The guitar is a wonderful ensemble instrument, and as the theme of this year's Bethlehem Guitar Festival attests, perfectly suited for a duo.

But many fingerstyle guitarists, including Grammy and Academy Award-nominated Thom Bresh, son of Country Music Hall of Fame great Merle Travis, prefer to go it alone.

Ever since he was old enough to hold a guitar pick, he's followed the unique fingerpicking style his father made famous, bringing it to new audiences. He'll demonstrate that technique in Bethlehem Friday, with a program of his own compositions as well as some Travis classics, such as ''Dark as a Dungeon,'' ''Sixteen Tons'' and ''Nine Pound Hammer.''

Travis' trademark style incorporated elements of ragtime, blues, boogie, and Western swing, and was marked by rich chord progressions, harmonics, slides, and bends, with rapid changes in key.

''It's a solo style, a style that allows you to play without having a band. You're playing the rhythm, the bass,

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