Matt Thomas - Beginning & Intermediate Level Fingerpicking
Saturday, September 24, 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Everyday practice and right hand "Calibration"! These exercises help the player first "feel" the strings and feel at home with 'your' guitar.
Thumbpicking patterns to create groove and rhythms. Gaining thumb-independence.
How to place a melody on top of fingerpicking.
About Matt Thomas
A master of the acoustic guitar, Matt Thomas brings technical wizardry as well as a vibrant and poetic music making experience. This has made him one of the most distinctive fingerstyle guitarists performing in the acoustic guitar arena today. He takes his audience on a vivid scientific themed journey throughout his shows, peppered with exciting stories and odd finding that inspire his music. A true character of all sorts!
An acoustic guitarist of astounding strength, ability, control and sensitivity are almost as striking as his technical expertise. Intricate fingerstyle technique, with an uncanny gift for melodic invention, Matt Thomas delivers a flawless performance every time.
At the age of 33, Matt Thomas has gained some large credit in the world of fingerstyle guitar. In 2019, he won 1st place at the International Fingerstyle Collective Competition and will be going on tour in China in 2020! In 2017, he won 3rd place at the Walnut Valley International Fingerstyle Competition in Winfield Kansas. He won 1st place in both contemporary thumbpicking and open style at the Home of the Legends International Thumbpicking Competition. The following year, he returned to be inducted into the Thumbpickers Hall-of-Fame and was asked to compete again which resulted in another 1st place win in contemporary fingerstyle, and 2nd in traditional thumbpicking. Along with being a decorated fingerstylist, Thomas is very well known for his Harp Guitar compositions and being a long time member/performer of the Harp Guitar Gathering.
Some influences are Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Jerry Reed, Buster B. Jones, Stephen Bennett, Petteri Sariola, Alexandr Misko, Pat Kirtley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Django Reinhardt, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Andy Mckee, Adam Rafferty, and Tommy Emmanuel.
In the decade that Thomas has been playing fingerstyle professionally, he has performed with such greats as Stephen Bennett, Muriel Anderson, Alexandr Misko, Michael Kelsey, Joscho Stephan of Germany, Gareth Pearson of Wales, Beppe Gambetta, Peppino D’Agostino, Wayne Henderson, Richard Smith, Daniel Champagne, Christie Lenee, Travis Bowman and even guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel.
Along with sharing the stage with some of the worlds best musicians, Thomas performed at some of most prestigious acoustic festivals in the nation including Merlefest, the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS) Convention, The Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield KS Main Stage) The Annual Harp Guitar Gathering, Since then, he has performed at countless music festivals across the east and west coast. In 2020, He is scheduled to perform at several prestigious guitar events such as Artisan Guitar Show, La Connor Guitar Show, Fingerstyle Collective Festival, The Woodchoppers Ball, and a China Tour for Mayson Guitars.