Guitar Tricks Online Guitar Lessons

Learn Song: One At A Time

 

Now it's time to try using our brand new arpeggiation technique in a song. Once again we'll have an intro, and we're keep that super simple by just strumming an open E minor chord, then a G major chord. Next to make it a bit more interesting we'll strum a cool rhythm.

Then for our main section of the song we'll play A minor and we'll use our arpeggiation pattern for 2 bars. Don't worry if this is still hard to execute cleanly, because our fretting hand is making it so that any note we play with the picking hand will sound good. So just embrace your mistakes and make it part of the music!

After that we'll go to the C major chord. Then we'll go back to A minor again, then we'll go to a G chord. Then we'll repeat the whole section.

Finally we'll reuse our intro as the outro and strum an A minor chord and let it ring to end the song.

Anders Mouridsen
Instructor Anders Mouridsen
Tutorial:
Arpeggiation
Styles:
Any Style
Difficulty:
print notation download lesson open guitar tuner
Learn Song: One At A Time song notation

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Questions & Answers

1 month ago
I have large round fingers which when doing arpeggiation deaden the strings next to them. I have to place the fingers exactly or the neighboring string is deadened. I am using medical tape to squeeze the finger tips which helps a little. Do you have any other suggestions?
Mike Olekshy 3 weeks ago

Hello - thanks so much for your question! Go slow with it, and try to curl your fingers as much as possible. Practice putting your fingers on the chord, with as much curl as you can - and scooch them in so that each note rings out cleanly. If there are any dead notes, you must adjust your hand, fingers, or thumb so that the note can ring out. Practice often so that the muscles in your fingers start to loosen up and you can go right to a clean chord without having to adjust. Stick with it! It's very challenging at first, but you'll get it!

8 months ago
Any thoughts on using a different fingering for the G chord, like instead of 1,2, & 3, using 2, 3, & 4?
Mike Olekshy 7 months ago

Hello and thanks for your great question! Absolutely - using 2, 3 and 4 is super helpful for index finger embellishments, or quicker chord changes depending on previous or next chord in the progression. Practicing both fingerings is well worth your while!