Band In Your Hand

"... so brilliant at times that he seems to transcend normal ap- proaches to the guitar....Ruskin may be the smoothest technical player around. Flashy, fast, inventive and musical and that isn't easy." – Guitar Player Magazine The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate ways to use the acoustic guitar in a support role with techniques other than typical strumming and/or pattern picking. The idea is to have the guitar be not just in the ensemble but become in essence, the entire band while still allowing room for lead and other instruments. Grooves and motifs will be established and elaborated upon by: 1. Using both familiar and unconventional fingerings to explain open and closed chord voicings and adding multiple-string ham- mer-ons, pull-offs, and slides as part of the left hand mix. 2. Giving the right hand a more diverse role by having the thumb take on bass part and embel- lishment duties while fingers take on their own unique melodic & support tasks. 3. Borrowing a trick or 2 from the “Book of Telecaster.” Stylistically, the music used to accomplish the above is drawn from Folk, Blues, Pop, R&B, & Funk. It is my hope that understanding and mastery of the concepts and maneuvers shown on this recording will help expand musical horizons and the enjoyment of fingerstyle guitar playing.