!! Just practice this and you get it. Thank you Tommy!

[@raycooper9336]

Thank you Tommy for these very helpful exercises.

[@PawanKumar-gv1yx]

love you sir

[@seharpanesar5132]

His thumb is so independent it got its own stimulus check

[@mangkornthong7373]

สอนสนุก ลื่นไหล เข้าใจง่าย และผ่อนคลายเวลาเรียนครับ

[@Claviceptic]

This was so needed. What a beautiful human being.

[@michelbibeau9425]

Pretty cool Tommy, I will use this lesson for my starting trainees. One word about the "Anchor with the pinky or not". Tommy is certainly right. But when I was younger, I developed a strange (is it strange?) habit. While my nails were often broken, my pinky nail was always long and solid. I began using this clumsy finger as "B" plan, to a point where 30 years later, it became my best finger to play melodies while picking arpeggios with my other no-nail fingers (making the melody louder than the accompaniment). Therefore, no way Tommy, I can no longer abandon my pinky, using it as an anchor. So I guess I'm part of that losers' team. Seriously Tommy, you're awesome, thanks for your always great generosity and the inspiration you provide us all.

[@noone.....2872]

This vid felt like a real teacher teaching me I was smiling so hard

[@Pinoysoundmachine74]

You gotta love this guy and a great teacher!

[@hugosolo1892]

Thank you for this little guitar lesson Tommy.

[@dannylee5588]

He always seems so happy. That's the groove I wish I had😞

[@MrGavinspoppop]

Decide to have it and work for it ... all things are possible ...keep the faith brother

[@grayling0865]

I've finnaly learned it! I'm so happy right now!

[@yanalbanwame1762]

Please how much have you practiced ?

[@MFDOOOOM]

How long did it take bruh i literally cannot do it

[@clintonsettles1337]

Tommy Emmanuel; what a guy. Really enjoy seeing him feel the tune. Amazing player.

[@barkupatree6871]

you are such a good teacher, tommy! thanks for the exposition.

[@mrwitty4166]

Legend.

[@ivannovotny4552]

And let's not forget Emmanuel's talented late brother Phil.

[@twist2723]

I love how he looks up to Jerry Reed so much.

[@anthonyfox1436]

Honestly Jerry was an absolute beast of a guitar player

[@rupakrokade]

This is a golden lesson for beginners.. Thank you so much..

[@WhiskeyGroove]

He's just amazing! I realized it's going to take a long while to break my picking hand strumming, but I love this finger style.

[@MrJdsenior]

"I wanna be on that team"..fist pump. I'll say! You might be leading that team now though.

[@denniscassley2569]

Yeah, sure...but can he play "Smoke on the Water"? Just kidding!! You're AWESOME, Tommy, and THANK YOU for your GENEROSITY in sharing techniques with us mere mortals!!!!

[@jeffrga]

Thanks Tommy! You’re an awesome player and teacher! And thanks Reverb! 😎👍

[@downtoearth5108]

I"ve no doubt as this is from the Maestro. Thank you very much Maestro Emmanuel.

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

Unfortunately there's no real shortcuts. Thousands of hours practise is what it takes. There's the occasional person that can do it much quicker but fir most of us, it's plugging away , usually on your own.

[@TheRahulshreeja7779]

Agree

[@singlereed]

‘You lucky devils’ ... I almost heard him say ‘possums’ a la Dame Edna :-) great stuff.

[@aussiecoastie72]

Fantastic lesson from an absolutely master

[@Gr8Layks]

Humorous, humble, and charismatic. Great combo!