Cotten picking, ‘picking and flicking’, open tunings, Travis picking and banjo techniques on guitar – learning Americana guitar styles opens up a whole new world for your acoustic playing

Chet Atkins onstage in 1993 playing his Gibson Country Gentleman.

In this lesson, we’ll look at the folk-blues fingerpicking style of Elizabeth Cotten, and revisit Maybelle Carter’s famous ‘pick and flick’ approach.

You’ll discover how folk legend Pete Seeger translated banjo techniques to the guitar, and then learn how the great Chet Atkins built on the Travis picking style to make it his own.