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Student reviews

Zero to Learn Fingerpicker in 30 Days

What students mention

Showing all 492 written reviews
  • Brad G.Jun 2021

    Clear and concise; it appears from all the reviews that everyone seems to feel the same way. I put my Martin down 40 years ago and focused on raising a family. 3 successful sons later and those sons are all raising their own family’s. I am still recovering from three spinal surgeries and life at 70 is far different from what I had planned; fortunately I can pick up my much newer Martin GPCPA4 and start learning again. I don’t know anything but “Finger Style” guitar (strumming is much more difficult than most people assume). I dropped into Gryphon Strings back in 1978 and found an instructor/mentor; (a Mr. Ed Johnson?) I believe - my memory is a bit questionable these days. He would chart out the songs on the spot using 18 inch lined paper. We would work on Paul Simon, CrosbyStills & Nash, (who wrote “Horse with No Name?) great Beatles songs etc. It was a fantastic learning experience, the music was wonderful. Ed also helped me find an incredible guitar a beautiful Takamine dreadnaught which my 2nd son has in his keeping. The Takamine was a 2nd which Ed explained and the price reflected it. Ed was able to find the small flaw in the finish, not in the build and made it accessible to my budget. Stick with Patrick O’Malley and enjoy the ride. It is a rapid learning curve and will last a lifetime. Mister Brad

  • Prajnashu D.Aug 2024

    I initially enrolled in a comprehensive guitar course but soon realized it would take a lot of time to start playing songs. That's why I decided to try this course, which is shorter and allows you to start playing some songs within the first week. While it's true that you can't skip a full guitar course if you want a complete understanding, being able to play songs early on boosts confidence and keeps the learning process fun. I plan to go back to the full course now and recommend this approach for any beginner. As for this course, Patrick's voice was soothing and brought a sense of calm that is really helpful when you're just starting out. The videos were clear, concise, and straight to the point with instructions. Patrick emphasized the importance of practicing and not rushing through things, which is crucial. I appreciated that he broke down complex pieces into simple steps before combining them into something truly enjoyable to play. Overall, a great course—thanks for being a part of my guitar journey!

  • Jeff H.Dec 2021

    Excellent course! What I really like about it is the conciseness, clear instruction and pacing. The shorter length of this course than many other guitar courses is very appropriate because it teaches techniques that take a lot of practice to master. A few minutes of instruction serve as guidance for hours of practice. Another thing I really appreciate is that the instructor gives you an idea of where a technique is going and the final sound before diving into the technique at learning pace. He also moves back and forth between slow and normal pace frequently, which I found to be an ideal way to learn. At learning pace, it's often difficult to get the sound of where you're going in your head. But obviously, going at full speed is too fast to clearly see the technique. Moving back and forth between the two provides the perfect learning environment! Highly recommend it!

  • Logan C.Feb 2021

    I am an intermediate guitarist, I guess. But I have never taken lessons for fingerpicking or even really practiced in a formal way. In fact, I've never taken lessons at all. I saw a YouTube video of somebody's 6 year progress at fingerstyle guitar and felt motivated. I searched for a course and decided to give this one a try. I'm a little more than halfway through as I write this and, I must say, it has been a really positive experience. I can feel my right hand becoming accustomed to fingerstyle guitar as the 'muscle memory' develops. I'm still a bit clumsy (especially my 'A' finger/picking hand ring finger), but I know I have a ways to go. At any rate, this course is teaching me how to study this technique, so that I can improve for years to come. Thanks, Patrick.

  • AidanJul 2018

    Excellent course. I would class myself as an intermediate player, but being self thought I always winged it when it came to fingerpicking. This course breaks down the fundamentals in a linear and logical manner. Giving great ideas as to how to actually practice fingerpicking, as well as real life examples, so as to demonstrate the why rather just the how. My only suggestion would be it that might be nice to have a video or two at the beginning to describe exactly how best to place the fingers of the right hand to the string, and which part of the fingers should be making contact, as well as more on the actual movement and how it should feel. this is a minor thing, and most players will probably just get a feel for it, overall a great course, thanks!!

