Thermodon1
Verified buyer
10/29/25
Flat out good
Good
Flat Out Flatpicking
Essential Skills, Techniques, and Creative Approaches for Flat Picking
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About this course
TrueFire Foundry courses are independently produced courses presented by a hand-picked selection of top-notch artists and educators from around the world. Filmed in the educator’s own studio, Foundry courses bring fresh educational concepts and very effective teaching methodologies to TrueFire Students. Roberto Dalla Vechia Foundry course, Flat Out Flatpicking will show you the essential skills, techniques, and creative approaches you’ll need to become an accomplished flatpicker.
Hello I'm Roberto Dalla Vechia — welcome to my TrueFire Foundry course, Flat Out Flatpicking, which I produced in my own studio.
Tone, timing, taste, speed, rhythm chops, ear are all essential skills that guitar players from beginners to professionals need to address on a regular basis. These are the skills that we admire so much in our guitar heroes.
We will spend eight weeks together learning flatpicking songs and practicing solid acoustic guitar fundamentals, each week focusing on a different one. Each skill could easily be an eight week course by itself, but here we will focus only on those aspects that are crucial to establish a foundation to build upon.
I'm not a big fan of exercises and prefer to have students learn how to play songs, which songs focus on the particular skills and techniques that the student needs to study and develop. And this is exactly what well do!
You'll be learning a new song in every section of the course applying the ideas and tips that we’ll focus on in that section. For example, in the fourth section, we’ll focus on speed: I will first demonstrate ways to improve speed and accuracy in your playing, and then show you how to play Typewriter Guitar, a simple song that works great as a study to improve hand synchronization and speed. Throughout the entire course, we’ll work together in this way to build up your skills and take your guitar playing to the next level.
Ready to get started? Grab your guitar and let’s get started with Flat Out Flatpicking!
NOTE! Roberto Dalla Vecchia organized the course into 8 weekly sections for those students that prefer to have a specified regimen of material across a specified time schedule. However, for those students who prefer to work at their own pace, or even skip around you are certainly encouraged to approach the course in that way as well.
Hello I'm Roberto Dalla Vechia — welcome to my TrueFire Foundry course, Flat Out Flatpicking, which I produced in my own studio.
Tone, timing, taste, speed, rhythm chops, ear are all essential skills that guitar players from beginners to professionals need to address on a regular basis. These are the skills that we admire so much in our guitar heroes.
We will spend eight weeks together learning flatpicking songs and practicing solid acoustic guitar fundamentals, each week focusing on a different one. Each skill could easily be an eight week course by itself, but here we will focus only on those aspects that are crucial to establish a foundation to build upon.
I'm not a big fan of exercises and prefer to have students learn how to play songs, which songs focus on the particular skills and techniques that the student needs to study and develop. And this is exactly what well do!
You'll be learning a new song in every section of the course applying the ideas and tips that we’ll focus on in that section. For example, in the fourth section, we’ll focus on speed: I will first demonstrate ways to improve speed and accuracy in your playing, and then show you how to play Typewriter Guitar, a simple song that works great as a study to improve hand synchronization and speed. Throughout the entire course, we’ll work together in this way to build up your skills and take your guitar playing to the next level.
Ready to get started? Grab your guitar and let’s get started with Flat Out Flatpicking!
NOTE! Roberto Dalla Vecchia organized the course into 8 weekly sections for those students that prefer to have a specified regimen of material across a specified time schedule. However, for those students who prefer to work at their own pace, or even skip around you are certainly encouraged to approach the course in that way as well.
What you'll learn
- Apply hammer-on techniques to different chords
- Play melodies by ear
- Add musical variations to basic chord progressions
- Understand grace note concept
- Understand how to use a metronome to improve rhythm
Release date: 12/01/2014 • 2h 05m runtime
Sample lessons
Week 1: Strumming Patterns 1-5
Overview
Week 1: Strumming Patterns 6-11
Overview
Week 1: Wabash Cannonball
Back up
Week 7: Foggy Mountain Special - Part 1
Don't Stop and Play Cleanly!
What's included
32 lessons • 16 charts • 19 Jam Tracks
Welcome to Flat Out Flatpicking! What are the skills that all great flatpickers have in common? Tone, timing, taste, speed, rhythm chops, ear, etc. These are the skills that we admire so much in our guitar heroes. These are all essential skills that guitar players from beginners to professionals need to address on a regular basis.
