Today I am going to show you how to combine strumming with fingerstyle technique over a simple yet beautiful chord progression in D major.
Strumming and fingerstyle technique are the two main guitar technique available on acoustic guitar.
What’s the difference between strumming and fingerstyle?
With the strumming technique, you brush the strings up and down with your fingers or a guitar pick. Mainly used for playing chords, it is probably the number one technique most guitar players start with as it is simple, intuitive and very rhythmic.
Fingerstyle, on the other hand, is a guitar technique in which we pluck the strings with the right-hand fingers. With the fingerpicking technique, you can combine chords, rhythm, and melody.
In this guitar lesson, I am going to show you how you can combine both techniques to create dynamics, colors, and movements within your favorite chords and melodies.
Hey guys, welcome to the lesson 10 from the Fingerstyle Chords Program vol.1.
In this lesson I am going to show you how to use the basic chords we learned in C major key to create beautiful sounding chord progressions.
We will also use additional notes from the C major scale to make the chords even more interesting and fun to play.
The goal for this lesson is to show you how we can create beautiful sounding chord progressions with simple triads and then add notes from the C major scale to spice things up.
Hey guys, another lesson is now available inside the Technique Lab program Vol.2 Travis Picking Technique.
In this lesson, I am going to show you how to combine chords and melody in G major key (one of my favorite when it comes to Travis picking).
There is one thing that makes this lesson slightly more challenging than any other lesson we covered in this volume an this is the different picking patterns you will learn on each chord. Don’t get me, wrong guys, I am not talking about a complete different picking pattern but much more of one/two different notes only.
This is a unique approach because rather than repeat the same picking pattern throughout the entire exercise, you are forced to make small changes as you learn a new chord.
I hope you enjoy this lesson 🙂
The tab available inside the Technique Lab Vol.2 Travis Picking Technique module.
Hey guys, I just posted a new lesson for the Technique Lab Program Module 3/8.
In this lesson we are going to be plucking with the ring finger for the first time. The exercise is very simple and straightforward with just few chords and a very simple melody.
As always, take things step by step and spend a reasonable amount of time on this exercise before moving on to the next one.
About the Exercise
Key: A minor
Technique: Fingerstyle arpeggio plucking with the ring finger.
Fingerstyle pattern: There are three different plucking pattern in this exercise. The first one is P-a-m-i repeated twice, then P-i-m-a one time and alternate m-i for the four note melody.
Sections: The exercise is very simple with only seven bars and few chords.
Level: For beginners.
How to practice: One of the most important thing you want to develop with this exercise is the balance between thumb and plucking fingers. There are three things you must follow in order to benefit from this exercise:
With the fingers, pluck the strings with a 45 degree angle. With the thumb always pluck with the side of the fingers. By using a 45 degree angle you will achieve a better control and tone.
Articulation is everything. Use a wide movement to pluck the strings and don’t be afraid of “moving too much”. By using a wide articulation (explained in the video) you will develop a solid control. Don’t be extreme. Follow the video to learn how to pluck the strings with articulation.
Switch between pattern fluently and without pausing. This is a mistake beginners run into quite a lot. Play as evenly as possible and use a metronome if you need.
Today I am going to show you five different dreamy chord progression on fingerstyle guitar.
Dreamy chords are beautiful on the guitar, and they can be easily achieved by combining chords with open strings.
You will listen to five different chord progressions in different keys.
E major key – Amaj7, G#m7 – F#m7(add11) – E
C major key – Cmaj7 – Fmaj7(#11) – Cmaj7 – Fadd9 – G
D major key – Dadd9 – Bm7add11 – Emin – Asus
B major key – F#7add11 – Eadd9 x4 – B – F#7add11 – Eadd9 – F#7add11
A minor key – Amadd9 – Am7add9/G – Fmaj7(#11)- E
Each of these chord progression has a different vibe and color, but they all have one thing in common. They all sound dreamy.
The Video
Dreamy Chord Progression
Let’s Get into Details
Let me tell you more about these chord progressions and how to learn them.
Because I am playing each chord progression in a different key, I had to develop a way to make these chords “Dreamy.”
One thing you can do is to combine the chords with open strings or use Add9, #11, and maj7 chords.
Let’s get started.
E major key
Amaj7, G#m7 – F#m7add11 – E
This chord progression starts with an A major 7 chord, but we are actually in the key of E major.
Commonly, a chord progression starts on the 4th degree, and if the chord is also Major 7, you can definitely start with a dreamy chord.
I love to play with different voicing, so the G#m7 and F#m7add11 have different voicing on the 1st string.
Really cool chord progression which reminds me of Alicia Keys’ song If I Ain’t got You.
C major key
Cadd9 – Fmaj7(#11) – Cmaj7 – Fadd9 – G
Another super dreamy chord progression in C major.
This time I am starting with a Cadd9 and Fadd9 chord.
I am also playing the E and B string open, so the Cadd9 also has the maj7 and the Fadd9 the raised 11.
Both chords are perfect together and really dreamy.
They are also pretty stretchy so, take it to step by step.
D major key
Dadd9 – Bm7add11 – Emin – Asus
This time the chord progression is in D major, another perfect key for the dreamy chord progression.
The awesome thing about the fingerstyle technique is that it allows you to select which string you want to play so that a simple chord like a Dadd9 sounds beautiful and dreamy.
The rest of the chord progression is pretty simple, with the Bm7add11 followed by the E min and Asus.
The most difficult thing about this chord progression is probably the fingerstyle pattern and how to pluck the strings.
Fingerstyle Guitar is one of the most amazing and creative techniques on guitar.
The ability to pluck strings individually can open the doors to unlimited possibilities.
