José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad - Guitar Lesson

About Feliz Navidad

Few holiday songs sit as comfortably under the fingers as "Feliz Navidad," but getting it to feel right takes more attention than its simplicity suggests. Written and recorded by José Feliciano, the song sits in D major at a steady 120 BPM in standard tuning, making it very accessible for players of most levels. The challenge is not the chord shapes themselves but the rhythmic strum pattern, which leans on a syncopated, Latin-flavored feel that can slip into a plain four-on-the-floor if you are not careful. Keeping that groove locked and relaxed while singing at the same time is where most guitarists need the real work. The chord movement is simple, but the transitions need to be smooth and automatic so your strumming hand stays free to carry the rhythm. This is a great song to explore Pop Rock strumming feel on. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the verse strumming pattern slowed down until the syncopation feels natural before bringing it back up to tempo.

• The song sits in D major in standard tuning, so open chord shapes work throughout and no capo or alternate tuning is needed.
• The main challenge is locking in the syncopated Latin strum pattern at 120 BPM without letting it flatten into a basic strumming feel.
• Practise the chord changes between the three or four core chords slowly first, so your fretting hand stays quiet while your strumming hand drives the groove.