A very useful right hand technique is known as HYBRID PICKING.  That just means using a flat pick and your fingers combined.  The benefit is that you can do all the finger picking stuff and still have a flat pick in your hand for the flat pick stuff.  This is really popular in the country guitar community but guitarists from other styles take advantage of this, as well.  Here are some exercises to help you get that going if you have never or  are just starting to use this technique.                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Triads in the key of F will be used here as a vehicle for these exercises. Triads are basic three note chords made up of a root, a  major or minor third, and a perfect or flatted fifth.  These variables determine whether the triad is major, minor, or diminished.
  So download the PDF's (there are two) and go through the exercises if this technique interests you.  Remember to play as slow as you need.
   Click the buttons below for the PDF notation.    Also take a look at the video that shows each exercise.

This is the guitar intro to Paul Simon’s The Boxer. It is two measures of a cascading arpeggio and into the Travis picked C chord that opens the verse. The PDF is available for download. Just click the button below. There is also a video below to look at if you need any extra guidance.

This is a really good one for beginners. I wrote this up for a student figured I would share it here.

Even if you are a beginner with a little bit of time under your belt you probably will be familiar with 3 out of the 5 chords used here. The chords used are Am7, D7, G7, C and C/B (C over B as it’s called). The C, D7 and G7 are common. The Am7 (2 choices) uses a somewhat unconventional fingering and C/B might be a completely new concept. The C is still a C, just add your pinky to the 1st string/ 3rd fret . It is written out here with a quarter note rhythm – one pluck or strum per beat.

So take a look at the tab/ notation right here /or click the button below and download the PDF.

This is a slightly easier version of the previously posted House of the Rising Sun. This one uses a finger picked straight even triplet pattern.  If you are new to fingerstyle guitar this is a great exercise to help hone that style as well as learn a new tune.
   Pay attention to the p (thumb), i (index) m (middle) a (ring) finger pattern in the notation.   Notice that the thumb plays the 4th, 5th and 6th strings while the the index, middle and ring cover the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings respectively.   Click the button below for the PDF.

Finger pick through the chord changes of House of the Rising Sun. The original Animals’ version uses a pick but the same part can be played with fingers. If finger picking is new to you, this is a good vehicle to work on that style. Click the PDF button below and view the YouTube video.

This is another lesson using a holiday tune on chord melody. Most of the melody comes out of the chord shapes. It is a few days before January 1, 2021 so perfect for this week. Below is the link to the notation/tab PDF as well as a cheat sheet for the chords being used. Also, check out the YouTube video.

This is the third version of Silent Night as a solo piece. There are more than the 3 basic chords in this one. The harmonies are a little more interesting yet not too far out either. If you have never played this style before it’s a good one to start with. There is a link below to the notation/tab PDF and a video. Whoo!