I had a look at the 'view' stats for these fingerstyle lessons and 'Over the Rainbow' beats the others by a long shot. I now realize how many of you want some simple fingerstyle lessons, so I've done a nice simple, unadorned version of this great classic. It's about as stripped back as you can get!
I also had a look at the poll asking the question about the moving fretboard dots, and it seems that 3 out of 4 of y'all like them, so I'll continue to include it for these easy lessons. I'm getting better at it, quicker at it, so it's not that big a deal.
I've done this version in the same key as
the fancy version, so when you do get this one down pat and feel you want to move up a rung or two, you can go have a look at it and give it a whirl.
There's really not that much to report on this one ... there's just that little stretch at bar
7 and
15 that could be troublesome. Getting your fingers and hand to stretch out is all part of playing guitar, so this will be a good way to start if you're new to it all. As impossible as it may seem at first ... it isn't. Just keep working on it -- and I don't mean for a few minutes -- and your ligaments, tendons and sinews will eventually realize that this is something they should be allowing you to do and they will oblige. Playing guitar is about unnatural on the fingers as it gets, so you need to persist ... they will give in.
You'll see that I simply repeat the first 8 bars ... which makes it twice as easy as it looks!
Watch the movie to see which fingers I use to pick ... this doesn't mean that you have to do it exactly as I do, but it's a good place to start. There's never just one way, or right or wrong ways ... You can also see in the movie how my left hand works, how I keep a nice arch to my fingers so that the tips come down cleanly onto the strings. This is another one of those unnatural feeling good habits to get into.
I've indicated the backing chords in blue above the tab, and you'll see them changing away in the movie.
This doesn't mean that you play those chords ... it's important to understand that every tune, even one you're whistling while walking down the street, has a chord structure underlying it. These stripped back lessons consist of the melody line and a simple bass line ... those two elements together are not quite a chord, but they're getting close. If you have a friend who plays guitar or piano, they can play these chords while you play the fingerstyle part and you'll be able to hear these silent underlying chords and hopefully understand what I'm trying to say. I'm groping for a good analogy ... nothing's coming to mind. As you get more and more into playing an instrument, you'll begin to see just how important chords are, even when they're not actually being played.
I'll post the bridge section next.
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