Does anyone have any experience with Steve Kaufman's material? I am thinking of getting his "Bluegrass Guitar Solos That Every Parking Lot Picker Should Know".

Hey guitarpath. Some folks like the series. I find it a little overdone and uninspiring. First of all there is a lot of page turning for tunes that are essentially short, with a straightforward. I find the basic statement of the melody a bit too simple. Somewhere in the intermediate level is the tune as you might hear it. The advance level parts are virtually always up the neck...kind of flatpick competition stuff. As an example, Tony Rice's version of Redhaired Boy is far more musical than Steve K's. Have a listen to a cd called "From A Northern Family" by Dudley Hill (see Elderly cds). Dudley was Mark O'Connor's guitar teacher. He plays lots of melodic variations without changing positions. The same is true of Norman Blake, Jim Nunally and several others.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc Holiday:
First of all there is a lot of page turning for tunes that are essentially short,

Another reason I really like Grainger's book. Two to three songs on each page. The melody's are simple, but the arrangments are nice.

I heard a story about two pickers in a jam circle playing the same version of a tune, note-for-note, back-to-back. They looked at each other and said "Kaufmann?" and laughed. I've since avoided that material. Possibly to my detriment, but there are a lot of other resources out there.

--David

Guitarpath, there's lots of good Bluegrass instructional materials out there. Orrin Star's "Hot Licks for Bluegrass Guitar" may be of interest to you. It's got plenty of stuff to work on, and it was worth it to me just to learn Clarence White's "Special G Run"

And Doc, I'm in favor of anything by Norman Blake. Guitarpath, if you want to go the DVD route, I like alot about "Norman Blake's Guitar Techniques", both Vol. 1 and 2. It's not all Bluegrass of course, but should be plenty of interest for ya.

Another recommendation would be any of the three "Flatpickin Jams" Vols. by Brad Davis. Pick on

quote:

Originally posted by Tom F.:

Another recommendation would be any of the three "Flatpickin Jams" Vols. by Brad Davis. Pick on

Tom,

If you're a fan of these, you'll be glad to know that volume 4 was available at Winfield (hot off the press) and should be on the FGM site soon. It looks like a great mix of tunes.

--David

After hitting a a plateau for a decade, Orinn Star's video flatpick primer helped me move from a mediocre flat picker to a good one (but I still have miles to go).

He really deconstructs the technique to help you learn how to increase speed and clarity.

Sven

quote:

Originally posted by Randy Bauer:
Looking for recommendations on instructional DVD's for learning some flatpicking.

Seems to be a lot out there,
Steve Kaufman - homespun series
Tony Rice
Kenny Smith

Thanks,

Another vote for the Brad Davis series. Eventually you're going to want to play in a bluegrass jam and these really do the job of preparing you for that. The tune selection pretty much covers the standard material you're going to be expected to know. If you can play along with these tunes at the fast tempo, you're ready to sit in just about anywhere. I think it's the best learning tool out there, and I've got tons of the aforementioned materials.

Acoustic Guitar Fundamentals- Tim Stafford

Flatpicking the Blues- Brad Davis