How to access my premium PDFs
Support me on Patreon ($3/month, cancel anytime) to get access to the growing catalog of 200+ PDFs I’ve been creating since August 2018. I have been adding ~1-2 new lessons a week (video and PDF).
Annual plans are also available (which saves you 15%). Thanks for supporting me and this project, it means a lot!
Free PDF sampler pack
Here’s a free sample pack of some of the songs I’ve written up nicely formatted PDFs for. Download these as you please, and print them out! They’re designed to fit well on notebook-sized paper. If you find these helpful, please consider tossing a few dollars into my Paypal tip jar. If you want access to PDFs for all new lessons I create, please consider supporting me on Patreon ($3/month).
- House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
- Patience by Guns n' Roses
- You've Lost that Loving Feeling by The Righteous Brothers
- Havana by Camila Cabello
- Betty by Taylor Swift
- Travis Picking vs. Traditional Fingerstyle (tips & techniques)
- Essential Mods for the A-major chord (tips & techniques)
- Fingerstyle Walkdown exercise, Key of C (warm up exercise)
- "Happy Birthday" triad exercise, Key of G (warm up exercise)
- Blank guitar tab templates
What members are saying
You have the very best tabs on the net! Easy to follow, logically designed, complete with all information. That's why I'm a supporter!
– Jimbo
Thank you David for the most excellent guitar lessons. I am getting old now and my guitar is a new and awesome instrument that gives me peace in our troubled world. Your contribution and dedication to your lessons provides me with hours of learning in an easy fun style. I am blessed to have been able to support you on Patreon and have access to everything you put out there.
– Harvey
I've seen more guitar instructional videos on the web than I can count but but no one does a better job of explaining and simplifying a song as you do, with the added bonus of a downloadable PDFs. I just got back into playing acoustic guitar last year after a hiatus of too many decades. Keep up the good work you do for all us beginners, re-beginners and not so beginners.
– David
Thank you 🙏 you are a wonderful teacher as well as a fabulous musician not often do you get both in the same package.
– Eileen
I have just picked up the guitar after 30 years of saying 'I would love to learn that'. Out of all the lessons I have come across online yours are the best. You have a way of making the song sound close to the original and making it pretty easy to learn as a beginner to learn. I could not keep watching the lessons without donating something because learning the guitar takes time and devotion. You deserve to get something back for all you put in. I have subscribed to your channel, and I have never subscribed to anything online. I wish you all the best and hope you have continued success.
– Joshauh
I enjoy your lessons and teaching style. They are practical and I love that you break things down in an easy to understand way. Also your lessons are fun! :) I'm a happy supporter and thank you for providing great service and your musical gift.
– Tangie
I’ve tinkered with the guitar since I was a teenager but never really committed to practicing it. I could never find the passion or the structure from a teacher to keep me at it. I have a full time job and kids...and life is busy. Almost two years ago, I broke my ankle playing baseball and dusted off the guitar. I stumbled across your lesson Say It Ain’t So by Weezer. I was completely sold. I decided to become a patreon supporter of yours. Tonight, I was just completely compelled to send you a message. Your lessons, teaching, PDF’s...you name it...Are pure quality. You come across as passionate about your work and it truly makes a difference. Anyway. I hope you and your family are staying healthy and safe during these times. I wish you all best. Thank you for the lessons and I also hope that your site becomes so successful that you can just do this full time. No response necessary. Just reaching out to say I wish lots of good karma to go your way! Cheers!
– Jason
You are such an amazing teacher! You describe steps in detail that is so necessary for beginners like me. Thank you for all that you do!
– Cara
Man, you're the best out there and the way you break things down with printables along with the different camera angles helps me in ways I can't put into words. It's truly a pleasure to be a Patreon supporter of yours!
– BB
You are the very best on the web for teaching how to play a particular song down to the details that deliver a truly professional sounding version. I love it!
