Description
In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to create a James Taylor inspired guitar composition. In addition to explaining how the chords are put together, I’ll also show you how to use this percussive fingerstyle technique which adds both bass and rhythm to your chords. You can use this technique both while singing and playing guitar, or while simply playing solo guitar.
Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson
Slow Walk-Through
Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access
Register for premium access
Video Tablature Breakdown
Only available to premium members.
Register for premium access
Register for premium access
You need to be logged in as a premium member to access the tab, MP3 jam tracks, and other assets.
Learn More
Add to "My Favorites"
You need to login or register to bookmark/favorite this content.
JohnStrat says
This is a very pleasant tune to listen to and will be a hit concept with a wide appeal and a great lesson to understand and absorb Thank you.
JohnStrat
john T says
Hi Brian I am new to your site and am loving your teaching style and all the knowledge you share.
Love this tune and the beautiful chords you’ve chosen. JT is a hero of mine as well. What a legend!
I was wondering if you have any advice about practice, specially regarding just not letting your fingers doing random chords that seem to ambush the piece I am learning and then getting into a bad habit.
I m supposing other people have this difficulty but maybe its just me.
Anyway love your work and looking forward to spending the year with you and the community.
John T
Mirabel S says
Good valuable information Thanks Brian.
Myra.
Michael Allen says
That’s such a beautiful tune and I can always use percussive finger style lessons. I love it! Thanks Brian
Jim M says
Time to focus. I love this percussive style. Your the best Brain !!!
Doug says
Brian is definitely a brain! : – ) He makes it so easy to understand for us mere mortals.
Noshan G says
I had a hard time being a premium member of active melody because I live in a different part of the world and everything not so easy.I go and jam sometimes and people ask me,who is your guitar teacher,one day without me knowing my answer I said….”BRIAN”.All men hair is growing long…..Corona effect I guess.Namaste.
Christopher D says
Wonderful lesson Brian.
Sandra C says
Lovely but quite challenging!!! So back at it!!! Bye!
Raymond P says
Love this lesson, very peaceful melody. Great finger-picking percussive ideas too .
Thanks Brian,
Ray
East Coast Bill says
I really enjoy these percussive fingerstyles.
Thank you
Marc M says
Soothing and mellow. Just added another dimension to my growing understanding and love of playing. Thanks for this.
magpie says
Thanks for another fingerstyle play by your self acoustic melody. Interesting style that I will be working on and with plenty time on my hands I have no excuse to spend as much time practising to get it right. Many thanks again Brian.
Carl Z says
Lovely tune. Just my cup of tea. The kind of playing I want to explore more.
Rick R says
I have always wanted to learn percussive hand techniques. Your instruction was clear and easy to understand. I’ve got the right rhythm nailed. And your right Brian, when broken into segments, it emerges fairly naturally. Great lesson.
JoLa says
The use of the same tonic bass note over the chords is a great takeaway, Brian! I would never figure that out myself even if I looked at the tab! I love when you explain those little hidden gems for us and let us put it into practice!
kmdub44 says
Just when I think you’ve offered the best lesson and sound yet, you come up with another just as incredible. I love this sound and being able to learn it. Where were these lessons 40 years ago?
DP2608 says
Nice, nice lesson. Could you just remind me which lesson covers those 6 to 9 chords? they seemed to have escaped me.
Thanks Brian
rob w says
362
Jeff H says
Another Great lesson, beautiful composition, thanks Brian
James B says
Thanks for this lesson Brian. I’m a big fan of JT myself. Having posted several of his songs on the forum. I’m thinking this lesson was “Taylor” made for me! 😀
James
sunburst says
Very cool enjoyed especially 7 minutes into this how you explain chord family tonic bass note with intervals..looking forward to practicing some this James Taylor style t tonight very nice
Anthony L says
challenging for me to keep a steady pulse through-out, but i think this will be well worth the effort to gain a feel that will carry over into lots of songs. thanks!
sunburst says
Really so good an intro lesson ,, followed and learned it here! excellent tips and more very entertaining lesson
Buster89 says
I love the challenge of those percussive style lessons. Thanks Brian for another gem !
Julie I says
I always learn so much in every lesson even if I can’t play them all. These percussive ones are so amazing!
sunburst says
The percussion finger style explanation .. is the biggest take away here. I still played it but man..not use to this.. lol.. I finally think I got it going now .. btw great right hand technique .. I am going to do it exact eventually lol
sunburst says
The section starting five minutes into the intro is very cool”watch this ” D minor example reminds me of Mark Knopfler finger-style too “Sultan’s of Swing”.. yes I need to watch it a few more times.. something I see sublte is the wrist I admire here in this extraordinary lesson ..ty Brian for sharing man
Boppie says
I have really loved this lesson. I always wanted to play some James Taylor.
