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Learning Guitar - Lesson Eight
Part 7: Learning Songs
 More of this Feature
• Part 1: overview
• Part 2: fingerpicking
• Part 3: strumming patterns
• Part 4: slash chords
• Part 5: slides
• Part 6: string bending
• Part 7: learning songs
• Part 8: practice schedule
 
 Related Content
• Index of Guitar Lessons
• Buying Your First Guitar
• How to Read Guitar Tab
• Easy to Play Songs
• Guitar Chord Library
 
This week, we'll concentrate mostly on songs that use fingerpicking, and/or strumming patterns that include single notes. If you're looking for more songs to learn, I suggest you check out the easy song tabs archive.

In case you need a refresher, here are the pages to check open chords, power chords, and barre chords.

NOTE: A few of the following song transcriptions use tablature. If you are unfamiliar with this term, take a moment to learn how to read guitar tablature.

The Weight - performed by The Band
NOTES: A great song to learn for playing with other people. Strum this one down, down, down, down up. The little instrumental part after the chorus should be strummed: bass note, down up. Play A/G# with your first finger barring the A chord and your ring finger playing the fourth fret on the sixth string (4x222x)
MP3:
Amazon MP3 download

More Than a Feeling - performed by Boston
NOTES: It's the very first guitar part we're most interested in, for fingerpicking reasons. First three fingers remain by the first three strings, while the thumb "floats" to play notes on the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings. It should be somewhat similar to the first fingerpicking exercise we did in this lesson.
MP3:
Amazon MP3 download

Brian Wilson - performed by The Barenaked Ladies
NOTES: Strum down, down up, up down up. For now, leave all the 7ths off the chords (eg. Bmin7 becomes Bmin ... Cmaj7 becomes Cmaj). There are a couple of slash chords - I'll let you figure out how to play them.
MP3:
Amazon MP3 download
(there is some fancy fingerpicking that has been left out of the guitar tab. Just concentrate on the tricky chords for now.)


Is There Anybody Out There - performed by Pink Floyd
NOTES: this is a very nice instrumental guitar song from The Wall. It is very similar to the second fingerpicking exercise we did in this lesson. This will be a challenge, but you'll love the results.
MP3:
Amazon MP3 download

Let's have a look at this week's practice schedule.

 

Next page > Practice Schedule > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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