In this video, I will show you the 9 Most Used Fingerstyle Guitar Pattern that guitar players use the most.
You can get the tab here at BlitzGuitar.com.
The Video
Let’s get into details.
This video can be quite overwhelming, I know.
So many different styles of music squeezed in 4 minutes video.
Fingerstyle guitar is awesome and creative but also difficult at first.
Many times, we don’t know how to pluck the strings and which finger should pluck the strings, so we go with the flow, and most of the time, we end up playing the wrong way.
This video is definitely not a starting point for beginners but rather a goal to achieve.
I have a ton of video lessons available for beginners and intermediate guitar players, so make sure you check out the BlitzGuitar store.
Let’s get started.
The Blues Fingerstyle
C7 – F7 – C – G7 – F7 – C7
This style of music is beautiful and really fun to play.
The fingerstyle guitar pattern is characterized by the thumb movement that will always alternate between two bass notes, the root note and the 5th.
You can listen to the thumb movement at the really beginning of the video, where I play the first two bars just with the thumb.
Really fun fingerstyle pattern and simple chords.
The Keyboard Fingerstyle
C – G – Am – F
One of my favorite way of playing guitar.
This fingerstyle guitar pattern is pure magic, and it will give you the feeling of playing like a keyboard player.
One of the things I love the most about this way of playing chords is that we can constantly change voicing with almost no effort with fingerstyle.
Definitely worth checking out the tab for this one. It makes more sense when you see it on paper.
The Mixed Fingerstyle
A7 – D7 – A7 – D7 – A7 – E7 – D7 – A7 – E7
With the mixed fingersytle we will combine plucking and single plucking.
You will be playing the chords (accompaniment) with the plucking with the single plucking the lead (solo).
For this example, I am playing a 12 bar blues with chords and solo.
I love to play a few chords, leave some space for a few lines, and then go back with the chords.
One of my favorite way of playing.
Minimalist Fingerstyle
A – E – F#m – D
Mainly used in pop and indie music, this approach is straightforward to implement in your playing.
The rule here is never to play the full chords. Instead, you want to focus on play one or two notes only.
The fingerstyle guitar plucking will also be really simple and minimalist.
I love this chord progression:
The Two Fingers Fingerstyle
Playing with two fingers should never be an option, but so many guitar players do so; I guess we have to talk about it.
Playing with thumb and finger can be a good starting point for beginners.
It is easy and doesn’t require a lot of practice to get your fingers going.
I am play Asturias by Isaac Albeniz.
One of the most famous classical guitar piece.
Classical Fingerstyle
Took that fingersytle guitar pattern from a classical guitar piece written by Mauro Giuliani, an Italian guitar player, composer, singer, and cellist.
This is one of the most famous fingerstyle patterns, so you really want to memorize it and use it over different chord progressions.
I am using just two chords: Am – E7
The right hand definitely more challenging than the left.
The Tremolo Fingerstyle
Another awesome guitar technique that we can borrow from classical guitar.
The Tremolo is a creative way to play a melody using the thumb, ring, middle, and index finger in sequence.
The thumb will play the bass note and the arpeggio.
The fingers will play the same strings three times.
Not an easy technique.
The Jazzy Fingersytle
Dm7 – G7/13 – Cmaj7 – A7(b13)
This is the easiest fingerstyle guitar pattern you will find in this video.
The Jazzy fingerstyle is used by jazz guitar players and involves plucking the strings with thumb and fingers simultaneously. It is though pretty simple.
Chords, on the other end, are much more difficult.
The Busy Fingerstyle
Some fingerstyle guitar patterns can be pretty busy.
In this example, I am playing a pattern that I learned from a Villa Lobos study.
Definitely worth practicing a Busy Fingerstyle sometimes if you really want to push yourself and take your fingerstyle to the next level.
Let me show you how to play one of the most famous songs on the guitar.
Spanish Romance, also known as “Estudio en Mi de Rubira” (Study in E by Rubira), “Spanish Romance,” “Romance de España,” “Romance de Amor,” “Romance of the Guitar,” “Romanza” and “Romance d’Amour” among other names is one of the most played songs on classical and acoustic guitar.
Composed a long time ago by an anonymous composer, this melody has become one of the songs that beginners guitar players play the most.
We heard the song no matter how old we are. I was 10 when I first heard it, and I kind of knew it already (how weird).
The right-hand arpeggio pattern is one of the most characteristic features of this beautiful piece. It gives flow and musicality to the melody, and it is also an awesome fingerstyle exercise.
We can break the arpeggio down into triplets (1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3) played with the same plucking pattern throughout.
Here’s an example of the Spanish Romance fingerstyle pattern.
The red square shows you the three groups of triplet within each bar.
Each group of three notes will be played with the same fingerstyle pattern: ring (a), middle (m), and index (i).
The only exception occurs at the beginning of each bar, where the thumb (p) will play the first note simultaneously with the ring finger.
The Melody
The Most Recognized Melody on Guitar
Spanish Romance is one of the most recognized melodies on the guitar.
There are a bunch of components that make this melody catchy.
The minor key makes this song sound sad and mellow.
The melody follows the minor scale, so it becomes extremely catchy.
The triplets give a nice flow.
The accompaniment is mainly played with open strings, which makes the song pretty simple to play.
The melody is played on one string.
Guitar Tip
There are a ton of guitar students who start this song by just playing the melody.
This is an option you can consider if you are a total beginner and still new to fingerstyle.
However, you should avoid playing the melody with one finger only. Instead, always alternate index and middle finger throughout.
The yellow square shows you the melody, which should be played with the ring finger.
The red square is the accompaniment, which will be played with m – i
