Hey guys, today I want to show you a really useful finger exercise that you can use to improve your finger’s stretch, finger dexterity, speed, fluidity and overall control.
I have been using this finger exercise myself since I started playing guitar and I still go back to it when I want to revamp my technique.
I call this exercise “Chromatic style” because is based on the famous chromatic approach which is so popular on guitar.
A chromaticism on guitar is achieved by playing two or more notes on adjacent frets. If you play a C followed by a C# you are playing a chromatic note.
In this exercise we will play a chromatic phrase of 4 notes on two strings. We will start with fret 1234 then slowly change position to make the exercise more challenging.
One things really important about the chromatic exercise is that you really have to take it step by step.
Doing too much in counterproductive!
At the beginning I would suggest between 5 and 10 minutes max. As your fingers get stronger, add more.
There are also a ton of different fingers variations but this is really the number one finger exercise to get started.
Sweet Chords that Sound Beautiful on Acoustic Guitar
Hey guys, I hope you are having a fantastic weekend.
Today I want to show you how to play sweet chords that sound beautiful on acoustic guitar.
In this guitar lesson we will be focusing on Maj7 chords and a simple melody played in octaves.
I really think that Maj7 chords are the most sweet chords on guitar. In this particular lesson, you will also learn how to make these chords sound more jazzy by playing a simple melody in octaves between the chords.
We are in E major key, which is one of the most beautiful key to play on guitar.
If you want to learn new simple chords that are different from anything you have been playing so far, check out this lesson and let me know if you like it!
You can get the tab on my Patreon page as well as on screen.
The major 7th chords are among the most sweet, jazzy and beautiful chords you can play on guitar. They are easy to play and with fingerstyle guitar things are even easier.
In this guitar lesson you will learn how to play the Emaj7 and Amaj7 chord as well as C#m and A chord.
The interval construction of the Maj7 chord is this one: Root, major 3rd, perfect 5th and major 7th.
Melody in Octaves
Once you are done learning the chords, you can then add the melody in octaves.
This particular melody sounds really jazzy and it shouldn’t be difficult to play and memorize.
I am plucking the melody with thumb and middle finger.
Simple way to Write a Melody on Guitar using the E minor Scale.
Hey guys, the weekend is just about to start and I am super excited to share with you this simple, yet super fun fingerstyle guitar lesson.
Do you know how to write a melody on guitar? No? Don’t worry, today I am going to show you how to do that in few simple steps.
In this video I don’t want to just give you a bunch of melodies to learn, instead I want to walk you through the system I use to write the lessons and exercises I publish on my YouTube channel.
Obviously this is a super simplified way of writing a melody and even though it works, is still the very first step. Some levels of writing, songwriting and composing are indeed quite complex and hard to master.
The goal is to learn a simple chord and write a melody using a simple scale fragment. We will really work on just three strings and one simple scale.
At the end of the video, I want you to feel that it’s possible to improvise a melody even if you never did it before.
This fingerstyle lesson is for any guitar player who want to learn how to write a simple melody on guitar using just few notes.
I really want to give you a set of tools that you can use to write simple phrases in E minor. There is so much to say and learn about this topic but we can’t cover everything in one video.
Time to start fellas. Grab your guitar and let’s get started.
This Tab is Available on Patreon. Become a Patron to access all the courses on site.
Hey guys, I have a question for you! Do you know how to make chords sound mysterious? No? Well let me help you with that.
Today I want to show you an awesome guitar trick that you can use on any minor chord to make them sound more mysterious, dramatic and dark.
I borrowed this concept from the famous 007 James Bond soundtrack which is one of the most genius, catchy and simple motive ever written. How is it possible that four chromatic notes can be so recognizable?
This simple trick works on any minor triad and can be used for any type of chord inversions.
If you are a complete beginner, you will probably hear words that sound new to you, such as triads, minor 6th, major 6th etc. Even if you don’t understand any of the musical terms in this video I still encourage you to try this lesson.
Music theory is important but not always necessary. If you are a fingerstyle beginner, give priority to your “fingers” and play things that make you happy and motivate you. Come back and analyze these chords when you learn more about music theory.
This is a guitar lesson for any guitar player who want to learn how to change simple chords into something “different”.
I hope you get inspired.
The Tab is Available on Patreon. Become a Patron an access all the lessons and programs on site.
Chords are one of the most versatile tool that we have in music.
A chord can express a state of mind, a color, an emotion or a particular situation. We can transform the sound of each chord by changing the basic intervals.
