Tommy Emmanuel Teaches 4 Steps To Fingerstyle Guitar Technique | Reverb Learn To Play 

*His thumb is so independent it left the house and started at business as an adolescent*

The 27 people who gave this a "thumbs down" need to keep working on step #1 as they clearly have no control of their thumb. 👍

A free lesson of actual real value for an actual real Legend. Wonderful, thank you Tommy and Reverb.

He looks so happy, this is what you call doing what you love

No instrument fights back at you when you try to play it like the acoustic guitar does. Mastery of fingerstyle on an acoustic guitar displays strength, courage, determination and dedication of the highest degree. This man is a legend.

This video will get a smile on any guitarist's face; regardless of what situation he/she is in.

I love this guy. What a gifted artist, as well as a very generous human being. This world is much the better for having him in it.

At some point Mr. Emmanuel graduated from national treasure to world treasure. Thank you so much for this!

ive practiced for hours on how to get this right, struggling hard but it just makes me respect tommy even more, amazing player and teacher

Not only is he a glorious guitarist he’s an incredibly humble teacher. Could listen to him for hours

Summary: 1:22 - step 1. Thumb technique. Anchor down. Root on first beat. Palm muting 4:25 - step 2. Spell out the chord. 5:21 - step 3: Create rhythm with the chord 6:00 - step 4: Chord arpeggios Great lesson!

I have been a guitarist for 11 or so years, playing mainly rock, metal blues and a touch of jazz.. This is possibly the hardest thing to play I've ever attempted. Absolutely hats off to anyone who can do the arpeggios while keeping the bass notes going.

He has such a soothing voice I could listen to him (and his guitar) all day

I've seen him live twice. Fun, energetic, life-affirming shows, sometimes with additional incredible musicians.

Thanks Tommy for a great lesson. I've been at the first part of the lesson for about a week at 20 minutes a night. I can see and hear the difference. It's like anything else in life, what you put in is what you get out.

For someone so talented and famous he is so down to earth! Not only a great guitarist but seems like a great guy also!

Thank you Tommy, really really appreciate you taking time to make these tutorials ! You’ve provided me with tremendous insight into learning finger-style acoustic guitar!

One of the very best instructional videos on RU-vid. Absolutely no filler material and so clear and straightforward. Well done Tommy.

What a gift, a lesson by this legend (and awesome human being)

I love Tommy! He simplifies the steps so well. Now comes the hard part. Practicing SLOOOOWLY at first!

Tommy is the man!

Tommy, thanks for sharing... you're a legend mate!

I so appreciate how Tommy shares his knowledge with us on how to play guitar more effectively. I know that this lesson he gave here was simplistic to him. It is kind of like a calculus teacher having to teach basic algebra.

Not a single surplus word! Seven minutes of pure gold. Tommy Emmanuel is not just a great guitar player but a wonderful teacher too.

Would love to see tabs with these videos! I've only been playing for about a year and a half or so, so I can pick up a few things but not everything. Reverb's videos have been such a great learning tool. They really do a great job of keeping you interested and moving along and expose you to things you might not be into yet

Step 3 is insane to think about as you're doing four things with two hands. Alternating the left index finger while holding the bottom half of the chord, alternating your right thumb over 3 strings and picking off beat with your first three right hand fingers. As someone who only played with a pick for years, here I go repeating this for hours till I get it.

Tommy - you're magnificent ! Love your style, love your skill, love your sense of humor, love everything about you man ! Thank you for sharing your knowledge in a way that is actually understandable.

Sense of humor of this guy is great. :-D Also if he says "it takes little time" it means a couple of months to 2 years, but if he says it means a lot of determination, then it means decades of practice and going for a lifetime journey.

Your love for the instrument always shows in your playing, and now I see it in your teaching. Thanks for sharing your gifts!

Magician showing how the magic trick is done...

Haven't played in years but started again recently after seeing a Knopf video on fingerstyle. Was getting into a rut so this video came along just at the right time. Big thanks to Tommy and the folks at Reverb.

