Opinion · Learning by ear
Fingerstyle guitar teaches you to be three people at once
Listen to a fingerstyle guitarist and try to pick out the jobs. The thumb carries a bass part. The fingers can keep a middle rhythm or pick out a tune. The melody may need to speak while the other parts step back. The trick is giving three roles a convincing relationship through one instrument.
Start with two bars. Alternate C and G with the thumb on the first and third beats. Add a melody note on beat two and let it ring. Then move the melody to the “and” of beat two. Record both versions. Ask which sounds more like a conversation and why. If the bass falls apart, simplify the melody until the pulse survives.
Isaac Chap offers acoustic fingerstyle and contemporary arranging alongside piano and violin. One useful transfer is to split the guitar part among three people first. On the next run, have each person remove one note. Have the guitarist bring the resulting arrangement back to one instrument.
The lesson becomes an exercise in listening for function, with finger independence serving what the player hears. That gives them a way to approach the next song when there is no tab for it.
Sources
Isaac Chap founded Hanashi, whose company runs this publication. The linked music lessons are a separate paid offering.