Guitar Books Review #6, Fingerstyle Guitar from Scratch by Bruce Emery

Is this one of the best or worst method books for fingerstyle guitar?

You can learn to play music using a variety of resources including teachers, online resources, and books.

Bruce Emery’s Fingerstyle Guitar from Scratch is an introductory fingerstyle method book aimed at beginner to early intermediate fingerstyle players who want to learn to play fingerstyle accompaniment. Emery’s sense of humor is infused into the text of the book, keeping detailed explanations lighthearted and entertaining without losing sight of the important information. The book is focused on fingerstyle accompaniment with arpeggiation and Travis Style / alternating bass patterns. You will not learn to play solo fingerstyle guitar arrangements (other than a very brief introduction to the topic), but you will receive a great foundation if you are just starting out with fingerstyle.

I mentioned that Emery’s writing is entertaining, but on the other side of the coin you should be aware that there is a lot to read in this book. Lots of text. I think this is a good thing overall as it provides the details and insights that will make you a better player. However, if you just want to play more guitar then it is possible to skip over the text and move from example to example.

1) Excellent first book for fingerstyle guitar accompaniment.
2) A+ for entertainment value of the writing.
3) Lots of short generic examples, but several famous old tunes (Dust in the Wind, Landslide, Girl from Ipanema, Leader of the Band, Blackbird, Camptown Races, and more).
4) Half the book focuses on arpeggiation, and the other half focuses on Travis Style. Interesting sub-sections on James Taylor’s style and Bossa Nova.
5) Audio recordings are available online, although sometimes they don’t line up exactly with the page numbers/examples from the book. This can be a little confusing/annoying.

If you make it through this book, you’ll have a great foundation for playing fingerstyle guitar. Emery has written a follow-up book called Travis-Style Guitar from Scratch that dives into solo fingerstyle, but I haven’t had the chance to work through it. I have no doubt that it carries a similar tone and level of detail.

I recommend using an acoustic steel string guitar rather than a classical guitar since there are multiple tunes that utilize the fretting hand thumb over the top.

Written by Bruce Emery and published by Skeptical Guitarist Publications. © 2003

eBook: Arranging for Fingerstyle Guitar: go to http://joemcmurray.com/checkout/ to purchase a pdf of my eBook.

Riding the Wave: my second fingerstyle guitar album is available on all streaming platforms.