Boy do I need to practice.

This lesson is just amazing. Thank you. I needed this.

Steady thumbs up!!! Congrats for Reverb and Tommy, great mini lesson. Greetings from Spain!

This always sounds like it's more complicated than it looks. Thank you for the simple explanation. That was awesome. 🙂👍

Amazing guy.

his thumb so independent it can play another instrument while he is playing guitar

For being one of the world's best guitarists, you have such a passion for learning people like me.!! Thank you

Thank you , so generous of you its a privilege to watch you play and spread your gift

Sir when I listen to you I feel heavenly,, nothing makes me so happy but your guitar.. Thank you so much sir 🙏 🙏 🙏

You lucky devils....ha, ha, ha...indeed. What a beautiful lesson.

That may be the simplest yet most comprehensive finger picking lesson you could have ever squeezed into seven minutes! Thanks Tommy.

He's just amazing! I realized it's going to take a long while to break my picking hand strumming, but I love this finger style.

Thank you sooo much Tommy! YOU are a living legend! Stay safe and healthy! 🙏🏾

Awesome! I wanna try this soon. I often play fingerstyle, which I learned when I was studying classical guitar, but that's obviously way different than playing these types of rhythms with a pick on your thumb. As comfortable as I am with how I play, this more rhythmic style is pretty foreign to my fingers and I am excited to take on the challenge and learn something new!

More more more...gimmi more. Love you Tom! Seen in North Carolina last year. The first time I heard you I came across "Angelina" and wow your music brought me finally to a taste in music I hadn't yet fallen for, but always appreciated. I learned Angelina the same weekend I discovered you. This way of playing only makes you an overall better player. If you ever get a chance to see him live, do it! Great Showmanship, very entertaining with and without his guitar. An absolute superb player. P.S. I anchor down too... Ever since my mama taught me to play.

Hea Tommy, you cant be beat. I have been to see you 4 times over the years at the Palatium in Tampa, great small venue. Cant wait to see you again. Thanks for the music.

Love from Australia Tommy, youre a national treasure for sure! God keep you and those fingers safe!!!

Thanks for this tutorial, you are a great player

He's a great great guitarist, and those usually cant teach at all, not a case here. Such a great teacher

you are such a good teacher, tommy! thanks for the exposition.

Love this have loved him since introduced to him in highschool 20 years ago .... this man has such a love for his instrument

When he says "a little time", it means a century.

7 minute lesson and, for me, months and months and months of practice! 😆🍻 Love it!

Love how he just tells you what not to do straight up. Too many teachers/tutorials on here focus on what to do without addressing the bad habits.

He's a great guitar player and also a great teacher....clear, concise and patient.

Trying to develop 'thumb independence' in the right hand can be difficult and take a long time, especially when you are also trying to master chord fingering with the left hand. You need to develop the thumb independence upto the point where your thumb plays automatically without you even thinking about it. Then you can solely concentrate on perfecting the melody. A method I found to help achieve this 'thumb independence' was to tune the guitar to an open chord, say D major (D1, A, D2, F#,A D3), and so not worry too much about playing diff chords, instead play the open D major chord, and noodle around with the notes that sound good in that key - in other words practise with your ears, which is what music is all about - hearing and listerning ! - and practise with the thumb low D1-D2-A-D2 to the 4 beats in the bar for 4/4 time.

God pls protect this angel at all cost

Thanks Tommy. You make even the basics sound amazing. Cheers my friend. Steve Wilson

One of the best tutorial I've ever seen, thank you so much!.. It's help to get rhythm and practice for the right hand,..

Step 5...repeat for 10,000 hours

Great, now that chord progression is carved in my head for the rest of my life

Brilliant Artist, Teacher and Musical Genius!

This is an amazing lesson. Thank you Tommy and reverb.

Arpeggio...that´s a big word for an Australian XDDD I love this guy! :-)

love you sir

The best explanation and demonstration of fingerstyle guitar this picker has seen.

Thank you reverb team. Pls continue it with Tommy Sir. God bless you.

