Description
Over 7 Hours of Video Tuition
Lifetime Access
Instructional and Playalong Videos
Download and Stream Videos
Download: Tab Scores
Audio Playalongs
Chord & Scale Sheets + MORE..
14 Day Money Back Guarantee
These Lessons focus on Fingerstyle Playing
Everything you need for 3-String GDG Tuning
The Course starts at complete Newbie level,
finishing at competent, Intermediate standard
9 Fingerstyle Technique Exercise Videos
Take your Playing through the Gears:
2 Final Songs, across 3 Levels, over 8 Videos
Blues, Rock & Country styles
Welcome to the Beginner Fingerstyle Course for 3-String Cigar Box Guitar
Cigar Box Guitar is the DIY musical revolution, but if you want to play songs by the Blues, Rock & Country greats, why not learn how to do it right?!
- This 7 hour video course focuses on 3-string fingerstyle playing. It starts with the complete basics, progressing to a competent, intermediate level and you can learn exercises & songs in Blues, Rock & Country styles.
- This series provides essential techniques and info for you to start playing your favourite songs on 3-strings, giving you the perfect foundation to develop into a well-rounded player, start jamming with others or with classic recordings.
- You get lifetime access and can either download the entire course, or use online links to stream the videos.
- This course is taught by Sion Littledyke: I’m a teacher & musician with a wealth of experience who’s been producing YouTube, Cigar Box Guitar videos since 2018 on the Coda Tuition channel. If you’re interested to hear more about my experience & teaching approach, please scroll further down this page.
- The Beginner Fingerstyle Course will provide the average learner with several months of high-quality tuition and musical development. This is a more specialised & cost effective version of The Complete Beginner Course; there are different course options available at different prices on the Video Courses page.
- 20% Discount offered on all future purchases in the Complete Beginner Course series. For example, you can try the Flatpick course in the future at a reduced price.
- 101 Introductory Flatpick lessons are also included: basic technique & posture; guitar set-up; reading TAB; chords & strumming
How to use the Beginner Fingerstyle Course
(Please note, this course covers fretted note playing – watch this space for future slide guitar lessons)
- This course uses GDG tuning throughout: the standard & most widely used 3-string Cigar Box Guitar tuning.
- Fingerstyle exercise chapters contain essential techniques & info presented in instructional & playalong videos.
- Final song videos allow you to put these skills into practice & develop in complexity across 3 levels.
There are numerous Downloads to help aid your progress:
TAB Scores (printable formats for US, Canada & everyone else)
Audio Playalongs & Tuning Notes (for all songs and most exercises)
Video Timing Points (to aid with repeat viewing)
Several Freebies (including chord & scale sheets, audio practice beats)
Fingerstyle Lessons
- Introductory Flatpick lessons are also included, to make sure that any Newbies have the basics covered: starter technique & posture; guitar set-up; reading TAB; chords & strumming
- Flatpick exercise videos include:
Fingerstyle Technique (Picking Patterns & Reading TAB)
Fingerstyle Riffs (Country Blues style licks)
Fingerstyle Chords (power & open chords in different styles)
Palm Muting (great for Blues, Rock & Country guitar)
Blues Shuffle / Swung Grooves (essential for many classic tracks)
How to Improve Time Keeping, Fluency & Speed
Audio Demos for the Fingerstyle Songs
Swung Blues (Level 1 – Easy)
Swung Blues (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Swung Blues (Level 3 – Advanced)
Country Rock (Level 1 – Easy)
Country Rock (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Country Rock (Level 3 – Advanced)
There are 5 instructional videos accompanied by 4 separate playalong videos, which total 2 hours.
There are 2 final songs in Section B: Swung Blues & Country Rock.
The aim is to develop key skills in the exercise videos and put them to use when learning & playing the songs.
These songs are taught over 3 different levels: easy; intermediate; advanced, and each version has its own instruction & playalong videos, totalling 5 hours.
Each instructional video is broken down line-by-line, demonstrating the skills & techniques needed to learn the song. In-video playalongs are used for single lines & full sections, allowing you to test your skills and chart your progress, before trying the full song arrangement with the separate playalong video.
