Adrian Legg - Pickin' 'n' Squintin'

A Collection of 12 Fingerstyle Guitar Solos

By Adrian Legg

Buy this book first; thank me later. My girlfriend and I saw Mr. Legg at the Met in downtown Spokane, WA, USA. Mr. Legg is enjoyable to watch. He's hilarious with his tales of inspiration, and his playing appears effortless--I'd say God-given. Don't stop reading...

; I'm getting back to the book. It's the best purchase you can ever make if you're interested in fingerstyle guitar playing. Just work slowly and patiently, and before you know it you'll be basking in the glow of Mr. Legg's compositional radiance. Oh Yeah, by the way, after his performance Mr. Legg spoke to a small group at stage front. I waited nervously, then finally managing my heartrate, said hello to Mr. Legg and shook his hand. I thanked him for this book (Pickin' 'n' Squintin') and told him how his songs have enriched me.

Honestly, I owned this book for two years before finally devoting time into the piece, "Last Track," and then noticed new and enjoyable techniques. I never played with these particular techniques: Sliding a note on one string while continuing the bassline; The Chet-Atkin's-referred-to method of using...

6th string to 4th string consistent bassline with upper melody and harmony; two-note pull-off to an open string such as in "Irish Girl"; and in "Nancy" there's a real pretty progression of arpeggios which move up the fretboard. Really, there's many nuances to discover and each piece, especially when learning them, is expressive in emotion. These melodies are so intriguing they sound beautiful still at about half of Mr. Legg's virtuosic speed. My girlfriend loves when I play them, she even enjoys listening to me struggle through, starting, stopping, turning pages. I've never before been so spiritually, and musically satisfied playing my guitar as when I play these pieces.