Acoustic Guitar Styles with Dave Isaacs
Genre and Style Guitar Course from David Isaacs
Dave Isaacs is back with his comprehensive series covering all sorts of different ways that Acoustic Guitar presents itself in popular music.
31 Lessons
Complete course with step-by-step lessons and practice examples.
Multi-Camera
Course filmed with 6 cameras for the perfect angles.
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Tabs & Info
Download tabs, helpers, JamTracks and docs included with lessons.
Full Course Breakdown
Get ready to learn your favorite styles from recognizable artists and put to practice techniques such as strumming, fingerpicking, and chord voicings!
Begin the CourseAcoustic Guitar Styles Introduction
Dave Isaacs is back with his comprehensive series covering all sorts of different ways that Acoustic Guitar presents itself in popular music. Get ready to learn your favorite styles from recognizable artists and put to practice techniques such as strumming, fingerpicking, and chord voicings!
5:24 Runtime
0.5 Difficulty
Pulse, Beat and Rhythm
Dave discusses important ideas about rhythm and time, including counting as you play. He also covers types of notes and rests, and shows you how to read basic rhythms in notation and tablature.
20:53 Runtime
1.0 Difficulty
Ghost Strums and Dynamics
Dave dives into two of the most important concepts in modern music - groove and dynamics. He talks about how these two ideas go hand-in-hand to make music more exciting, and shows you how to incorporate them into your own playing.
17:08 Runtime
1.0 Difficulty
Strumming and Chord Embellishments
Dave teaches the song "Heartland Soul," a simple and groovy acoustic number. Using examples from the song, we learn different strumming patterns, as well as how to embellish chord voicings with different notes.
23:18 Runtime
1.0 Difficulty
Picking Direction and String Crossing
You'll get a single note workout in this lesson! Practice crossing strings, using the most efficient and musical motion possible. We'll discuss anchoring, alternate picking, and some 'best practices' for picking single notes within a chord.
22:46 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Flatpicking Arpeggios
Building on the picking techniques from the last lesson, you'll get to learn a cool, laid back track called "Years Go By". When you're understanding and able to track with the picking concepts from lesson 5, you're ready to move on to this lesson. Have fun!
13:43 Runtime
0.0 Difficulty
Alternate Picking in A Major
Get into some single note work and scales in preparation for learning a song in the next lesson! You'll get a taste for working in position and learn how to choose which fingering makes the most sense.
12:11 Runtime
1.5 Difficulty
Bluegrass-style Flatpicking
Take the picking insights from the last tune and apply them to this straight forward Bluegrass tune called "Picking Party" This mid tempo picking workout will help you cement the picking techniques you have been working on.
15:12 Runtime
2.5 Difficulty
Breaking Down 16th Note Strums
Strumming is an art. It's also something that show flow and be pretty much effortless. Still, many guitar players struggle with maintaining that 16th note feel and making it sound natural. Mr. Isaacs will break it down for you!
14:28 Runtime
2.5 Difficulty
Chord Ideas & 16th Note Strums
Continue working on the 16th note strumming techniques that you used in the last lesson and put them to work in a tune called "Strumming Groove".
17:37 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Intro To Fingerstyle
If you didn't start as a fingerstyle guitar player, it can be a daunting task to get started with the technique. Dave makes it easy to add this style to your playing!
24:56 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Classical-Style Fingerpicking
Once you have taken Dave's introduction to fingerpicking, get a taste of the way that Classical music uses this technique. You'll also get to learn a cool tune.
12:42 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Strums In Six
This lesson will introduce the 6/8 time signature. You'll learn just a small bit of music theory, you'll get better at counting music and you'll learn to groove!
16:54 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
A Tune in 6/8 Time
Take what we worked on in the last lesson and apply it to a song in 6/8 time. You'll get even more used to strumming in this triple groove and play along with real music!
15:37 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Strummed Chords and Bass Lines
Continuing with honing in on the groove, you'll have an opportunity to work with moving bass lines with in a chord progression and strum pattern.
13:25 Runtime
0.0 Difficulty
Lazy Walkdown
Continue with the walking bass and strum concepts in this lesson and learn a catchy tune that takes 'walking' in the low end to the next level!
17:06 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Thumb Bass, Finger Melody
We're going to circle back around to fingerstyle in this lesson. This time your fingers get to play melody while your thumb acts as your bass player, keeping steady time.
13:20 Runtime
2.5 Difficulty
Back Porch Blues
Go a step further with fingerstyle in a Blues setting. Play along with the simple backing track and feel a real sense of accomplishment that you have incorporated the bass/thumb and finger/melody concept! You'll also get to practice palm muting!
11:39 Runtime
2.5 Difficulty
Muting With Both Hands
Let's talk about muting, rhythm and percussion. You can add a whole other layer of color and musical interest with proper and creative muting techniques.
19:40 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Steel String Funk
Make an acoustic guitar get a little funky! You'll be applying the rhythmic and creative muting concepts you learned in the last lesson to this groovin' tune.
16:26 Runtime
2.5 Difficulty
Fretted Notes & Open Strings
Use open strings while playing up the neck to bring out the resonance of your acoustic guitar. Learn new chord shapes and scale patterns that span the neck and use the open sound of un-fretted notes.
14:32 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Let It Ring
Take the concept of using fretted notes and open strings that was worked on in the last lesson and apply it to a soothing little tune.
14:34 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Plucked Chords
We're going to return to fingerstyle working primarily with plucked chords. This will be a review of basic fingerstyle, but the fresh vibe created by the plucked chords will present a new challenge.
13:57 Runtime
0.0 Difficulty
Processional
Apply what you've been practicing in the area of plucked chords to this laid back and meditative piece. You'll exercise other fingerstyle techniques as well!
13:49 Runtime
0.0 Difficulty
Easy Groove
Continue to work on fingerstyle, but come at with a slightly different approach. We'll add percussion to plucked chords and subtle melodies within connected chords.
23:17 Runtime
0.0 Difficulty
Movable Shapes in D
Get yourself out of the open position, and move up the neck while retaining the ringing of open strings as well. You'll do this by capitalizing on inversions.
21:45 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Drop D
Drop your low E to low D and open up a whole new range of possibilities. Dave will go over the tuning process and share some tasty finger picked ideas for you to explore the tuning with.
17:12 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Country Blues Travis Picking
Travis Picking can be used generally to describe any fingerpicking technique where the thumb is alternating with the rest of the strings. This lesson will take the technique all the way back to its roots in Ragtime piano!
20:15 Runtime
2.5 Difficulty
Ragtime
Going deeper into the "Travis" style picking, Isaacs will add a technical variation and teach you a bouncy little tune called "Ragtime". Have fun!
14:35 Runtime
2.5 Difficulty
Color Chords in E
We'll return to the concept of moving chords up and down the neck. This time, we'll be in the key of E. We've already done lessons like this on the keys of A and D, so this one should flow nicely with what you've learned so far.
20:20 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
Listen Up!
Apply movable chords up the neck and get a strumming workout at the same time with a track called "Listen Up".
20:23 Runtime
2.0 Difficulty
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