I would've called it something else. Fingerstyle. An odd word for such a complex technique.

It's a technique guitarists use where they use their fingers to pluck and strum the strings. Sounds simple enough, right? Yet remember that the modern way to play the guitar usually involves the use of a plectrum. A plectrum is a triangular shaped piece of plastic used to make contact with the guitar strings. It essentially mimics a human nail.

Some guitarists grow and shape the nails on their playing hand, which in my case, is my right hand. It makes me look like a part-time werewolf and therefore an utter creep. My fretting hand nails are kept trim. I do my best to hide my right hand in public. Hopefully that explains how a fingerstylist plays the guitar - it's obvious why I do this. 

I want to tell you why fingerstyle guitar is so enjoyable to practice. 

I think this is something most non musicians rarely consider - the sensation of playing. You hear the music, maybe you like it, you get the vibe...but the physical, visceral side of it - that's what you are missing. Only when you dance to a soundtrack, do you really connect with music. Yet, this is still far from the apex. There is still more to experience.

With fingerstyle, the whole guitar becomes a vehicle of sound. With the playing hand freed from gripping a plectrum, the guitarist can now utilise the entire instrument at their leisure. It feels natural to slap the guitar body, or run a nail along the bass strings to produce an abrasive sound. To tap and scratch the hardwood top, mimicking a hi-hat, shaker, and snare. A bump of the palm on the guitar body translates as a kick or heartbeat.

Where the plectrum limits the guitarist to a linear, confined spectrum of sound, by contrast, fingerstylists use one or any combination of four fingers to play a tune that opens up that spectrum exponentially. Then, there are techniques within techniques, like nail-tapping the strings, alternate index/thumb strumming patterns, strum-picking, etc. etc.

When I look at my guitar, I don't just see a guitar. I see a full orchestra.

Now, it's not just six-strings and few bits of wood. In the right hands, it becomes an agile, multi-dimensional thing. 

There's a reason why Jimi Hendrix famously used his teeth to play a solo. On first glimpse it looks silly. But it's not just showmanship. He wanted to explore and voice new tonal variety. 

And, of course, man was high af. He had also evidently got bored of using his plectrum.

There's also a reason why the whammy bar was invented. Pedals. Double neck guitars. 12-string guitars. They all have the same thing in common: they express a musical vocabulary, and they are all speaking a different dialect of the same language. 

So, imagine you have at your fingertips an instrument where you can bend and shape sound waves to your will. Where, by using every part of your hand (including bones) you have a way to give voice to loss, joy, hope, love, ambition, dreams, nostalgia, longing, envy, success, protest - the list continues - all can be voiced. Whatever you are experiencing in that moment, you can let it all out, right there, on that chair. 

And you don't need to say a word.  You don't need to think, plan; evaluate. You just need to sit and play the instrument of your choosing.  

That may sound hyper-esoteric. But I believe it. It is why I play. It's a way to let the self speak. Each hammer on and pull off, every slide and string squeak; the sublime tone of a perfectly plucked note, sweet harmonics, getting lost in exploring sonic variety, the feeling of the guitar and air vibrating with each strum.. among all the moments in-between that are too delicate to put into words.

I'd like you to go and listen to an expert pianist, cellist, or clarinettist. I call these butterfly musicians because they possess the ability to charm you instantly.

If no one comes to mind, start with the song Nightingale by Mammal Hands, which, surprise surprise, is a category of song I also have a name for - a pinnacle song. 

Listen closely, with headphones, sound high enough for it to bleed. 

The warmth, flirtatiousness, creativity, nuance, celebrations, stories...all offered to you, just waiting for you to discover.

In all my knowledge of this world, I don't think there is anything as divine as well played music - whether you believe in something spiritual or not - I'm talking strictly about what we can perceive with our Earthly senses.

It's about taking part in something metaphysical. I am grateful that everyday I can pursue it, and, at least, attempt to share it with others.