Guitar Study
Acoustic Etudes in the Style of Andy McKee
Instructors: David Soltany, Rick Graham
Total lessons in study:
Rick and David write beautiful etudes that capture the masterful acoustic playing of Andy McKee.
1. Acoustic Ballad
Hey everyone! This is a song tutorial that will show you how to play a ballad with thumb percussion, in the style of Andy McKee.
Here's the tuning for this short song: D Bb C F G C
Change Low E string to DChange A string to Bb Change D string to CChange G string to F Change B string to G Change High E string to C
The 'X' ma...Read More
The second half of the song has couple of tough spots to work on. Again you'll find the parts I touch on highlighted in the tab.
The main dfficulty in the second half is the fast little run you get at the end.
Try working on the run all by itself before adding the thumb hit + strum (the strumming should catch only 1 strin...Read More
The first half of the song is not too terribly tricky. I'm going to touch on a few different sections, and you'll find those sections highlighted in the tab below.
While you learn this song, don't be afraid to implement your own interpretations, adding your own flavor with different techniques (vibrato on chords,etc.)
Thi...Read More
2. Acoustic Ballad II
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4. "In the Style of Andy Mckee" - Acoustic Ballad Part II
Cool Riffs
Acoustic
Intermediate
Hey guys!
This is another song in an 'Alan Parson' mood, with an Andy McKee flavor.
Here's the tuning for this song: D G D G B D
Change Low E string to DChange A string to G Leave D stringLeave G string Leave B string Change High E string to D
The 'X' mark in the tablature = Thumb
There are few spots that need to be wo...Read More
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5. "In the Style of Andy Mckee" - Acoustic Ballad Part II - 1
Cool Riffs
Acoustic
Intermediate
In the tablature below, I'm going to highlight the sections that I'll be discussing in the video.
For the harmonics in the intro, you can pick them with the second or third finger, allowing your first finger to stay available.
For the rhythm part, try to work the switch between the thumb hit and the thumb playing the bass...Read More
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6. "In the Style of Andy Mckee" - Acoustic Ballad Part II - 2
Cool Riffs
Acoustic
Intermediate
Watch out for the quick lick here. It's something i like to use, playing open notes and hammer notes. Always keep the rhythm in mind (thumb percussion). First, work on the lick itself, then add the thumb rhythm.
For the last chord, the finger order (right hand) is the following: 1st - 2nd -3rd finger then thumb.
The thumb...Read More
3. Rick Graham's song
Hey IG'ists and welcome to this tutorial in the style of the phenomenal acoustic guitarist Andy McKee.
Andy McKee was born in Topeka, Kansas and is one of the world’s finest acoustic soloists. After receiving over 20 million views collectively for his Youtube videos which were posted by the independent record label &...Read More
OK, lets check out the piece in it's entirety.
I wrote this piece to highlight the techniques which Andy employs in his compositions so, as always, pay close attention to everything that is happening both technique wise and composition wise. Take note of any recurring motifs and how they develop throughout the piece and wh...Read More
Welcome to part 1!
Lets look at how the guitar is tuned:
6=D
5=A
4=D
3=G
2=A
1=E
I have chosen to notate this piece in 4/4 as opposed to 2/4 for ease of score writing. However, what I have done is divide the bar into 2 beats with each beat in groups of 4 8th notes.
The opening figure is one which recurrs throughout...Read More
The rhythmic figure we have here in the second part of the intro is the same as the first part but we have some development with the use of the open top string. Be sure to let that open string ring on throughout this section.
Be careful during bars 15 and 16 as this position change does require a change of right hand finge...Read More
Here we have the main melody of the piece.
Notice how the tonality has changed from D min to D maj. I feel this has a very uplifting but subtle feel which I like a lot.
A key element of playing pieces like this with this kind of tuning is to let all of the notes bleed into each other wherever possible. It gives a much mor...Read More
OK, we are now back to the D min tonality.
This section may require some extra practice as there are a couple of moments which could prove a little tricky. During bar 33, make sure that immediately after the percussion your right hand stays in position ready to play the following notes.
There is quite a large position shi...Read More
This section is a repeat of the previous section but with a change in bars 45 and 46.Read More
The percussion effect during this section is played slightly differently to how we achieved the effect before, as in with the thumb. What is more effective here is to clench the hand into a fist and let it fall onto the strings so that they hit against the fretwire. Keep the hand nice and relaxed though as it will achieve t...Read More
OK, we have now reached the final part and perhaps the most exciting part, Tapping!!!
Note wise it is an exact repetition of part 6 but played with the inclusion of right and left hand taps.
In order to get the best results it is essential that your hands are completely relaxed and that you don't try to tap too hard. This...Read More