Top 100 Fingerstyle Guitarists
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- Category :Music
The sounds that come forth through fingerstyle guitar opens new avenues musically. This article showcases a list of best fingerstyle guitar players.
Fingerstyle is a technique where the guitar is played directly with fingertips, fingernails or with fingerpicks attacked to fingers. Unlike in conventional flatpicking where a guitarist uses the plectrum/pick to play notes, in acoustic fingerstyle playing it’s the fingers that do the picking and plucking. While fingerstyle guitar techniques are used in different music genres, some of the most varied fingerstyle finger techniques are found in the realms of folk, classical, jazz, country, percussive playing and blues. Most guitar players that are noted for virtuosic fingerstyle techniques started playing the guitar at an early age.
Types of Fingerstyle Techniques Associated with Acoustic Guitar
Different types of fingerstyle techniques are used by guitar players in the realms of music. For many guitar players, the fingerstyle technique is a natural extension of habituated playing developed into a varied technique or style. It’s the melody notes, accompanying chords and bass notes that are played simultaneously in many acoustic fingerstyle techniques.
Percussive guitarists use a techniques that involve tapping, harmonics, artificial harmonics, hammer-ons and pull-offs. Fingerstyle guitar has a unique sound because of the root melody notes being fused with chords and bass lines simultaneously. Majority of guitarists use fingerpicking techniques more prominently on acoustic guitars, and less commonly on electric guitars.
The right hand technique of fingerstyle guitar players varies drastically. Some of the most innovative guitar techniques and guitar styles are found in the realms of acoustic fingerstyle guitar. Many fingerstyle guitarists use each of the right hand fingers independently to create multiple parts associated with harmonic melody notes, chords, bass notes and percussion. Some fingerstyle guitarists employ different arpeggio patterns in which the notes of a chord are played in succession one after another as opposed to being played simultaneously. A variety of tapping techniques and percussive techniques are used by new acoustic fingerstyle guitarists to create sound dynamism and textural ambiance in their playing.
A diverse variety of extended techniques are employed by fingerstyle guitar players to create a wall of melodic musical soundscapes. Aside from chord changes, guitarists may also include pull-offs and hammer-ons in certain parts or sections in accordance with the musical arrangement. While there are standard techniques associated with fingerpicking and fingerstyle, there are no rules when it comes to employment of style of technique.
Fingerstyle guitar players are known to intersperse varied elements of chords, melody, bass line and percussive playing singularly, bringing a fresh wholesome sound. The hallmark of a great guitar player or a virtuoso guitarist is adopting a free-form approach to the guitar that gives unique identity while becoming a signature style.
Showcased below is a diverse list of the best in the fingerstyle business.
100 Greatest Fingerstyle Guitar Players
- Michael Hedges
- Chet Atkins
- Tommy Emmanuel
- Adrian Legg
- Erik Mongrain
- Andy McKeee
- Mike Dawes
- Antoine Dufour
- Leo Kottke
- John James
- Don Ross
- Thomas Leeb
- Alex De Grassi
- Kaki King
- Pete Huttlinger
- Davey Grahm
- John Fahey
- Duck Baker
- Ewan Dobson
- Estas Tonne
- Preston Reed
- Charlie Byrd
- Michael Chapdelaine
- Doyle Dykes
- Trace Bundy
- Stefan Grossman
- Ed Gerhard
- Michael Gulezian
- Adam Rafferty
- Sungha Jung
- Billy McLaughlin
- Martin Taylor
- Buster B. Jones
- Kenneth Carllile
- Joe Robinson
- Pierre Bensusan
- Calum Grahm
- Scotty Moore
- Masaaki Kishibe
- Kotaro Oshio
- Jack Rose
- William Ackerman
- Ralph McTell
- Don Alder
- T-cophony
- Kennedy Jones
- Pat Kirtley
- Muriel Anderson
- Earl Klugh
- Justin St-Pierre
- Elliot Morris
- Igor Presnyakov
- Tony McManus
- Reverend Gary Davis
- Pat Donohue
- Justin King
- Merle Travis
- Scott Huckabay
- Peter Finger
- Robbie Basho
- Craig D’andrea
- Jean Bosco Mwenda
- Jerry Reed
- Nico Kasanda
- Maneli Jamal
- John Knowles
- Peter Autschbach
- Jao Gilberto
- Antonio Forcione
- Marcel Dadi
- Jeff Linsky
- Laurence Juber
- Doc Watson
- Eric Roche
- Shun Ng
- Al Petteway
- Gordon Giltrap
- Jacques Stotzem
- Maury Muehleisen
- Peter Lang
- Terry Robb
- Victor Ntoni
- Sam Sallon
- Ernie Hawkins
- Jon Gomm
- Tim Sparks
- Brooks Williams
- Nick Jones
- Tobias Rauscher
- John Pearse
- Brian Rolland
- Richard Kiser
- Jimmy Wahlsteen
- Si Hayden
- Vicki Genfan
- Ben Lapps
- Gabriella Quevedo
- Woody Mann
- Knut Reiersrud
- Benjamin Woolman
Other Notable Fingerstyle Guitar Players
- Trevor Gordon Hall
- Jim West
- Dylan Golden Aycock
- Mississippi John Hurt
- Phil Keaggy
- Stefano Barone
- Lucas Michailidis
- Martin Simpson
- Glenn Jones
- Jake McGuire
- Phil Heywood
- Willy Porter
- Gordon Lightfoot
- Johnny “Guitar” Watson
- Jorma Kaukonen
- Gareth Pearson
- Derek Trucks
- Martin Sexton
- Jim Messina
- Bert Jansch
- Dave Van Ronk
- Edgar Cruz
- Toulouse Engelhardt
- John Renbourn
- Daniel Joseph Schafer
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