How to play acoustic guitar like John Denver

An audio lesson with high-quality tab

Guitar Techniques (Stuart Ryan), Fri 23 Oct 2009, 10:53 am UTC

Example: John Denver style

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[Bar 1] This sort of simple fingerpicking pattern should be in every player's repertoire; pay attention to timing, rhythm and clarity of notes…

[Bars 2, 10] The use of add9 and sus chords is very common in this kind of music; such subtle embellishments always add a different colour to proceedings, making things softer and not quite as predictable as straight major chords…

[Bar 9] When going from basic fingerpicking into strumming, keep the pick curled up in your hand. It's a good skill to work on and also means that you don't have to stand like a chump with a pick sticking out of your mouth!

[Bar 14] This is just a simple C chord but notice how the G on the third fret, first string subtly changes the sound…

[Bar 17] Back into strumming - how are you doing with shifting from fingerstyle to pick playing?