He always seems so happy. That's the groove I wish I had😞

Who does this guy think he is? Tommy Emannuel??

This was so needed. What a beautiful human being.

The sheer joy you experience in your playing is addictive

I'm low-key bragging here, but I had the opportunity to attend one of Tommy's classes back in 2014, and then even got to play a song with him! Then at the end, my wife and kids came to pick me up, and he insisted on meeting and talking with them! He is one of the kindest people I've ever met!

Legend.

THANK YOU TOMMY FOR THESE IDEAS AND LESSONS FROM SUCH A TOUR DE FORCE OF TALENT.BEAUTIFUL 👈🏻🕶🐾🐾🎸

This post started for me a new life three years ago. I had first a hard time to get my thumb doing the new job, but one day it just did it. I aquired then the full course from Tommy(very affordable!) and carefully followed his advice. Not only Tommy is a modest and wonderful person, he is an outstanding player and teacher, feeling exactly what a newcomer needs to make progress. Three years are gone and I can play now every piece i have in my mind using the technique I learned from Tommy. Thank you Tommy, you enriched my life in an outstanding way!

A strong independent thumb that don’t need no man.

This vid felt like a real teacher teaching me I was smiling so hard

So brilliantly explained...the sequencing of the skill is so often a barrier to developing the skill. Thanks so much for sharing

Muscle memory allows me to thumb pick a steady bass while syncopating 1,2, or 3 fingers in the higher notes. It's like driving a stickshift without consciously thinking about all the hand and foot movements.

His thumb is so independent it got its own stimulus check

I love how he looks up to Jerry Reed so much.

This way of teaching has gotten me further than other video or techniques in the last year or two. Thank. You. Tommy.

You gotta love this guy and a great teacher!

I've finnaly learned it! I'm so happy right now!

"I wanna be on that team"..fist pump. I'll say! You might be leading that team now though.

Tommy Emmanuel; what a guy. Really enjoy seeing him feel the tune. Amazing player.

Tommy thanks so much for your time, I appreciate your instruction, Yes I will practice, Best Thanks for sharing regards.

Pretty cool Tommy, I will use this lesson for my starting trainees. One word about the "Anchor with the pinky or not". Tommy is certainly right. But when I was younger, I developed a strange (is it strange?) habit. While my nails were often broken, my pinky nail was always long and solid. I began using this clumsy finger as "B" plan, to a point where 30 years later, it became my best finger to play melodies while picking arpeggios with my other no-nail fingers (making the melody louder than the accompaniment). Therefore, no way Tommy, I can no longer abandon my pinky, using it as an anchor. So I guess I'm part of that losers' team. Seriously Tommy, you're awesome, thanks for your always great generosity and the inspiration you provide us all.

‘You lucky devils’ ... I almost heard him say ‘possums’ a la Dame Edna :-) great stuff.

Tommy ist für mich einer der besten Gitarristen, ein großartiges Vorbild. Greetings from Germany.

Tommy is just an amazing player!!!! Thank you, Tommy!

Tommy Emmanuel is the Tony hawk of guitar

Tommy you are my favorite teacher l’m going to be 65 years old and I play as young. Wolf. Bravo 👏 Jack

I know some of your musically friends in Sunderland, England who play in your style ... a brill way to play guitar and I'm learning! Thank you Tommy!

What a legend, great video, clear instruction. Legend Tommy!

Yeah, sure...but can he play "Smoke on the Water"? Just kidding!! You're AWESOME, Tommy, and THANK YOU for your GENEROSITY in sharing techniques with us mere mortals!!!!

Tommy, I really think you could have a future in guitar playing. Keep up with your practice though!

I'm doing one of Tommys online courses, it has taken me about 3 weeks to learn one small section, but the stuff I have learned while practising this is invaluable....He teaches you slowly and precisely, but he doesn't hold your hand ....learn slow, build up to speed, great fun.

How lucky are we guitar beginners to get a lesson from Greatness? Loving this! Thanks!