Hey guys, I hope you are having a fantastic Sunday.
Today I want to share a fingerstyle approach that I use all the time that changed my guitar playing drastically.
Every time I use this fingerstyle approach, people think I am strumming the strings as the sound is pretty close to a strum, but I am actually plucking the strings.
I call this approach “Rolling Fingerstyle” or rolling fingers, and it’s a weapon that you can add to your arsenal if you want to become more melodic and musical.
Honestly, guys, this is a guitar trick that will change your guitar playing forever!
Let get started.
The Video
Ready to Roll?
The Chord Progression
The first step is getting comfortable with the chord progression so learn the chords perfectly. Don’t worry too much about using the rolling fingers movement and pluck the strings simultaneously.
Once you become fluent with the chord change and the plucking strings are memorized, move on to the next step and experiment with the rolling movement.
We will learn a straightforward chord progression to apply this new fingerstyle approach.
The chord progression is: Am – G/B – C – Dm – Am – G
The Rolling Fingers Movement
Experiment with this technique on three different levels so that you can slowly make your way towards the perfect rolling movement.
The first step, start by plucking the strings slowly and truly memorize the movement. This technique is achieved by playing the chords starting from the thumb, followed by an index, middle, and ring finger.
Slowly increase the speed and reduce the gap between the notes (Second step).
Apply the movement on the other chords (Step 3)
The roll should be done quickly, and it should sound as close as possible to a strum.
I really focus on each finger, and I perform the movement quickly without emphasize any particular note.
Rolling Fingers and Melody
We can also apply the same rolling movement over a melody.
In this example, I will play a simple melody over the chord progression you learned above.
The melody will be played using the rolling finger movement between the thumb and middle finger.
Final Thoughts
This rolling movement changed my guitar playing, and there isn’t one single melody I play without using it.
Take your time to familiarize yourself with the technique and follow the three steps, so it doesn’t get too difficult.
I hope this lesson can inspire you and give you the sound you are looking for.
Usually, we use the Pentatonic scale to solo over a chord progression.
This scale is one of the most intuitive scales you’ll find on guitar, and it is so simple that any guitar player can easily start soloing using it.
But what about writing a melody using the Pentatonic scale?
Today we will be working on a simple fingerstyle melody for beginners in E minor. I wrote the melody using the Pentatonic scale only combined with a few simple chords.
This melody sounds bluesy and groovy, so I am sure you will have fun playing it. I also did my best to make the arrangement as simple as possible so that anyone can give it a try.
So what’s the catch? … There isn’t!
Have fun.
The Video
Melodic Pentatonic
I wrote this arrangement in E minor key to use the E minor Pentatonic in mainly one position only.
Just spend a few minutes playing around with this position before you start this exercise. It is easier to memorize the melody if you know the notes of the Pentatonic scales.
Check the diagram below.
The Intro
The exercise starts with a riff played on the bass notes.
I really like to play the phrase with the right-hand thumb, but you can always experiment and develop your own pattern.
The intro should be played quietly and with groove and not too fast.
One of the things that really gives a ton of groove to this intro is the percussive thumb slap played between the riff’s notes. It is indicated with a cross.
Check the intro below.
The Melody
I really wanted to come up with something bluesy and groove, so I wrote this arrangement using the Pentatonic in position 3.
This Pentatonic box is one of the most popular on guitar, and it sounds really nice with this chord progression.
One challenging part will be to change between melody and accompaniment, so I highly recommend practicing each bar separately then slowly putting everything together.
The Blues is one of the simplest styles of music of the 19th Century.
Today I want to show you how to play an easy 12 bar blues on your acoustic guitar using the fingerstyle technique.
In this guitar lesson, we are going to combine chords and melody. This is an entertaining approach because it allows you to play the melody along with the chords.
I did my best to write the easiest blues arrangement for beginners so that almost everyone can give it a try and have fun playing this easy Blues.
