I thought about titling this email "Five Fingerstyle Five FAQs," but that seemed like a lot of fives, and then too, there's a point at which almost any alliteration starts to wear out its welcome in a wicked big way.

But I digress. I've had some questions about the membership, and I thought I'd take a moment to answer some of the most pressing ones today. 

Note that if you've got a question not addressed below, you can bring it to tomorrow's live stream, when I'll be previewing April's "Statesboro Blues" material and answering questions about the membership on my Youtube channel:

Sunday, March 30, 2pm CDT

"Statesboro Blues:" A Fingerstyle Five Preview & Live Q&A

Ok, here we go:

How often is new material added to the website? 

There is new material added every month, and it arrives a few different ways, because each song is taught over the course of three months. 

The first month, you learn the tune itself; the second month, we work on improvising on that tune, and we spend the third month arranging it, which is a fancy way of saying "turning the tune into a complete song."

I post a new PDF at the start of each month, and also present three hour-long live streams each month. In the live streams, I go through all the material in the PDF, answering your questions along the way. (Once the lessons air, you can watch them later as well, whenever you want). 

The first month of each three-month cycle, I also post a series of short videos demonstrating the new song's main sections played slowly and at tempo.

Are workshops added weekly? 

The three live streams each month are run like the Groove workshops I held last week on Youtube: I post the PDF onscreen, go through each example in detail, and leave time for questions via chat (or pre-posted questions from the forum).

The membership includes an archive of every past live stream, plus some additional members-only workshops on subjects like fingerstyle blues chord substitutions, Freddie Green voicings, and music theory for guitarists.

Are specific “homework” items prescribed weekly?

Whatever is covered in a given week's stream is basically that week's "assignment," but the three-month schedule is designed to allow everyone the time and space to absorb the material at their own pace. 

Some people do work to keep up with the lessons as they arrive, but plenty of folks just pick and choose the material that best suits their level, their interest and their available practice time.

So if you want something new to work on each week, it's there for you. But you're under no pressure to work on any more than you have the bandwidth for.

 Is there a forum in which students can interact?

There is indeed a forum, with a friendly and enthusiastic group of folks who make regular use of it. It's a lively and informative community and the first place many people go with their questions about where to find a particular lesson or for advice about playing a certain chord voicing, song or lick.

Are you available to answer questions from students?

I answer as many questions as I can during each week's live stream. I am usually able to get to all of them, especially if they relate to the subject at hand. If your schedule doesn't permit you to attend the live streams in real time, you can also post questions in advance on the forum, and I do my best to collect and answer those during the lessons as well.

So there it is. If you've got a question (or five) of your own, drop me a line, and I'll address it in an upcoming FAQ. 

Or come to the live stream tomorrow afternoon on my Youtube channel, where I'll be previewing some of April's "Statesboro Blues" material and answering questions about the membership in real time for about an hour.

That's Sunday, March 30th at 2pm CDT. You can find the live stream here:

Statesboro Blues: A Fingerstyle Five Preview & Live Q&A

More soon,

David