Mel Bay Music Book || Fancy Fiddle Tunes for Flatpicking Guitar

I found this book at the 5th String in Berkeley, Calfornia but it should be readily available. I picked this out because it has several old-time fiddle tunes translated into guitar tablature but also including the standard musical score. There are 16 arrangements but almost 9 are played exclusively on the DGBE strings. I have been working on the Blackberry Blossom arrangement. The songs are folksy-bluegrassy songs and are predominantly 1/8 notes since they were fiddle tunes.

The best thing about this book is that it comes with 3 CD's that were recorded in the 1970's but do not feel dated. Each song is played at speed first, then the song is broken down into several parts and suggested fingershifts and strum directions are talked about in detail. I did not have the luxury of having any musicians in my family growing up so I find these instructions fascinating. If you have any questions please leave a comment.

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Also, I especially like this book because it has movements up and down the neck. The author has succeeded in creating more interest and made the arrangements just a bit more complex to make it a serious and challenging arrangement without being overly difficult.

The basic flatpicking technique uses a pick. The "beats" are typically played with a downstroke and the "ands" are picked "upward." Also a pick is not mandatory but the author believes the pick will increase your speed. I have been using my fingers and experimenting a bit with the fingers.