15 Modern Fingerstyle Guitarists You’ve Never Heard • Acoustic Tuesday 251

Modern fingerstyle guitar is, quite possibly, the greatest extension of the instrument — an orchestral sound contained within one instrument. But there’s so many modern fingerstyle guitarists out there. Where do you begin?

On this episode of Acoustic Tuesday, you’ll hear about 15 modern fingerstyle guitarists you need to check out. From commercially successful artists to up-and-coming Youtubers, you’re going to see some incredible guitarists.

What I love about this style is that it pushes the guitar to new heights. It’s not just about mastery of the guitar. It’s about pushing the limits of what playing a guitar means.

From the percussion to the harmonics and sweep picking, there’s some incredible techniques to check out from all these guitarists. You’ll notice there is a percussive and rhythmic quality to all these guitars. That’s just part of the beauty of this style.

If you want to hear more of this style, be sure to check out all of the artists featured in this episode. There’s something for everyone, whether you’ve heard modern fingerstyle guitar before or not!

Featured in this episode…

– Kelly Joe Phelps Tribute  
– Western AF  
– Mule Resonator Guitars  
– Willi Carlisle  

Related Articles

Responses

Leave a Reply to Rick Green

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cancel reply

  1. Peter White is someone you should take time to check out..
    Thanks for the show Tony… My appreciation for the guitar, and the musicians who play it grows daily.
    Keep up the good work.
    Mike

  2. Fantastic show Tony! You introduced me to Tommy Emmanuel sometime ago, I’m truly Grateful. I have been exploring this rabbit hole of amazing artists. I experienced Tommy last winter .Tommy and Andy McKey at the same show. What an amazing experience. This style of playing has enhanced my appreciation for all things acoustic. Looking forward to checking out the artists you talked about here.
    Have a Grateful Day! Al

  3. I had to think about this comment for a couple of days before posting. I have deep appreciation for the skills, technical mastery, and artistry of the MPFSPs. But, the music just doesn’t resonate with me. I find much of it repetitive; seemingly. It seems to be created less to produce music than to show off technical prowess. Sorry, but It just doesn’t move me the way other genres can.

    On a brighter note, I really had a good chuckle when you ran the “Hungarian Rhapsody for Rumble Strips” too much fun!

  4. Oh my heavens, Ton! This was the best! Because I like to own my music (versus Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), you just caused me to drop some bucks! I LOVE being introduced to this style of fingerstyle. I’m hooked! I’m still learning chords, so I have a long road, but I really want some of this style to be in my guitar playing future. Thanks so much for opening windows on the musical world. I love the new info and your instructive lessons. Thank you!!!

  5. This was an OUTSTANDING show, length is not a consideration. If you feel you have to drop the length, drop the daily challenge, which the rest of us watch every day anyway. I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m especially looking forward to next week. I don’t finger pick, and I’ve tried a lot of different picks, some thin, some thick, some with a grip built in. Recently I tried something because the pick is always slipping. So now I coat the top of the pick with drummer stick wax and it has worked wonderfully, no more slip. Great job Tony. Steve

  6. Hi Tony, Great show. The segment on Jake Workman making fundamentals part of his routine reinforces for me how important it is for my ongoing development as a player to log in and get my focused time with the TAC Daily challenges. The longer I do this the more important those daily challenges become for my continued advancement as a player and bonus….I don’t even have to think about it. You do the thinking for me. Thanks Tony. I will leave you will this. I wonder if Jake Workman has a personal trainer for his guitar development?

    1. my message posted as anonymous but here on TAC we are never anonymous from each other. Yours Gratefully, Jumpin’ Jeff S.

  7. Tony,
    Although, I don’t think he plays percussive style, I really like Michael Christiansen out of Logan, Utah. I took lessons from him back in the early 80’s at Utah State University.

  8. Dear Tony, Ever since I stumbled on to your Acoustic Tuesday videos about three years ago you have inspired me to get back into performing and writing again. I performed professionally with my ex-wife Penny for eight years based out of Southern California in the 70s. You would have enjoyed us. I performed with acoustic 6 string and primarily 12 string guitars and Penny was the first female conga player performing at that time in LA. Thanks again for all the information you have shared on your videos. Wishing you the best, Jeff

  9. I’m new to TAC and found this community through Tony’s Learn Fingerstyle in 5 Minutes video on the first day I picked up a guitar at the end of last month. I was pretty excited to see that today’s Acoustic Tuesday was a focus on Fingerstyle and percussive playing. Pretty inspiring.

    I loved Amber’s playing in this video so I had to do a quick search to find her PNW school. It looks like it is called Rose City Guitar Company in Portland. https://www.rosecityguitarcompany.com/our-teachers

  10. I was sorry not to see my favorite Gabriella Quevedo – self-taught Swedish daughter of a Spanish guitarist. Fantastic finger style percussive musician using Taylor instruments.

    1. I’m right there with you Francis about Gabriella who I have been following as both she and her skills have matured beautifully over the years. Her smile she inserts into every performance warms my heart. Find many fantastic arrangements
      on YouTube.
      Absolutely enjoyed this show and hearing all 15 finger style percussive guitarists. Think of the hours of practice to achieve this level of techniques!
      Nice to include Michael Dawes who I have seen twice accompanying Justin Hayward. Michael performed some of his own compositions at those concerts that blew the audiences socks off. No wonder Hayward uses him as part of the “orchestra” playing classic Moody Blues hits and his solo music.