The final song levels are most definitely advanced for beginners and would provide more experienced, intermediate players with new skills and challenges.
Once you’ve completed even a single level 1 easy song, you should find your musical chops have improved significantly!
What students say about the course
I have been “sitting” in the CBG course for beginners for 2 weeks now. I would describe myself as an advanced beginner. What I was missing was a real, serious learning program for 3-string CBG.
Well, what can I say? I found exactly what I was looking for! Easy to understand instructional videos, with backing tracks AND TABs. I am absolutely thrilled and practise for 30 minutes a day. Every CBG player should know: an absolute must-have!
Uli Kuder, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
I wish I had this course from the beginning, it’s solved a lot of problems. I find good solutions to aspects of my playing, and I’m working my way through to get rid of some mistakes and bad habits.
I absolutely recommend this course. I haven’t seen such a profound introduction to CBG. Sion doesn’t take it for granted that you know where to place your fingers, so he gives you exact instruction on how to play most efficiently.
Margrethe Damkilde, Midtjylland, Denmark
I have now had a couple of months’ worth of lessons using videos and tab notation from Coda. It has made a massive difference, I feel I have progressed enormously and much more than I would have done on my own.
Sion’s tab notation is much easier to use than normal tab which doesn’t show timing, and the videos are extremely detailed and easy to follow.
Peter Kennerley, Cambridge, UK
Learning Paths
- Once you have access, the welcome video outlines the Beginner Fingerstyle Course content and suggests ways to use the resources; there are several learning routes you can take.
- If you’re a thorough learner, it’s fine to work through all the exercise videos before trying the final songs (gradually learning the songs over the 3 levels of difficulty). This is a great approach but it’s not for everyone..
- Many guitarists like start playing songs straight away. If this is you, then it’s a good idea to check the 101 basics first: picking & fretting; posture & reading TAB; playing riffs & power chords. Combined with a brief look at the Fingerstyle patterns & riffs, you should find that you’re ready to learn & play the easy Swung Blues song. Afterwards, you can return to some of other exercise videos, providing you with the skills to start the intermediate & advanced versions.
- The final Country Rock song is great fun to play, but it requires a bit of familiarity with chord playing. Once you’ve tried the lessons on chords & strumming alongside fingerstyle chords, you should be well equipped to start learning the easy version.
- This Complete Beginner Course can also help you develop 3-string skills to a standard where you can start learning famous songs (check Coda Tuition on YouTube!) Cigar Box Guitar song arrangements appear across a range of difficulty levels, so you might want to learn a few easy tunes before returning to this course, where you can further improve before trying more challenging tracks.
About the Tutor
- I’ve been playing 6-string guitar for over 40 years, gigging for over 30 years and teaching for over 25 years, which I started before I completed my music degree back in 2000 (Leeds Uni – 1st Class).
- I’ve been a big fan of the blues since I was a kid in the 1980s but more recently, a student introduced me to the world of Cigar Box Guitar. After learning to play and teaching him for a while, I started releasing 3-string tuition videos on the Coda Tuition channel in 2018.
- I regularly teach face-to-face & online across a range of instruments & musical areas including:
Cigar Box Guitar (3 & 4-string, slide & fretted note styles)
6-String Guitar (electric, acoustic, classical & lap-steel)
Bass Guitar (fingerstyle, flatpick & slap technique)
Banjo (5-string Bluegrass & 4-string Tenor styles)
Mandolin & Mandola (standard & Irish tuning)
Ukulele (Tenor & Baritone tunings)
Music Theory, Production & Composition
- I teach 1-1 online Cigar Box Guitar lessons to students from various countries including:
UK; USA; Canada; Australia; Belgium; Denmark; Germany & Brazil. - I use my 1-1 teaching experience to help with creating video lessons, since there are certain learning methods which are particularly effective for beginners, and also common pitfalls which are good to both highlight & avoid.
- I’m also aware that it’s good to strike a balance between introducing useful musical info & technique, and keeping lessons fun & interesting so, I try to create this balance in the video lessons throughout the Complete Beginner Course.
I hope you have fun learning to play your 3-string Cigar Box Guitar and I hope this course helps you to complete several steps along your musical journey – happy picking! Sion Littledyke
