Fingerstyle Guitar Lessons

The following exercise has been written in two parts although each part can be played happily solo. It is aimed at beginner level guitar players who have started to get a good feel for the strings and are pretty comfortable holding down some basic open chords. The average guitar student will usually (depending on how much practice they put in) be able to achieve a good fingerstyle sound after a course of around eight guitar lessons with an experienced tutor. Remember to start off slow at ‘practice pace’ and then begin to gradually speed up once you’re comfortable with the chord changes.

Fingerstyle – Common-time Pattern with Open Chords in D (part one)

Fingerstyle – Common-time Pattern with Open Chords in D (part two)

Next up I have two exercises arranged in waltz time that have been used by many songwriters to produce some very popular songs. Again they have been arranged in two parts and can be shared with your teacher, friend or partner. To keep the lessons consistent and to help you understand the different time signatures, I have given you exactly the same chord progression as before. When playing in waltz time it is helpful to count – 1,2,3 2,2,3 / 1,2,3 2,2,3 / 1,2,3 2,2,3 /1,2,3 2,2,3 – because there are six quavers (eighth notes) in each bar.

Fingerstyle – Waltz Time with Open Chords in D (part one)

Fingerstyle – Waltz Time with Open Chords in D (part two)