Mar 7: Putting your own Style in Fingerstyle with Jamie Stillway

Saturday, March 7, 2026

11am – 1pm

Dusty Strings 3406 Fremont Ave N

Maximum Enrollment: 16

Registration & Refund Deadline: Wednesday, March 4, 2026

As many fingerstyle pieces are learned by rote memorization, a guitarist may have some tunes under his or her fingertips yet lack the tools to develop the pieces any further. The goal of this workshop is to provide techniques to allow you to begin creating your own ideas and arrangements. We’ll discuss ways to integrate improvisation into your practice routine with scales and melodies, simple embellishments with harmonized string pairs, and ideas to support a healthy relationship with your metronome. 

Skills Needed: A familiarity with fingerpicking and ability to move freely amongst the first position chords. Some music theory knowledge is helpful, but not required.

What to Bring: Your guitar and a notebook. Audio recording of specific examples will be allowed. 

Teacher: Jamie Stillway has been quietly making her mark on the guitar world for over 25 years. Hailed by Fretboard Journal as “One of the top fingerstyle guitarists of her generation,” Stillway is widely regarded as a master of her craft who plays like a woman with nothing to prove. She has released nine albums to widespread critical acclaim, including five solo albums of original compositions. Her album, “City Static” was named by Paste magazine as one of the best albums of the year, and her most recent album “Lullaby for a Stranger” was released in late 2022 on Portland’s Fluff + Gravy Records. Her unique, minimalist compositions and elegant guitar style have inspired players all over the globe. Stillway is also an in-demand instructor and clinician, teaching at guitar camps and workshops across the country, including Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and the Swannanoa Gathering. She’s a regular contributor to Acoustic Guitar magazine and is also the host of the Fretboard Journal’s Guitar for Introverts podcast.

*Most classes and workshops are geared towards late-teens and adults. Younger learners will benefit most starting with private lessons.

If you have any questions about group classes, or the school in general, don’t hesitate to contact us at (206) 634-1662 or music@dustystrings.com.