Roy B says
This is just delightful… such a nice mixture of technique and theory that makes the singer-songwriter sound approachable. Thank you so much. More please.
timothy9 says
Beautiful playing coach! JT is a great guitarist.
George D says
amazing! thanks Brian
rockyg61 says
One of your best concepts yet, look forward to seeing more..This made me join your company again. Thank you
Larry W says
Very nice lesson. Thanks!
David M says
Beautiful piece Brian! Your teaching and playing continues to inspire and motivate me to keep playing even when my fingers just don’t work right at times.
David G says
I agree, James is completely under-rated as a fingerstyle guitar player. If I didn’t know this lesson was a James Taylor one, I’d have guessed it anyway because you nailed his later stylings. Not so much Sweet Baby James or Mud Slide Slim but maybe what we heard in JT.
Jeff W says
Very nice in a great style of JT! First learned “Fire and Rain” back in the 70’s… Great addition to the lessons….Thanks!
kit b says
Another great lesson thanks Brian. Kit B. Australia
Ps. What model is the Martin… great sound. Cheers
Robert G says
I have a problem with your lesson approach. I consider myself to be a late beginner . As I watch every week I go to your 81 beginner lessons hoping you will add #82 but I consider what you usually teach is beyond my abilities. Like they are for the expert players like you, most of your students, and EC. It will take us beginners years for us to master your advanced 350 or so lessons . I would like you to balance your lessons 50% beginner, 50% advanced. Or ideally 80% beginner, 15% expert, and 5% advanced. That way everybody is a happy camper. I’m waiting !
jaystrings2@aol.com says
Excellent, Brian. Once again, you’ve broken down the elusive and made it seem possible. Great lesson; wonderful song.
Jay
Bobs Ultra-339 Electric Guitar Level 2 Vintage Sun says
I thought you had to play Samick to get his sound .
Bobs Ultra-339 Electric Guitar Level 2 Vintage Sun says
I thought you had to play Samick to get his sound . Great lesson.
Billy Ray S says
AWESOME !!!
Desmond M says
Can I suggest you make a ‘mark as watched’ tick box on your videos! I have completed a bunch of your lessons and I often get confused as to which ones I have done and which ones I still have to do.
Pat says
Does the x Chord mean a muted strum as opposed the the snare strum?
Barb S says
Brian – I want to thank you so much for the full screen tab viewer since I have poor vision and cannot read the downloaded tab sheet. It has added so much to my enjoyment of learning and playing without having to struggle to read the tiny print.
Take care and stay safe
Rick M says
Brian — on beats 2 & 4 when you strike the strings with the back of your fingernails, are you also adding percussive sound by thumping your wrist and/or the base of your thumb on the top of the guitar?
Brian says
yes, i do that some times – good catch
Michael W says
Hi Brian,
First, i want to thank you for creating a great place for study and resource. It really is both. i am pretty accomplished in my narrow range and studying with you online has opened up the instrument to stuff i should have learned years ago. So thanks again. in this lesson my right hand wants to upstroke the strings in the “clawhammer” style that is reflexive to me while still hitting the A in the bass. The tone seems fine to me as are the ergonomics. Is there any great advantage to using your method of brushing down? It will require many hours of practice on my part to get there.
Phip says
Have really enjoyed this as an aspiring picker and after battling this for a bit and play something else my fingers seem to be more adept/agile at doing what I want ’em to.
That F#7 bar kills me though. Cannot (or have not yet) gotten that solid tone, which is a real DUD in the middle. I work on my placement and figure it will come with perhaps more strength even though I’m pretty rigorous/daily in my work. I start to wonder if my left index (bones/skin?) is just not made for doing this. Any suggestions are welcome!
Ancil K says
Brian -Great lesson. Just wondering when you slap the strings with your right hand to get the percussive sound, are you simultaneously muting the strings with your left hand? I’ve been playing guitar many years but have never been able to master the percussive technique. Are there any other lessons where you devote some time to this technique?
Anton D says
Que’stion Brian if you don’t mind. Why do use your ring finger (4th finger) instead of the third one?
I find myself instinctively using my third finger and it is much easier for me. Is there any advantage to using the fourth finger?
