Below is the lesson for “Fingerpicking Etude no. 12”.

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In this etude, you will learn and use the Gypsy Major scale to create an exotic Eastern sound. In its simplest terms, this scale can be thought of as the Major scale with two altered notes (b2 and b6); resulting in the formula of: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 7. For this piece, we will be playing out of the A Gypsy Major scale:

If you’d like to learn more on how scales are formed and altered, check out our in-depth course on An Introduction to Music Theory & Jamming.

As far as the composition itself, this etude contains 3 Melodies. Melody A is a single note passage that makes use of a wide, pronounced vibrato to create an intense dynamic. Melody B continues the theme from Fingerpicking Etude no. 11; which saw us focus on increasing the precision of our right hand attack. While Melody C is all about sustaining our notes when fingerpicking chords to create a hauntingly beautiful timbre.

Part 1 – Performance & Free Lesson

Part 2 – For Premium Members

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