  • Scott G.Nov 2018

    I've been playing guitar for years and was pretty much self taught on any kind of finger picking. Since I leaned more towards hard rock I got by with what I knew. However, this is one aspect of my playing that has always been lacking and I decided to take this course. First, Patrick is very professional and explains things very well. I enjoyed his presentation and learning along. I will say this, it's a challenging course, particularly the Travis picking section. I'm going to go through this again, and probably again before I feel comfortable enough to move on to the intermediate course. If you've never learned to fingerpick and want a challenge, this is the course for you!

  • Vanessa T.Jun 2020

    The different fingerpicking styles and techniques were good to learn. However, it could be made even better if the trainer was slightly more engaging, and he elaborated on certain steps more. This is especially true for the video "In the style of Simon and Garfunkel" where little explanation was given as to how he played the different patterns. Only one pattern was elaborated on, although I understand he would've wanted to keep it short, as a student I would have been interested to learn the full thing as it sounded really good and what I came here to learn. Nevertheless, thank you! :)

  • Paula G.Jan 2017

    I am loving this course. The lessons are clear and easy to follow and the videos are really good. I also like the e book that comes with the course that patrick emailed to me. I am finally learning how to play the guitar something i never thought possible as i am so not musical. Patrick is a great teacher and i look forward to my lessons. I would definately recommend this course to anyone who like, me always wanted to learn guitar but didnt think they could do it. Its much better than some of the other online music lessons out there!

  • Chris A.Jan 2019

    Patrick's course is a great way for guitarists to begin learning fingerpicking style guitar playing. I've been playing guitar for 20 years, but had never really learned to play in the fingerpicking style, so I really wanted to get back to basics and learn the style in a methodical and structured way. This course has provided me with exactly what I was looking for, with the added bonus of an instructor like Patrick, whose lessons are clearly communicated in an engaging and relaxed fashion. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to learn fingerpicking on the guitar.

  • ThovartApr 2021

    It's clearly states it the overview that you DON'T need any previous experience. I'm total beginner and I'm struggling to understand anything from this course. You really need to put yourself down to the level of a total beginner - at least explain how strings are plucked. There is zero amount of technical details. PDF material is different from what you are playing. As a total beginner this is extremely frustrating. Please at least attach guitar pro tabs for major pieces in each section.

  • Kurien J.Mar 2020

    I think Patrick has done justice to the beginner level Fingerpicking style of Guitar playing.. I feel happy doing this course with his guidance. Of course a lot of practise I still need to put in to perfect the skills. But I understand and get his teachings and I feel I am making good progress with fingerpicking style. I have also purchased his other 2 courses, Intermediate and Advanced which I will step onto in the coming days. So, thanks Patrick.

  • Christopher M.Nov 2020

    Very basic, definitely for absolute beginners. The songs available are "in the style of" which means they aren't the full songs (one is just 10 measures, not even a full intro to the song) so you don't actually get full songs. Would not recommend for someone like me who has the basics already down and is looking for a refresher course. Was easy to follow along though and there were still some good helpful tips I didn't have before.

  • A studentMay 2022

    the course is good but could be better. in the lessons you can not play together with patrick b/c no count-in and the speed varies during an excercise. the material is inconsistent with what is explained in the lession e.g. there are two bars of C before changing to G but patrick plays 4 bars of C before changing, etc. many errors in the material. nevertheless overall a good jump start into fingerpicking technique.

  • Suvadeep S.Mar 2020

    I happen to be playing guitar for a little over three years, and have tried a few finger pattern courses. This one happens to be the best, as it lays the foundations in an easy to understand manner, and builds up the skills with plenty of exercises. This course has helped me understand and augment my skills with the basics to go onto more complex things. Patrick you are a great teacher. Thank you!

  • Leonard S.Nov 2018

    Patrick O'Malley is a great instructor - Just the right combination of information. I like that he did not go into a great deal of musical theory, but rather stayed with real practical information to learn finger picking. The course built on past lessons until you became increasingly more competent at finger picking. I am going to look right now for other courses taught by this great instructor. Looking now for Patrick O'Malley!

Reviews are from enrolled students. Reviews from before 5 November 2026 were imported from our previous course platform.

Zero to Learn Fingerpicker in 30 Days★ 4.5 · 2,422 ratings
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