Watch the video several times to learn the sound of each chord, then grab your guitar and play along.
Let’s get started.
1. Twelve Bar Blues Structure Explained
The twelve-bar blues is the most popular blues structure in popular music. This structure is the number one formula every guitar player learns.
The most prominent characteristic of the twelve-bar blues is the use of Dominant 7th chords. These chords can be played in many different blues variations, but the most common twelve-bar blues is played with I7 – IV7 – V7 chords of a key.
This lesson will learn the 12 bar blues in A, or called “Blues in A.”
1.1 Twelve Bar Blues Structure n.1
Below you can see the blues structure presented in its most simple form. Notice that all the chords are Dominant 7th or called 7th chords.
Some of the chords will be repeated several times, others just twice.
I recommend that you play the chords along with the sheet music. Each chord should be strummed or plucked four times (as shown by the repeat sign) in a steady beat and as evenly as possible.
1.2 Twelve Bar Blues Structure n.2
A simple variation for the twelve-bar blues could be adding the D7 on the second bar.
This is a straightforward change that will make a huge difference, especially if you want to play a slow blues.
Adding the additional D7 chord on bar number 2 will make the blues progression less static and more lively.
2. Twelve Bar Blues Chords | Dominant 7th Chord
In this section, I will show you how to play the dominant 7th chords, also called blues chords.
The blues chord’s main characteristic is the extended 7th (the seventh note starting from the root note) added to the chord.
A basic major or minor chord is made of three notes, the I III and V degree of the scale. These three notes are the root note (I), the 3rd (III), and the 5th (V).
It’s time to learn how to play the twelve-bar blues chords.
As I mentioned, there are so many different ways of playing blues chords. Let’s get started with the blues chords for beginners, which are chords played in the neck’s first position.
Note: The disadvantage of learning such easy blues chords is that you can’t transpose them in a different key. If you want to play, for example, a blues in C major, you will have to learn the C7, F7, and G7 shape.
2.2 Twelve Bar Blues Chord Diagram with Bar Chords
Another way of playing blues chords is to learn the ones played with bar chords.
The advantages of learning the blues chord progression with the bar chords are that they can be easily transposed in different keys.
All you’ll have to do is move the chord in a different position to play a different chord. The shape will be the same.
Check the diagram below if you want to learn how to play the twelve-bar blues chord progression with bar chords. Notice that the E7 is played without the bar chord, but the absence of open strings makes this chord easy to transpose in a different neck position.
2.3 Twelve Bar Fingerstyle Blues Chords
Now let me show you my favorite twelve-bar fingerstyle blues chords.
The awesome thing about playing blues chords with the fingerpicking technique is that we can simplify the chords a lot.
In this section, I will show you how to play blues chords on three strings only. This is possible because we will only pluck the three most important notes of the Dominant 7th chord, the I – III – VII.
These are the notes we will play for each chord.
A7: A – C# – G
D7: D – F# – C
E7: E – G# – D
Check the tab below to learn the fingerstyle blues chords.
3. Twelve Bar Blues in This YouTube Lesson
Now that we discussed the basics of the twelve-bar blues, it’s time to dive into the lesson I posted today on my YouTube channel.
So far, I know that we only covered a few basics, but I trusted me. I really did my best to make this blues as simple as possible.
Also, I think that with the information you learned so far, playing the blues could be kind of boring. Nobody wants to strum a couple of dominant 7th chords all day long.
Instead, we will focus on how to play the blues on acoustic guitar using the fingerpicking technique. I don’t consider this lesson to be the “Blues for Absolute Beginner” type of thing but more of a simple, intermediate twelve-bar fingerstyle blues.
Learn one chord at a time if you have to, but don’t get demotivated just because it sounds difficult.
There are three elements in this twelve-bar blues (in order):
The melody
The percussion
The chord
3.1 Easy Blues Melody with The Pentatonic Scale
The melody in this blues lesson is straightforward.
