Hey everyone, I'm working on turning more of my tabs and exercises into video lessons, but I'd really appreciate your input. I learned guitar before YouTube existed, and if I'm honest, whenever I have used them I've often found many online lessons a bit slow and frustrating. Sometimes I just want to see exactly what someone is playing without having to sit through lots of talking first. I've posted my step-by-step lesson showing how to play my easy arrangement of The Godfather. When I'm teaching a technique, exercise, or course lesson, I think explanation and narration are important. But when you're learning a song, I'm not so sure. So I'd love to know: - Do you find the narration and explanations helpful? - Or would you prefer the song broken into sections with less talking and more playing? - Would a slow demonstration with a close-up of both hands be enough? - Do you like hearing why certain fingers are used, or do you mainly want to see what to play? - What makes a video lesson most useful for you? There's no right or wrong answer. I'm genuinely interested in how you prefer to learn, and your feedback will directly influence how I create future lessons. Thanks in advance for your help—I read every comment and really appreciate your input. Jack 🎸

Hey, This week’s free fingerstyle exercise sounds great and is designed to help improve one of the most overlooked parts of fingerstyle guitar technique… using your little finger effectively. But before I get into the exercise, I wanted to quickly mention something new. Over the last few weeks I’ve had quite a few messages from people who wanted access to all of my materials but weren’t keen on memberships or recurring payments. I completely understand that, so I’ve now put together a complete downloadable bundle featuring everything currently available in the classroom tabs as a one-time purchase. That means you get all of the PDFs and Guitar Pro files from the current classroom library without needing a subscription. The only difference is that future tabs, exercises and upcoming materials are not included, but they are for members. You can take a look here. Now back to this week’s exercise… One of the biggest differences I noticed when I moved from “normal” guitar playing to fingerstyle was how much more you rely on your little finger to grab extra melody notes and extensions within chord shapes. This exercise is designed to help develop that skill. You’ll play a fingerstyle arpeggio pattern over common open chords while using your little finger to add extra melody notes into the progression. It’s a great way to improve: • Little finger strength • Finger independence • Chord control • Fingerstyle coordination • Smooth melody playing The PDFs and Guitar Pro files are available now in the classroom tab. 🎵 And if you’re a Neil Diamond fan, make sure to check back tomorrow because this week’s new tab is Play Me. Thanks Jack

Hey, This week’s new fingerstyle tab is If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot. It was actually requested by a member and when I first saw the title I couldn’t place it at all. But the moment I listened to it, I instantly recognised it. It’s a fantastic song and works beautifully as a fingerstyle guitar arrangement. (New Members - If you have any requests for songs I should arrange for fingerstyle guitar, let me know in the comments) I’ve created both a Full and Easy Version and you can listen to them below: The PDFs and Guitar Pro files are now available for full members inside The Fingerstyle Guitar School. The Fingerstyle Guitar School is the paid version of this group where I've made my entire back catlogue of materials available. If you’re thinking about becoming a member, you’ll get access to: 🎵 A growing library of 400+ fingerstyle tabs 📅 A new fingerstyle tab and exercise every week 🎓 Step-by-step fingerstyle and blues guitar courses 🧠 Technique exercises to improve fingerpicking, rhythm and coordination 📄 PDF + Guitar Pro files for every lesson and arrangement 🎥 Future live video tutorials and course lessons as they’re released And the best part… unlike most subscriptions, everything you download is yours to keep forever, even if you later cancel your membership. All for less than $3 a week. You can join here I’ve already finished next week’s arrangement which will be Play Me by Neil Diamond, so keep an eye out for that next Friday. Thanks again for all your support. Jack

One thing I noticed when teaching guitar lessons over the years is that weekly lessons helped many adults stay consistent — not just because of the lesson itself, but because someone was going to ask how their practice had gone. That little bit of accountability often made the difference between thinking about practising and actually doing it. So I’m going to try something new in the group — a simple weekly practice accountability thread. It’s completely optional, but if you’d like a bit of extra motivation, here’s how it works: 👇 In the comments, tell us: • How many times you plan to practise this week • What you’ll be working on For example:“Practising 4 times this week — working on Greensleeves and a fingerstyle exercise.” At the end of the week, I’ll come back to the thread and reply to your comment to see how your practice went. Consistent practice is the real key to progress, and sometimes just knowing someone will ask can be enough motivation to sit down and practise. As a general goal, something like 20 minutes of practice, 3–5 times per week can make a huge difference over time. 👉 So let’s hear your plan for the week — how many times will you practise and what are you working on?

Hi, Welcome to the Fingerstyle Learners Group — it's great to have you here. This group was created to help beginner and intermediate players improve their fingerstyle guitar one step at a time, without feeling overwhelmed. Whether you're completely new to fingerstyle or returning to the guitar after a break, you're in the right place. 📚 Where To Start Head over to the Classroom tab at the top of the group. Inside you'll find: • This week's Tab Of The Week • This week's Exercise Of The Week • My collection of free learning materials • Beginner tips and tutorials My advice is simple: start with the Tab Of The Week and Exercise Of The Week. They're updated regularly and are the quickest way to start improving your fingerstyle playing. 🎥 Video Lessons You'll also find video lessons from my fingerstyle tab library. Many members use these videos alongside their tabs to help them learn songs faster, improve their technique and stay motivated. 💬 Get Involved One of the best things about this group is the community. Please introduce yourself and let me know: • Your current playing level • The songs you'd love to learn • What you're working on right now • Any questions you're stuck on Don't be afraid to ask beginner questions. If something doesn't make sense to you, there's a good chance other members are wondering the same thing. In fact, I've recently started creating regular Beginner Questions posts based on questions from members, so your question might end up helping dozens of other players too. 🎵 Want More Tabs Every Week? If you're enjoying the free materials, you might be interested in my new Fingerstyle Tab Club. I created it after speaking to members who wanted access to my new tabs and exercises each week but didn't necessarily need a full premium membership. For just $7 per month — less than $2 per week and about the price of a coffee — you'll get access to exclusive weekly tab bundles that include: • Full and Easy Versions of new songs • Beginner-friendly arrangements