Entries Open For First Ever All India Fingerstyle Guitar Competition

Fingerstyle Competition judges – Claus Boesser-Ferrari (left), Konarak Reddy (top right), Peter Finger (bottom right)

Much before the plectrum was cool, guitar players were [and still continue] playing fingerstyle. While genres such as flamenco employ fingerstyle, every time you hear artists such as Andy McKee, Kaki King or Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela’s track, you’re onto some of the best new fingerstyle guitarists.

Bengaluru-based veteran guitarist Konarak Reddy, who fuses Hindustani classical and carnatic styles while playing fingerstyle, also agrees that artists such as McKee are keeping fingerstyle in the limelight. Reddy, who has been playing guitar for the last 30 years, is now organizing the first ever All India Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Bengaluru next month. Says Reddy, “We are looking to evolve the love for music and get students to aim for a high art rather than only commercial appeal.” The guitarist hopes that the competition will shed much more attention on fingerstyle. Judges for the competition include Reddy and German fingerstyle guitarists Peter Finger and Claus Boesser-Ferrari, who will also perform in Bengaluru on August 22nd and 23rd. Says Boesser-Ferrari, who includes percussion-style playing with fingerstyle about performing in India, “I will perform some groovy pieces written by myself, soundtracks of bad German western movies, abstract sound sculptures and special versions of compositions by Hanns Eisler, Fred Frith, Jimi Hendrix and others.”

Entries for the contest are open from now until August 7th, after which winners will be announced on August 12th.The three judges will also conduct a guitar clinic and give away the Fingerstyle awards to winners on August 24th.

To enter the All India Fingerstyle Guitar Competiton, submit two 5-minute Youtube videos, your name, age, contact details and photograph in an email to konarak_reddy@yahoo.co.in with ”˜Fingerstyle entry’ in the subject line. Entries close on August 7th. More details here

Watch Kaki King perform percussive fingerstyle in “Playing With Pink Noise”


Watch Andy McKee perform “Rylynn”

Watch Rodrigo y Gabriela perform “Tamacun”