Each red box contains many single notes (most of the time 4) that can be played with either a guitar pick or the right-hand fingertip.
The scales I used for the blues melody are the A major and A minor Pentatonic scale.
The melody structure goes as follows:
A7 and E7: Melody using the A major Pentatonic.
D7: Melody using the A minor Pentatonic.
3.2 The Percussion
Practice this simple percussive approach I call “Thumb Slap,” in which you strike the bass note with the thumb while simultaneously strumming the top three strings with the middle finger.
This percussive approach is only used one time for each bar.
Percussion in the yellow square.
3.3 The Blues Chords in This Lesson (Power Chords)
In this lesson, the chords are straightforward and different from what you learned in this article.
Because we are playing a slow shuffle blues, the basic blues chords for beginners, the blues chords with bar chords, and the fingerstyle chords we learned at the beginning of this article won’t work.
Instead, we are going to use a different type of chord called “Blues Power Chord.”
The Blues Power Chord has two notes only; the I and V. We can play around with the V degree and go up a whole step.
Notice how the chords in the square have two notes.
For the A7, you will play two notes on the 4th string. The first one is on the 4th fret, the F sharp note (F#), the 6th note from the Root note A. The second note on the 2nd fret, the E, is the 5th note from E.
We will follow the same chord structure for the D7 too.
Check it below.
4. How to Practice these Blues
I worked really hard to write the easiest arrangement for beginners. I don’t think there is any other way to make this solo easier than that.
If you are a beginner and want to start playing around with these easy Blues, you are more than welcome!
Follow these three steps:
Learn the melody first. Focus only on the top two strings and spend a little bit of time learning the melody.
Once you familiarize yourself with the melody, add the single percussion on the strings.
The last step will be to add the chords.
As always, take things step by step and learn one thing every day. Don’t get frustrated if one day you don’t see the progress. Keep moving forward and have fun playing guitar.
4. Additional Resources – The Pentatonic Scale in Blues
The Pentatonic scale is the most used in Blues.
This scale is just five notes (from the word Penta) and is the most popular scale for guitar players and other musicians.
One of the reasons why guitar players love the Pentatonic scale is its simple shape. The Pentatonic formula is straightforward:
For the major Pentatonic, only play the I II III V VI from the major scale.
For the minor Pentatonic only play the I III IV V VII from the minor scale.
Check the diagram below to learn the difference between the major and minor Pentatonic in A.
4.1 Difference Between the Major Scale and Major Pentatonic
4.2 The Difference Between Minor Scale and Minor Pentatonic
4.3 The Pentatonic Scale Positions
There are five different Pentatonic positions.
The Pentatonic scale is just 5 notes. If we play the scale from each degree (note), we will generate five Pentatonic shapes (also called Pentatonic positions).
Let’s take the A minor Pentatonic scale as an example.
The notes from the A minor Pentatonic scale are A – C – D – E – G – A. In the Tab below, I will write the scale starting from each degree of the scale.
Notice that the Pentatonic positions are numbered from the starting note. If we start the scale with the note G, which is the 5th degree of the scale, we will call this position “Position V.” If the scale starts with note A (1st degree), we will call this “Position I).
4.4 How to Memorize the Pentatonic Scale – Pentatonic Box Pattern –
One of the most effective ways to memorize the Pentatonic scale patterns is by visualizing the scale as a bunch of 1-3 and 1-4 patterns.
I was inspired by Steve Stine’s lesson called “1 Weird Trick to Memorizing Pentatonic Patterns,” He explains the Pentatonic scale can be easily visualized as a group of 1-3 and 1-4 patterns.
In fact, when you start playing around with the scale, you realize that the notes only have either two or three frets distance from each other.
Let me show you an example of the diagrams below.
Another scale is called the Pentatonic Blues scale, but we will not discuss this scale in this lesson.
Hey guys, I hope you are having a fantastic Monday.
