How to Play “Perfectly” (or at least more perfectly!)
No one plays perfectly all of the time of course (except Segovia, and he’s gone…), but you can attain a very high level of consistency through proper and plentiful repetition.
Tag: fingerstyle guitar
Mark & Greta Concertize in Massachusetts in April!
Mark & Greta put on a Sunday morning concert at the NEFFA folk festival. Great fun!!
Concert, Demos & Workshop at La Conner Guitar Festival in May!
Mark & Greta concert, Mark workshop, and several demos for topnotch luthiers
Mark & Greta Concertize in Sacramento, California
Scintillating fingerpicking and sparkling vocals from a Grammy winner and a National Artist of the Year (Young Audiences). Great fun!
Beginning Fingerstyle Improvisation
By Mark Hanson January 8, 2025 Fingerstyle improvisation is a multi-faceted undertaking. Improvising on a wind instrument (saxophone for instance) requires you to play a new melody, one note at a time. In fingerstyle guitar, you need to do that plus keep the chord and rhythm going underneath. It’s a workout for the brain! A way to get started: First, memorize the chord progression of the tune you want to use. Do this by writing (by hand!) a chord chart of the tune. Early on I discovered that writing by hand has a special connection to the brain; plus you […]
Mark & Greta Concertize Again in Central Washington State!
Mark & Greta concertize in Wenatchee, Wash., March 1, 2025.
Anticipating Fretting Hand Movements
During a recent lesson I noticed my student intermittently looking at his picking hand directly before his fretting hand moved several frets to another position. He continually missed the second position. Studying a bit what I do in a similar situation, I realized that I look directly at the new position moments before I move there. This gives my fretting hand a target. If you were to watch me play an entire two-hour concert you would never see me even once look at my right (picking) hand. My picking-hand position is so secure and the motions so minimal that I never […]
“Sheep May Safely Graze” Arrangement
This is my solo guitar arrangement of J.S. Bach’s beautiful “Sheep May Safely Graze.” I use it when I play for the hospitalized ‘premies’ (babies born before the full gestation period) in Portland. Play it as smoothly and gently as you can. Suggestions: 1. To make the parallel thirds in the opening measures consistent in tone I pick EACH PAIR OF TREBLE NOTES with my index and middle fingers, including the low C on the fifth string; 2. In measure 2, sustain the low C note throughout; on beat 2, lift the middle finger silently (relax!) and place it along with […]
Pre-Concert Guitar Workshop in Hillsboro, Oregon!
Fingerstyle Guitar Workshop by three award-winning masters: Mark Hanson, Terry Robb and Doug Smith!
“America, the Beautiful”
Mark’s solo fingerstyle guitar arrangement of the classic “America the Beautiful.”