When we play around the perfect 5th of a minor chord, we can make it sound mysterious and dark.
We can break it down into three simple steps:
Play a minor chord.
Find the perfect 5th within the chord.
Raise the 5th half step up, twice. Keep the root and minor 3rd on the same fret.
In the example below notice how the perfect 5th is the only note that changes. The A and C remain the same.
Hey guys, today I want to try to answer one of the questions I get asked the most on my YouTube channel.
So many of you get confused between plucking chords Vs plucking a melody and I totally understand why.
Fingerstyle guitar is a really challenging approach and at the beginning, it isn’t easy to figure out how to pluck the strings correctly.
Most of the time we try to teach our self how to pluck the strings and everything seems to be ok until we hit a plateau.
We’ve all experience this awful moment of being stuck in a guitar rot right?
There is a massive difference between plucking chords and plucking a melody and today I am going to show you my fingerstyle golden rule that helped me figure that out.
This is a fingerstyle guitar lesson for any guitar player who wants to finally learn how to pluck the strings correctly and switch between plucking chords and melodies easily.
However, there is no such thing as one rule!
The fingerstyle rule I am about to show you work 80% of the time. You will have to figure out the other 20% by yourself.
I hope this video will answer some of the questions you have about plucking chords and melodies.
Basic chords are very simple to memorize as opposed to memorizing a melody.
Chords don’t “Move”. You could easily play around with a fingerstyle pattern over a static chord.
It’s easy to spice up chords and still keep them pretty simple to play.
Fingerstyle works perfectly with static chords as it make them sound better and more complex than what they actually are.
In this video, I am going to show you the fingerstyle golden rule over a very simple chord progression in E minor.
The chord progression goes like this: Am – C – D – Dsus
Notice that I actually start the chord progression with A minor rather than E minor.
Follow the video lesson to learn how to apply the golden rule over chords. I hope that once you learn this rule plucking chords will become an easy thing to do.
Fingerstyle Golden Rule on Chords
Pluck the bass notes with the thumb and always play the G string with the index, B string with the middle finger and the E string with the ring finger.
Plucking a Melody
The second part of the video will show you how to pluck a single note melody as well as chord melody.
I notice that a lot of guitar players get confused when they pluck single note as they don’t know which finger to use or, even worst, they end up playing everything with one finger.
I like to use alternate fingering when I play a single note melody. I use this rule 80% of the time.
Alternate fingering is probably the best approach you can possibly use when playing a single note melody.
There are a ton of different variations and plucking patterns that can be used as an alternative to alternate fingering but in this video, we will not cover them in this video.
Golden Rule when plucking a melody: Alternate fingering all the time and avoid plucking with the same finger.
Tab on Patreon.
Free Programs!
Create your BlitzGuitar Account and Access three Free Programs for Beginners and Intermediate guitar players.
My Fingerstyle Guitar Courses
Take your Fingerstyle to the Next Level
Here at BlitzGuitar.com you will also find a ton of fingerstyle guitar programs that can really transform your guitar playing.
Believe it or not, the right hand plucking thumb is probably one of the most important aspect of fignerstyle guitar.
I strongly believe that if you learn how to position the thumb correctly, you will also improve your plucking fingers as well as control and tone.
Why the fingerstyle plucking thumb is so important?
There are many reasons why you should learn how to correctly pluck the strings with the thumb but I think the number one reason is “Balance”.
So many guitar players pluck the strings incorrectly due to a wrong thumb position.
I was lucky enough to start as a classical guitar player when I was only 10 years old so my right hand was trained correctly since the day I started playing guitar and I really thought that every guitar player used the same approach.
I was wrong! In fact, over the past 15 years of teaching guitar I realize that the majority of guitar players who struggle with fingerstyle technique have no idea how to correctly pluck the strings.
Don’t worry though! I am here to help.
In this fingerstyle lesson I am going to show you a simple chord progression that will help you improve your fingerstyle plucking thumb.
Good luck!
Tab available on Patreon. Become a Member to Access All the Courses on Site.
One of the thing that I like the most about this exercise is its simplicity and musicality.
We will be learning a super simple chord progression in A minor and then we will add a bass line between the chords to challenge your fingerstyle plucking thumb.
It’s a very simple fingerstyle exercise perfect for beginners.
The chord progression goes as follows: Am – C – D – Fmaj7.
The Simple Plucking Pattern
In the first part of the video I am going to show you the fingerstyle pattern you will be playing over the chords.