I want to start this week with a great fingerstyle guitar lesson that can keep you motivated and focus on your guitar goals.
The majority of people hate Monday, so I am gonna do my best to give you a reason to smile and play some cool stuff on your acoustic guitar.
Today I will share with you a bunch of “Smooth Jazz Chords” in the key of D minor.
These chords are perfect for Jazz and Latin style, so I am sure you will love the sound of each one of them.
It is also a chance for many of you to try something different.
Grab your guitar and play along. It is time to learn smooth Jazz chords!
Let’s get started.
The Video
The Min7add9 Chord
One of the Smoothest Chord I know.
One thing that you will learn today is how to make chords sound smooth.
There are a ton of artists you can listen to on the radio to familiarize yourself with this particular sound. I am thinking of Sting or Sade, jazzy blues (like Robin Ford or Larry Carlton) to Wes Montgomery style (like Ritenour’s tribute to Wes album or Norman Brown) to R&B or Motown (like Smokey Robinson), etc.
Start analyzing all these artists, and you will easily find the same type of smooth chords I am about to show you.
One of my favorites is the Min7add9 chord.
Why so Popular
One of the reasons I like this chord so much is probably that it gives you the ability to combine the chord and a bass line easily.
In this example, I am playing this chord, followed by a Latin bass line that sounds perfect over this chord.
This is the example on the tab.
The red square is the bass line, which is easily played around the chord.
The yellow square is the chord that will remain the same.
The Chord Progression
Let me show you the smooth Jazz chords we will be learning today.
| Emin7add9 | % | Gmin7add9 | Emin7add9 |
| Bbmaj7 | A7b13 | Dmin7add9 | % |
The E minor and G minor will share the same chord shape and bassline, while the Bbmaj7 and A7b13 are perfect chords that we can use to end the chord progression.
Hey guys, I hope you are having a fantastic Sunday.
Today I want to share this fingerstyle guitar lesson with you for my intermediate/advanced guitar students.
We will be talking about fast chords in Spanish guitar and how you can transform simple triads into a powerful melody that will capture your audience and friends.
I am going to show you how to make fast chords the climax of your performance and how you can simplify a difficult fingerstyle pattern using the hammer on technique.
This is definitely not a lesson for beginners, so if you have been playing for few months, you might want to come back when you feel ready and have a look at the fingerstyle lessons archive to find the right tutorial for you.
Let’s get started, guys.
The Video
Chord Progression
How to Play Fast Chords
We will be working on one of the most famous chord progression ever played in Spanish music: Am – G – F and E.
I have recorded different fingerstyle lessons on this topic, but today, we will be focusing on transforming this simple chord progression into fast chords that sound melodic and captivating.
First of all, let’s learn the basic triads. Each chord will have three notes except for the E major, which will have a different melody.
Plucking and Pull-Offs
The second step to make these fast chords fluent is to learn the plucking pattern.
The good thing is, the pattern will be the same for the Am, G, and D minor chord.
We will be using a combination of plucking and pull-offs, and each chord will have the same structure of 3-3-2 notes per pattern.
Check the pic below. The Red square indicates the three notes pattern. The right hand for the red square will be the middle finger plucking the first note, then pull off and index finger, plucking the second string.
The Yellow square is the last pattern, which will play two notes only. Pluck these two notes with the middle finger and pull them off.
The E major
The E major chord will have a different melody, but it will keep the same rhythmic plucking pattern of 3-3-2.
I personally love the melody on the E major chord, and even though it can be considered one of the fast chords, it still resonates pretty well with the whole guitar part.
I was inspired by the song Malaguena and particularly by the Michael Lucarelli arrangement.
I had so much fun playing this captivating Spanish guitar intro on my acoustic guitar that I thought it would be a good idea to share this lesson with my tribe.
We will be working on the most played chord Spanish chord progression in A minor: Am – G – F – E, and I will show you how you can create beautiful Spanish guitar intro using the question and answer concept.
