So you’ve been playing guitar for a little while and found yourself playing more with the right hand fingers than a plectrum. You’re probably wondering where to go with this now, and there are a load of options. To describe all the possibilities of fingerstyle guitar music is out-with the scope of this blog; this is just an idea of some pieces to listen to and have a go at.
Very, very broadly, fingerstyle guitar music can be divided into a few different camps: alternating bass style, arpeggios, percussive, chord melody. Multiple styles can of course be combined into one piece, and there is a significant amount of overlap
If your new to finger-style the fundamental for your right hand is to get your thumb and fingers moving independently of each other. I’ve written a blog about ragtime music which involves highly independent use of fingers and thumb. If you’re into this style of playing its also worth looking up some of the classical guitar blogs on youtube. There are 1000’s of exercises for the right hand to develop independence and develop your picking (check out Mauro Giuliani’s 120 right hand studies)
Anyway, without further ado, here’s some suggestions of finger style guitar repertoire. Instrumentals make up the bulk but not the whole of the list. I’ve included some songs that have notable guitar parts. There are several different genres here, with the list being slightly skewed towards the rootsier end of the musical spectrum, (simply due to familiarity)
Freight Train – Elizabeth Cotten, Blues
Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor – Mississippi John Hurt – Blues
Mississippi Blues – Willie Brown – blues
babe I’m gonna Leave You – Anne Bredon / Led Zeppelin, Folk
Angie – Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, folk
Sunflower River Blues – John Fahey, folk /blues
Vincent Black Lightening – Richard Thompson, folk
More Than Words – Extreme, Rock?
Big Love – Fleetwood Mac, Rock
Romanza – classical (but is echoed in the intro to ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Metallica