– Nick
Premium PDFs available to Patreon supporters
Is there a song you want to request I add as PDF? Let me know! Send an email to play.songnotes@gmail.com
(traditional)
A Star is Born
Ben E. King
Billy Strings
Bob Dylan
- Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (fingerstyle)
- Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (strummed)
- Knockin' on Heaven's Door
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Tonight, Tonight
- You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Bob Marley
Bonnie Tyler
Brent Cobb
Bruce Springsteen
Bryan Adams
Camila Cabello
Cat Stevens
Cheap Trick
Chris Cornell
Chris Stapleton
Coco
Colter Wall
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Dire Straits
Elvis Presley
Eric Clapton
Game of Thrones
Gram Parsons
Greatest Showman
Green Day
Guns N' Roses
Guy Clark
Harry Chapin
Houndmouth
Ian Munsick
Jack Johnson
Janis Joplin
Jenny Lewis
Jerry Jeff Walker
John Denver
John Lennon
John Prine
Johnny Cash
- Folsom Prison Blues
- Give My Love To Rose
- Hurt
- I Walk the Line
- I've Been Everywhere
- Ring of Fire
- Sunday Morning Coming Down
- Tennessee Flat Top Box
- When the Man Comes Around
Jose Feliciano
Julia Michaels
Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick
Kacey Musgraves
Kenny Rogers
La La Land
Led Zeppelin
Leonard Cohen
Little Feat
Loggins and Messina
Lukas Graham
Lyle Lovett
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Maggie Rogers
Maren Morris
Maroon 5
Marty Robbins
Morgan Wallen
Nathan Evans
Neil Diamond
Neil Young
Nirvana
Old Crow Medicine Show
Paul Simon
Pearl Jam
Pete Seeger
Pink Floyd
Post Malone
Queen
Radiohead
Radney Foster
Randy Newman
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ricky Nelson
Simon and Garfunkel
Steve Earle
Stone Temple Pilots
Sufjan Stevens
Taylor Swift
The Animals
The Beatles
The Church
The Eagles
The Highwaymen
The Kinks
The Lively Ones
The Lumineers
The Righteous Brothers
The Rolling Stones
The Rooftop Singers
The Shirelles
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Steeldrivers
The White Stripes
Tom Petty
Tom T. Hall
Townes Van Zandt
Tyler Childers
Uncle Lucius
Vincent Neil Emerson
Waylon Jennings
Weezer
Wham!
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Wyclef Jean
Warm Up Exercise PDFs:
- Adding pentatonic fills over D-Cadd9-G
Jan 23, 2021 • Lesson #348 - Melody Exercise for "Can't Help Falling in Love" (w/ guitar tabs)
Jan 10, 2021 • Lesson #344 - 'Starlight' Riff in F#
Nov 8, 2020 • Lesson #336 - Riffs with Circular Bass Notes
Jul 25, 2020 • Lesson #314 - Happy Birthday triad exercise (Key of G)
Jul 23, 2020 • Lesson #312 - Backwoods Pull-Off Exercise (Key of C)
Jun 1, 2020 • Lesson #304 - "I've Just Seen a Face" by The Beatles (intro riff)
May 8, 2020 • Lesson #299 - Country Bass Line Exercise in 6/8 Time
Apr 26, 2020 • Lesson #297 - Walk-down exercise inspired by the Turnpike Troubadours
Mar 15, 2020 • Lesson #290 - Sierra Ferrell "In Dreams"-inspired riff
Jan 21, 2020 • Lesson #278 - Practicing Walk Ups & Walk Downs in G
Jan 7, 2020 • Lesson #276 - 2-string blues riffs for beginners (step by step)
Dec 14, 2019 • Lesson #271 - "Death By 1000 Cuts" Fingerstyle Walkdown Exercise (Key of C)
Oct 26, 2019 • Lesson #264 - D-Cadd9-G riffin' on "Thank You" and "Can't You See"
Sep 21, 2019 • Lesson #259 - Latin Bassline Groove from "Seniorita"
Sep 8, 2019 • Lesson #257 - 4-finger magic with E major
Aug 24, 2019 • Lesson #253 - Colter Wall's Sleeping on the Blacktop intro riff
May 11, 2019 • Lesson #237 - Breezy strumming on E-Bsus4-Asus2
Apr 15, 2019 • Lesson #231 - Triad exercises using A, D, & E
Mar 29, 2019 • Lesson #228 - Cowboy chords and walking bass lines
Feb 22, 2019 • Lesson #219 - Barre Chord Exercise for Smells Like Teen Spirit
Feb 13, 2019 • Lesson #215 - Open chords in key of D w/ major & minor triads
Feb 9, 2019 • Lesson #214 - "Blue on Black" grooving on D5-Cadd9-G
Jan 26, 2019 • Lesson #210 - Open chords in the Key of A
Jan 12, 2019 • Lesson #206 - Open chords in the Key of E
Dec 26, 2018 • Lesson #202 - Backyard grooving in E-major ("Posters" by Jack Johnson)
Nov 20, 2018 • Lesson #193 - A-minor pentatonic walk-down groove
Nov 6, 2018 • Lesson #189 - "One Horse Town" intro riff
Oct 27, 2018 • Lesson #186 - Transitioning between Em7 - D/F# - G