This intro follows a particular structure that I call “question and answer,” where two ideas communicate with each other to create a beautiful contrast between the two melodies.
This weekend is going to be awesome!
You can check this lesson down below and also learn the second part of this beautiful Spanish Solo on Guitar.
Enjoy!
The Video
Part 1 – Intro –
Part 2 – Melody –
Spanish Guitar Intro
Structure and Chords
One of the things that will help you create a beautiful Spanish guitar intro is learning how to structure the chords and melody so that they sound beautiful together.
In this example, I am going to use the “Question and answer” music concept in which the melody always follows the chord.
This simple musical approach is of paramount importance for many different reasons.
It gives structure to the intro.
It will help you with dynamics and tone.
It helps the audience to connect with the music.
The Question and Answer Explained?
In the tab below, I am going to show you the difference between the question and answer and why it works so well with this Spanish guitar intro.
The chords, marked with the red square, represent the question. Play the chords and let them ring out nicely. Pause for enough time and avoid jumping to the next bar.
The melody is marked with the yellow square, and we will refer to it as the “answer.” Play the phrase fluently without posing in the middle.
The Chord Progression
The chord progression is straightforward Am – G – F – E.
One thing that I like to do is to play the chord and let it ring out nicely before I start playing the melody.
Pause between the chord and melody to emphasize the “question and answer” so that the audience can connect with the music better and follow the structure.
What’s next?
What happens after the intro
I while ago, I have recorded a video called “Spanish Guitar Solo on Acoustic Guitar.” In this video, you will find the intro I am showing you today plus the next part right after the solo.
Here is my performance of the Spanish guitar solo.
Today I want to challenge all my guitar students with this beautiful advanced Spanish melody on acoustic guitar in A minor.
As you probably know, I love to play around with this simple chord progression that is so characteristic and full of passion.
There are hundreds of different ideas that guitar players come up with when playing around with these chords, and today, I am going to show you one of my favorites.
This Spanish guitar lesson is not for beginners. However, I encourage everyone to give it a try as it is always important to challenge yourself and try things that push you out of your comfort zone.
You can play this advanced Spanish melody on either Classical or Acoustic guitar.
Let’s get started.
The Video
The Chord Progression
Same Old Chords
One of the things you hear a lot when listening to Spanish guitar is the same chord progression repeated over and over again.
Hundreds of different melodies and songs were written using the same 4 chords, and today, it’s no exception.
We will be playing over the Am – G – F and E7 most popular Spanish chord progression.
The Advanced Spanish Melody
Once you familiarize yourself with the chord progression, move on to the melody.
There are two different phrases.
The first phrase is played in thirds and starts on the actual chord.
The second phrase is played in single notes, and it moves towards the next chord.
Simplified Melody For Beginners
This lesson is definitely not for beginners.
Two many things make this lesson difficult, so if you have played for just a couple of months, I highly recommend you come back when you feel ready.
However, if you feel you really want to try this guitar part, I suggest you try to simplify the melody like that.
What’s the happiest melody on the guitar? Today I will show you how to play a simple melody that sounds happy, fun to play, and perfect for beginners.
I was inspired by traditional African music, one of the most beautiful and inspiring music to listen to and play.
It sounds so positive and happy.
Today I want to share with you this simple melody that I came up with this morning while practicing over a chord progression in A major. Honestly, the simple melody could be a little bit better, but I didn’t have a lot of time to work on it.
I hope you are going to like it.
Grab your guitar and play along.
Enjoy.
The Video
The Chord Progression
This is one of the easiest chord progression you will find on the guitar.
A – D – A – E
The thing that makes this chord progression so happy and the simple melody so enjoyable is how we will play these chords using triads.
You see, guys, chords, and just a bunch of notes that sound good together, but they are not musical unless we make them.