Pat says
I’m getting it! After a week of practice I’m beginning to feel that I can tap my head and rub my tummy at the same time! also better with the right hand technique with this lesson!
annekaz says
I can not play the video for part 1 here. The other ones play fine. Anyone having the same isssue?
ZagerGuitarFan says
New here today. You said you weren’t going into thumb/finger (picking) placement (as that would bog down this lesson), but that can be found on the tab. I cannot find it on the tab. I might add that if bogging the lesson down was the major concern, I think a better in-depth right hand instruction would trump the extraneous information found while tramping out into the high weeds with the diatribe about James Taylor, Christopher Cross, the “Walk Don’t Run” excursion, etc. So, PLZ, for the sake of us “slow-hands” PREMIUM MEMBERS, feel free to spend a little more time on the thumb/finger placement (picking) technique (that this whole lesson was about to begin with) as opposed to the extraneous stuff. We love your playing, stye, skill, and technique, and (some of us, anyway) would just be happy as pigs in soft mud if you would “bog the lesson down” with that stuff instead. Thanks, Brian!
Darrell Arnold says
It’s super helpful how you keep building material from previous lessons into the new ones. And I really appreciate you repeating segments of this after working through a chunk of the material and completing the whole thing again at the end. These lessons are super helpful. Thanks so much.
NICOLAS S says
Thanks Brian.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this little piece of guitar.
I appreciate your latest lessons. These 12 or 15 latest lessons have taken me to another level of understanding and techniques in a really fun and nice way.
Merci.
Tony G says
Delicious! Many thanks Brian.
jboy says
You have topped yourself…playing a james taylor style has been a dream but somewhere beyond my ability/ talent.This leasson brings it into view….thanks🎸
Jim S says
Brian, The finger style lesson EP 372, I am having trouble where to strike the string or strings with my ring finger after the first snap of the strings. I have the Thumb- Index -Snap down but the sound gets sloppy trying to know where to strike with my ring finger then do the T-I Snap again. I have been practicing with “Danny’ Song” by Kenny Logins which also has the Taylor percussion snap to the song. Can you give me some instructions. I love the rhythm of my hand when I practice for a while
Ashley D says
That was beautiful and superb Brian. JT is one of my favourites too.
Jennifer Ruby says
It’s so beautiful, Brian.
Richard S says
I really am getting a lot of pleasure learning this one.
Thank you Brian.
Mr.Charlie says
sounds Claptony. Also with that hair and glasses you kind look like him too. good stuff
Greg M says
Haven’t heard that many tunes I like better than “Blue Jean Blues,” but this just may be one. Thanks, Brian!
Peter Griffin says
Very nice melody and lesson, however I’m having a bit of difficulty understanding the percussive technique that you use.
It’s hard to tell if you are just hitting only the base strings with your fingernails ?
Also wondering if you are muting the strings with the side of your palm while
you are striking the strings ?
Thank you
Colin C says
I’m a complete newbie to your lessons but already really like your teaching style Brian. I wasn’t sure where to jump in with so many existing lessons and the temptation is to dip in and out and perhaps not actually see anything through, which has been MY style for ever. I love James Taylor and was pleased to accidentally come across this lesson. I’m going to give it a serious go although there are things I know will take a while, and I’m an impatient guy! This is my website colinsongs.info, so perhaps as a singer songwriter this lesson will really help. Thanks so far Brian. BTW is there a recommended way to approach the lessons as a progressive learning thing or is it designed to dip and delve according to interest? Colin
Dave C says
Hi Colin, I’m also a relative newbie and yes, it took me a while but I looked under weekly lessons and looked thru all the lessons Brian has marked as “easy” until I found some that where more to my capability. Also I went into some theory like “Circle of fifths” which helped my understanding. Then I saved them under favorites here which makes it easy to find them again. All though there is no single way to approach it the lessons are all catalouged quit well. Cheers
jboy says
Colin…I think that you are on the something.I believe that this site is not for newbies…simply because there is no road map as to how to use it…all the resources are there to learn .that is for sure. I have been thinking about calling Brian to ask him if he had thought about creating a ” road map for newbies”….I would start with the concept of chord families and expand from there….bon voyage 😘👍
Dave C says
Beautiful song Brian, I can hear Taylor and Clapton in there too. I’ve been strumming and picking for years but this method is much harder than it looks. When I eventually get it I’ll show off to my children. 🙂
James M says
Very cool lesson. This is my 3rd crack at it, I think I’m finally getting somewhere 🙂
Bob B says
Would love to see you expand on EP 372 , around the 5 minute mark you used the picking technique with a fast tempo and do a lead and rhythm No accompaniment lesson