ON SONGWRITING
my decision to focus on melodic content in a lot
of my songs. Also, working on John Petrucci’s
solos and riffs from Dream Theater songs
definitely taught me about technique, creativity,
and patience. He is a masterful guitarist and I
am honored to call him a friend these days.”
Eventually, young Andy made the commitment
to put the plastic plectrum down and just use
his fingers. He offers advice to players on
how to take those first tentative steps into
fingerstyle guitar: “A good place to start is with
a tune you might be familiar with like ‘Dust in
the Wind’ by Kansas or maybe a Led Zeppelin
tune like ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or ‘Babe, I’m
Gonna Leave You.’ Something that you have
heard before, but isn’t too overly complicated.
Those tunes will get you using your pickinghand fingers and thumb in the context of a
finger picking pattern.”
“A pivotal moment occurred when I was 16 and
saw guitarist Preston Reed perform a clinic—
I was amazed at all the things he was doing
with his acoustic. I decided to get some of his
albums and an instructional video that he had.
Shortly after that, I discovered Michael Hedges,
Billy McLaughlin, and Don Ross, and they
became my four big acoustic influences. I
would spend hours working out their tunes
from the CD, trying to learn techniques and
tunings. I eventually started to work on writing
my own songs.”
Many players fret about not having longer
fingernails, which is often considered mandatory
by top fingerstylists and classical guitarists.
They claim that nails act something like plastic
picks and deliver a bright, crisp, and natural
acoustic tone. To that end, they either carefully
grow out their nails or have special artificial
ones professionally applied and maintained.
Surprisingly, McKee disagrees, which is great
news for players who nibble their nails or can’t
grow strong ones. “I’ve always played with just
the tips on my index, middle, and ring fingers.
“Ladies Night” by Preston Reed
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GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER
DIGITAL EDITION
DECEMBER SPECIAL