Wikipedia tells us that arranging is officially defined as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation into something other than its original form." Anyone who's attempted to arrange original tunes or covers would readily agree that creating a fresh and interesting arrangement for multiple instruments is very challenging. Now try to craft -- and perform -- a great arrangement for solo fingerstyle guitar; just this side of impossible, right?! [William Tell Overture up and under] Enter The Lone Arranger!

Video Introduction

Click below for a sample video from the course

About the Guitar Lesson Plan

Interactive Video Guitar Instruction

LeAnn Rimes refers to him as a "genius." Artie Traum called him a "guitaristic force of nature." Fingerstyle Guitar touts him as the "king of the fingerpickers" and Guitar Player magazine calls his playing "fun, scary and always inspiring." Have a listen to Pete Huttlinger's signature arrangements and performances of tunes like Stevie Wonder's Superstition or Steely's Josie and you too will be spewing accolades.

Fortunately for we aspiring fingerstyle arrangers and mortal pickers, Huttlinger is also a passionate and prolific educator. Dozens of songbooks and DVDs present his original material, valuable insight and compelling arrangements. In The Lone Arranger, you'll find that Pete has never dug so deep into the art and science of his arranging genius as he does here in his first interactive video course.

To demonstrate how influential a creative arrangement can be -- even with the simplest of melodies -- Pete steps you through three arrangements of Mary Had A Little Lamb, each with a different feel and each using a different approach. Pete continues similarly with three arrangements of 500 Miles.

Next up is a thorough examination of a medley featuring a Huttlinger original called The Happy Moat, which leads into the traditional fiddle tune, Flowers of Edinburgh. The entire medley is played in DADGAD and so, along with a wide variety of arranging insight and technique tips, you'll also get a solid feel for this highly popular tuning.

In the final section of the course, Pete drills down on three of his original tunes; Goodbye Chester, The View and Things Are Looking Up. Pete performs each of the tunes at tempo and then breaks the arrangements down part-by-part discussing both the compositional and arranging choices that he made during the development process.

As you work through The Lone Arranger with Pete, you'll expand your own arranging and composing skills with a wide variety of technical, melodic, harmonic and creative approaches, which in turn you can apply to your own arrangements and compositions.

By unmasking his amazing fingerstyle arranging skills and methodologies, Huttlinger generously shares his silver bullets so that you too can become The Lone Arranger. Hi-yo, Silver! Away!

About Your Instructor

Pete Huttlinger

Comfortable with his guitar, a mandolin, a resonator, and other stringed instruments, Pete Huttlinger is a phenomenally talented musician whose work extends beyond stage performances and recording sessions into the world of education as well. His excellence as a teacher is evidenced on many instructional DVDs and other materials.

Guitar Player Magazine said, "In Pete Huttlinger's hands, a fingerpicked flat-top becomes a mini-orchestra. He juggles it all: a tune's melody, harmony, and bass lines-even percussion. His playing is fun, scary, and always inspiring."

Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine said, "Since graduating Cum Laude from Berklee in 1984, Pete has made his home in Nashville, where he has established himself as one of Music City's most respected. He is the 2000 winner of the Winfield Fingerstyle Championship and made his Carnegie Hall debut in January 2008."

In a 2007, article and interview, 20th Century Guitar Magazine said of Pete, "Inspired by guitar legends Chet Atkins, Earl Klugh and Tommy Emmanuel, guitarist Pete Huttlinger has a number of acclaimed instrumental albums and several guitar educational DVDs to his credit. Remembered as John Denver's lead guitarist in the years before Denver's death in 1997, Huttlinger shines on his 2007 CD, Things Are Looking Up. Like Tommy Emmanuel, Huttlinger is at his best in the solo finger style acoustic guitar setting, filling up all the parts of the song with his ten fingers and several backing musicians.