🎸 Step-by-Step Fingerstyle — ft. "Dust in the Wind"


LESSON #604
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Fingerpicking the "Dust in the Wind" Intro

Click to watch free video lesson

In this lesson I'll teach you to fingerpick the intro to Dust in the Wind by Kansas. This 16-measure sequence is an all-timer classic rock intro, and for the most part it's built around variations of two chord shapes: C major and A minor.

My lesson walks you through the various chord voicings used, then show you how to tackle the fingerstyle step-by-step. This gets your foot in the door with this song's intro, helping you build confidence with some semi-simplified arrangements while working toward the full version.

  • 0:00 Lesson Overview
  • 1:23 Step 1: Just the Chords
  • 4:21 Step 2: Bouncing Bass Notes
  • 7:45 Step 3: Syncopation
  • 9:29 Step 4: Intermediate Version
  • 11:44 Step 5: Full Version
  • 12:46 Additional Tips

Don't miss all my additional practice materials for this lesson! This includes step-by-step practice notes and zoomed playthroughs at five different skill levels.

Get all this on my Dust in the Wind lesson page »

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New to Travis-style Fingerpicking?

If the technique of alternating your thumb between bass notes (while fingerpicking) is new to you, check out these videos introducing the Travis Picking fingerstyle technique.

It took me quite a while to get over the hump with this fingerstyle approach — but once it finally clicked, everything got easier.

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Thanks for the Requests!

To all of you who requested Dust in the Wind over the last few years, I hope you enjoy! I'm always happy to hear what folks are curious to learn – and it makes my job easy when multiple folks are asking for the same song.

Until next time,

David

Browse all my lessons at songnotes.net

Song Notes by David Pots

Learn to play guitar with weekly video lessons & print-friendly guides! Learn your favorite songs & techniques with step-by-step tutorials that actually explain how to get from here to there.

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