In this section we are not playing the bass line yet so that you can focus on learning the chords and plucking pattern before adding the challenging line played with the thumb.
I find this fingerpicking pattern very simple however it could still be quite challenging depending on your level so take things steps by step and use the guitar tab on the video to make sure you learn the correct fingerstyle pattern.
The Thumb Position and how to pluck the Strings
As I said earlier the fingerstyle plucking thumb is one of the most important aspect of fingerstyle technique.
I thing the best way to pluck the string is to position the thumb in front of the finger and pluck the string with the side of the fingertip.
Also, the index, middle and ring finger will be plucking the strings using a 45 degree angle.
Check the picture below.
Take Things Step by Step
Guys, I tried to simplify this lesson as much as possible but it is almost impossible to make it suitable for anyone.
If you are a beginner take it step by step and realize that it might take a while before you fix and improve your fingerstyle plucking thumb.
Good luck with your journey and let me know if you have questions on my facebook page.
Tab on Patreon.
Free Programs!
Create your BlitzGuitar Account and Access three Free Programs for Beginners and Intermediate guitar players.
My Fingerstyle Guitar Courses
Take your Fingerstyle to the Next Level
Here at BlitzGuitar.com you will also find a ton of fingerstyle guitar programs that can really transform your guitar playing.
Hey guys, I hope you are having a fantastic weekend.
In this new video I am going to show you seven melodies perfect for rainy days.
I really like the minor sound of each phrase and while I was recording it started raining. Really inspiring moment!
The chord progression is very simple: Em – D – C. I am also only using the E minor scale in different positions.
The video was recorded in two different moments. First thing I recorded the backing track (available on Patreon) and I spend about 30 minutes playing and trying different ideas.
Then, I recorded the video. As you can see, there are no cuts so it is just one take.
I then wrote the tab (also available on Patreon) and finally uploaded the video.
Believe it or not, a 2 minutes video will take average between two to three hours to make so I really hope you like it.
Use the backing track and tab to learn the melodies then create your own phrases.
Good luck.
Tab Available on Patreon. Become a Patron, access all the courses on Site!
Most asked question: “Hey Marco, I am fed up of playing the same E minor chords, which type of chords can I use to change a little bit?”
Answer: Awesome Fingerstyle chords.
Fingerstyle chords are chords that sound awesome only if we play them using the fingerpicking technique. Actually, some of the chords I am about to show you are only possible in fingerstyle.
Try to strum away some of the chords I am about to show you and you’ll see how horrible they sound.
Fingerstyle guitar is awesome for many different reasons but I believe the number one thing is the ability to select which string we want to play.
This approach open up a ton of possibilities that are only available for those who decide to learn fingerstyle as opposed to strumming.
Strumming technique is great, just too limiting I guess.
In this fingerstyle lesson I am going to show you a bunch of awesome fingerstyle chords in E minor key that you can use to finally spice up the chords.
We will be using a lot of min7add9 and maj7 chords which are among the most beautiful chords you can play on guitar.
Guys, I am not saying that basic chords are useless. They are actually really important but I also want you to experiment with different possibilities.
By learning some of these shapes you’ll definitely add more colorful chords in your playing. You can then decide whether to used them or not.
I honestly think that fingerstyle chords are beautiful so I am gonna do my best to make you fall in love with them.
Grab your guitar and let’s get started.
The Video
Do you Need the Tab?
Become a Patron and get the full tab
Guys I am on Patreon. By becoming one of my Patreon, you will access all the tabs and extra content.
You will also support this channel and help me deliver the most amazing fingerstyle guitar lessons on the web.
We All Start with One Note.
Let me Give you the Right One!
Free Programs!
Create your BlitzGuitar Account and Access three Free Programs for Beginners and Intermediate guitar players.
My Fingerstyle Guitar Courses
Take your Fingerstyle to the Next Level
Here at BlitzGuitar.com you will also find a ton of fingerstyle guitar programs that can really transform your guitar playing.
Another awesome fingerstyle solo in D major over a backing track.
If your goal is to become a better fingerstyle guitar player, then this lesson will definitely help you!
Playing a single note fingerstyle solo on acoustic guitar is a magical experience for many different reasons.
For some of you it’s a new thing, which can boost your motivation and goals.
When you play a solo over a backing track you only focus on playing the melody.
Your rhythm and musicality will be challenged.
It’s fun to play!