Oct 7, 2018 • Lesson #185 - Mudfootball G-D7 Shuffle
Oct 7, 2018 • Lesson #180 - Murder ballad groove in A-minor
Oct 1, 2018 • Lesson #179 - Blaze Foley country strumming
Sep 21, 2018 • Lesson #176 - "Sultans of Swing" chorus lick
Sep 18, 2018 • Lesson #174 - Easy E Fingerpicking Fun
Sep 2, 2018 • Lesson #171 - Two-finger acoustic blues in Drop-D Tuning
Jul 24, 2018 • Lesson #163 - "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash (Intro riff)
• Lesson #262
Practice Log PDFs:
- Learning the opening chord to Neil Young's Old Man
Sep 4, 2020 • Lesson #326 - 4 tips for learning Blackbird
Nov 3, 2019 • Lesson #265 - Meditative fingerpicking practice, inspired by "The Wind" by Cat Stevens
Sep 15, 2019 • Lesson #258 - Fingerpicking C-G-Am-F (based on Vampire Weekend's "Hold You Now")
Jul 16, 2019 • Lesson #247 - How I composed a multi-part fingerstyle guitar arrangement
Apr 12, 2019 • Lesson #230 - Travis picking finger technique (right-hand index & pinky)
Mar 18, 2019 • Lesson #227 - A-minor blues improvisation w/ backing track
Feb 20, 2019 • Lesson #217 - Adding fills to the Wild Horses intro
Jan 24, 2019 • Lesson #209 - Improvised guitar pickin' on "The Gambler"
Jan 16, 2019 • Lesson #207 - Practicing with a backing track (feat. Tennessee Whiskey)
Dec 1, 2018 • Lesson #195 - How to spice up a 2-chord song (feat. Tennessee Whiskey)
Nov 14, 2018 • Lesson #191 - Adding pinky accent notes to a chord progression
Nov 11, 2018 • Lesson #190 - The "Pretty Woman" lick, played 4 different ways
Oct 13, 2018 • Lesson #183 - Learning to Travis Pick with "Clay Pigeons"
Sep 13, 2018 • Lesson #173 - "The Chain" and Double-Drop D tuning
Aug 6, 2018 • Lesson #168
Tips & Technique PDFs:
- Understanding the 12 notes (Practical Music Theory Ep. 1)
Mar 26, 2021 • Lesson #356 - Walk-ups, Walk-downs, and the fretboard
Mar 7, 2021 • Lesson #354 - Blank Guitar Tab Template
Jan 9, 2021 • Lesson #345 - Guitar walk-ups and walk-downs, quickly explained
Dec 18, 2020 • Lesson #342 - G-chord finger position guide
Oct 25, 2020 • Lesson #334 - Silencing the strings on the 2 count (percussive technique)
Aug 23, 2020 • Lesson #325 - How to silence the strings with your left hand
Jul 18, 2020 • Lesson #311 - Travis Picking vs. "Normal" Fingerstyle
May 16, 2020 • Lesson #302 - Syncopation and Sus Chords
Mar 19, 2020 • Lesson #289 - 12 easy ways to modify the A-major chord
Nov 23, 2019 • Lesson #267 - How to read & write strumming patterns
Oct 6, 2019 • Lesson #260 - 2-finger chords in the key of C
Aug 2, 2019 • Lesson #249 - Ring Finger Barre Strength Exercise
Jun 25, 2019 • Lesson #245 - Fingerstyle F with wrapped thumb
Jun 21, 2019 • Lesson #244 - An easier way to play F#m (no barre chord)
Jun 4, 2019 • Lesson #241 - Add easy flourish to C-F-G-Am
Mar 4, 2019 • Lesson #223 - Guitar chords on a ukulele
Dec 13, 2018 • Lesson #198 - Slap strumming basics (percussive rhythm technique)
Dec 7, 2018 • Lesson #197 - Playing A-major with big fingers or a small fretboard
Nov 27, 2018 • Lesson #194 - How to play F#m (F sharp minor)
Nov 18, 2018 • Lesson #192 - Palm muting basics
Oct 30, 2018 • Lesson #187 - How to play Fadd9
Sep 24, 2018 • Lesson #177 - Walking up & down between the E, A, and B7 (bass note transitions)
Feb 27, 2017 • Lesson #49
238 PDFs, and counting!
If you’d like access to all the lessons above, please consider supporting me on Patreon! It’s truly appreciated, and goes to support my independent efforts (and costs) of creating all these lessons to share with the world. Thank you.
Prefer to buy the PDFs individually?
I currently don’t sell any of my PDFs for individual purchase – but maybe I will one day in the future. Shoot me an email if this is something you’re theoretically interested in. I can’t promise anything, but it’s always helpful for me to understand what my audience is looking for as possible alternatives to supporting me monthly via Patreon. Thanks!
Enjoy my lessons? Buy me a beer!
If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).
You can also support me on Patreon. For only $3/month you'll get access to a print-friendly PDF of my notes for each lesson.
Thanks!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel
Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!