We will be using an exciting right-hand approach that I call “palm muting fingerstyle,” We will mute the strings with the palm and pluck the strings with the thumb and index finger.
First of all, let’s start by analyzing the chord progression and learn how to play it using triads.
The Easy Triads
The first part of the melody will be played using three triads.
A major, D major, and E major
You can really decide to play the triads starting from any note, but we will follow a simple pattern where the chords are mainly played starting on the bass note.
Check the guitar diagram to learn the simple triads.
Palm Muting
One of the things I love the most about playing this music style is the “muffled” tone achievable with fingerstyle palm muting technique.
It is of paramount importance that you learn how to perform this technique correctly.
It is the same approach as the palm muting on electric guitar, with the only difference that we bill be plucking the strings with index and middle finger rather than use the pick.
Check the picture to learn more about the “Palm muting fingerstyle technique.”
Today I want to show you what I think is the most simple guitar melody that beginners can learn on fingerstyle acoustic guitar.
Every time I want to record a new lesson, I google it to see how other guitar teachers approach the topic. I don’t do it because I want to get the idea from them, but just see if somebody else teaches the same way I do.
Nothing exciting came up.
It looks like the majority of guitar teachers think of “Simple Guitar Melody” as a one-string melody or simple guitar riffs.
I don’t think that way, and today, I want to show you that “simple” can also be exciting and fun to play.
This lesson was inspired by the most popular song on classical guitar, “Spanish Romance.”
I have re-adapted the melody to make it more “pop” and simple to play so that any beginner guitar player can give it a shot and play something that sounds simple and musical.
Super excited!
Let’s get started.
The Video
Technical Features
The Simple Guitar Melody
The exercise is based on a simple idea in E minor entirely played on the first string (E), with the note range going from position one (fret 1) all the way up to fret 12.
Check the note range here. The note in red on bar number 2 is played on fret 12, which is the highest note you will be playing. The yellow color represents the lower note, E open string.
Three Strings Bar Chord
You will also encounter a three strings bar chord that will challenge your finger’s strength and stretch.
This is probably the most difficult part for beginners and a great opportunity to practice and improve your bar chord technique.
Keep the thumb straight down behind the neck and keep the index finger straight. Your strength will slowly improve.
To all my beginner followers who want to learn this simple melody but are afraid it will be too difficult for them.
Don’t freak out! Just start.
Without challenging yourself, you will name feel you are moving forward.
Face this challenge with a positive mindset and practice the difficult parts slowly.
My goal with this lesson is to make you feel like a “Non-Beginner” anymore.
This simple guitar melody pushes you right at the edge between beginner and intermediate, so if you want to take a step forward, learn it, record it, and share it with the world.
Chords are an amazing tool that any guitar player can use to create beautiful chord progressions or melodies.
One of the things I love the most is experimenting with different chord progressions and trying to come up with chords that sound “different” than the one I already know.
In this example, I will show you how you can spice up this simple chord progression in E major with some beautiful Stretchy Chords that sound nothing like the chords you already know.
You will need to slowly stretch your fingers if you want to play them correctly so, take your time and don’t rush.
If you are a beginner, I highly recommend coming back when you know more about basic chords and all the extensions Maj7, min7, 7, 9, 11, 13, and alt chords.
Grab your guitar, and let’s get started.
The Video
The Chord Progression
From Simple to Advanced
Now that you watched the video and what to play, I will get more into details and analyze the chord progression and show you how to play the chords.
The progression is Emaj7 – Amaj7 – C#m7add11 – Badd9 – C#m7add11 – Amaj7 – Emaj9 – Badd11
Each chord looks pretty simple on paper but waits until you play them.
Check the first 4 chords. IMPORTANT The last chord is actually a Badd9 chord and not a Bsus mentioned in the video and tab.
Spice up with Arpeggios
The second part of the chord progression is played with a nice arpeggio that sounds perfect with the chords.
Stretchy chords sound much better when arpeggiated.