In this lesson I tried to make each phrase simple and rhythmically accessible so that the majority of you can give it a try.
There are few things that you must follow if you want to play this fingerstyle solo correctly.
Listen to the examples several times. If you can sing the solo in your head, you are more likely to play it correctly when using the backing track.
The first and second solo are pretty symmetrical and easy to memorize so start with that and only move on to the third and fourth solo when you feel ready.
The backing track is available with or without metronome. Start with the one with the metronome (I know many of you will ignore this tip) before using the original backing track.
The right hand will inevitably double/triple pluck notes with the same finger. Don’t worry too much about it.
YouTube allows you to slow down the video. Use this option if you feel that the melodies are too fast.
This is an awesome lesson guys, but it’s also really challenging.
Take things step by step!
Good luck!
The Video
Do you Need the Tab and Backing track?
Become a Patron and get the full tab
Guys I am on Patreon. By becoming one of my Patreon, you will access all the tabs and extra content.
You will also support this channel and help me deliver the most amazing fingerstyle guitar lessons on the web.
We All Start with One Note.
Let me Give you the Right One!
Free Programs!
Create your BlitzGuitar Account and Access three Free Programs for Beginners and Intermediate guitar players.
My Fingerstyle Guitar Courses
Take your Fingerstyle to the Next Level
Here at BlitzGuitar.com you will also find a ton of fingerstyle guitar programs that can really transform your guitar playing.
Hey guys I hope you are having a fantastic day! I had a ton of fun recording these five fingerstyle patterns so I hope you are going to like the video.
As I mentioned before, when I don’t really feel like recording a guitar lesson I usually spend time playing around with different ideas. It could be a chord progression, melody or, like today, fingerstyle patterns.
Noodling around with a musical idea is something any guitar players should do sometimes to time. It’s refreshing and fun to just “play” without really thinking about what we are playing.
Now, plucking patterns are super important for finigerstyle players. We need them just like we need to drink water every day. Why? Because if you think about it, every time you play something, you are using a fingerstyle pattern.
In this video lesson I am going to play a bunch of awesome fingerstyle patterns for beginners that you might wanna learn.
At the beginning of each example I will play the patter with muted strings before I play the exercise. This is an awesome approach that will help you learning the pattern better.
Each example is different and uses a different rhythmic and musical idea.
There is no particular order so feel free to start with the pattern you like the most.
Enjoy the lessons guys.
The Video
The Spanish Thumb Pattern
This fingerstyle pattern is perfect if you play single notes or arpeggios just with the thumb.
We are in A minor key and the chord progression is Am – G – F – E7.
Notice how the plucking pattern repeat itself several times with the chord followed by the melody. Make sure you learn both parts as the second time I am adding few extra notes to space up the melody.
Rhythmic Percussion Pattern
The second example is in the key of E major and it is one of my favorite fingerstyle pattern. I use it a lot!
The chord progressions goes as follows: E – F#madd11 – C#min – Add9.
One of the thing that really make this pattern awesome is the percussive note on the 2nd and 4th count of each bar. The percussion is performed with the thumb.
The Middle-Index Plucking Pattern
Here we will play a continuous pattern using the middle and index finger. The middle finger will always pluck the E string while the index finger will pluck the B string.
I am using very simple chords based on two notes only. I honestly love this way of playing the chords with simple ideas.
Your fingers get tired easily when practicing this exercise.
Classical Guitar Pattern
This is one of the first fingerstyle patterns I played when I first started playing guitar. A lot of classical pieces are written using this pattern.
The chord progression is very simple and we are only playing A minor and E dominant 7th chords in different inversions.
It’s a fun pattern to learn!
Triplets in E minor
The last pattern is played using triplets.
This particular fingerstyle pattern reminds me of Spanish Romance, one of the most famous classical piece of all times.
It can be challenging to play the triplet evenly so use a metronome and don’t give up.
Do you Need the Tab?
Become a Patron and get the full tab
Guys I am on Patreon. By becoming one of my Patreon, you will access all the tabs and extra content.
You will also support this channel and help me deliver the most amazing fingerstyle guitar lessons on the web.
We All Start with One Note.
Let me Give you the Right One!
Free Programs!
Create your BlitzGuitar Account and Access three Free Programs for Beginners and Intermediate guitar players.
My Fingerstyle Guitar Courses
Take your Fingerstyle to the Next Level
Here at BlitzGuitar.com you will also find a ton of fingerstyle guitar programs that can really transform your guitar playing.