In this course, we will practice these acoustic guitar fundamentals. While the course was designed to be worked in 8 week-long sections, you can spend as long as you need to master each one. Grab your guitar and let's get started!
In this course, we will practice these acoustic guitar fundamentals. While the course was designed to be worked in 8 week-long sections, you can spend as long as you need to master each one. Grab your guitar and let's get started!
There is a time and place for these variations. They are used only to add color to the original bass/strum pattern. Do not go overboard!
Aside from helping you become a better guitar player, these patterns will also make you a better overall musician for any band that you care to join.
Aside from helping you become a better guitar player, these patterns will also make you a better overall musician for any band that you care to join.
There is a time and place for these variations. They are used only to add color to the original bass/strum pattern. Do not go overboard!
Try this exercise: choose one variation (one that you like a lot), pick a song, any song, and see when and where you can play that single variation in your back up. Next, choose another song and again include that same variation in your playing. Do this over and over and eventually that single variation becomes second nature and it will stay with you forever!
No, you are not done already. After that, choose another variation and start the process over....you see there is no end to it!
Try this exercise: choose one variation (one that you like a lot), pick a song, any song, and see when and where you can play that single variation in your back up. Next, choose another song and again include that same variation in your playing. Do this over and over and eventually that single variation becomes second nature and it will stay with you forever!
No, you are not done already. After that, choose another variation and start the process over....you see there is no end to it!
After practicing all those strumming variations, it's time to include them in your back up playing. Here's my backing part for "Wabash Cannonball", I used several of the ideas you've already studied. My arrangement wants to be just an example of what you can do. Learn it but don't stop here, go on and make up your own arrangements!
Guitar tone depends on a number of things, let's focus on your picking hand and your pick.
Let's start off by looking at what kind of pick to use and how to hold the pick. Picks come in a wide variety of shapes sizes and thicknesses. It's a good idea to go down to your local music store and buy a variety of picks so that you can see what works best for you.
The angle of the pick on the string is something that you need to be aware of. Some players angle the pick up or down and some keep the pick parallel with the string. This is more of a personal preference but I have found that most players angle the pick downward. I would encourage you to look up some videos of your favorite players and see what their right hand technique is like.
Let's start off by looking at what kind of pick to use and how to hold the pick. Picks come in a wide variety of shapes sizes and thicknesses. It's a good idea to go down to your local music store and buy a variety of picks so that you can see what works best for you.
The angle of the pick on the string is something that you need to be aware of. Some players angle the pick up or down and some keep the pick parallel with the string. This is more of a personal preference but I have found that most players angle the pick downward. I would encourage you to look up some videos of your favorite players and see what their right hand technique is like.
This song is all about playing from the heart with dynamics. It's so important to control the volume of the chords and of notes as we play. Dynamics is one of those subtle qualities that makes a guitar player sounding like a pro.
We really need to keep this in mind and learn to use dynamics in everything we play: a song, a solo, a musical phrase...very often a single note in a measure is more important than all the other surrounding notes and we have to play it louder.
Music is what feelings sound like!
We really need to keep this in mind and learn to use dynamics in everything we play: a song, a solo, a musical phrase...very often a single note in a measure is more important than all the other surrounding notes and we have to play it louder.
Music is what feelings sound like!
This song is all about playing from the heart with dynamics. It's so important to control the volume of the chords and of notes as we play. Dynamics is one of those subtle qualities that makes a guitar player sounding like a pro.
We really need to keep this in mind and learn to use dynamics in everything we play: a song, a solo, a musical phrase...very often a single note in a measure is more important than all the other surrounding notes and we have to play it louder.
Music is what feelings sound like!
We really need to keep this in mind and learn to use dynamics in everything we play: a song, a solo, a musical phrase...very often a single note in a measure is more important than all the other surrounding notes and we have to play it louder.
Music is what feelings sound like!
+ 25 more lessons
Reviews
3 results
stu-bass
Verified buyer
07/04/25
A Beautiful Way to Play
Simply put, Roberto will introduce you to a beautiful style of playing while making the serious process of skill building fun. Bluegrass skills can be used to great advantage for a any style of playing.
Lance
05/05/22
Great Selection of Tunes!
I really appreciate the selection of tunes here. They are approachable but challenging to learn and make for great flatpicking practice. I'm really enjoying working through these.
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