Learn to play guitar with weekly video lessons & print-friendly guides! Learn your favorite songs & techniques with step-by-step tutorials that actually explain how to get from here to there.
πΈ Simon & Garfunkel's "America" β plus 5 other Paul Simon Classics
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LESSON #603 Click to watch free video lesson My friends β new lesson today where Iβll teach you to play America by Simon and Garfunkel, from their 1968 album Bookends. This is an amazingly fun song to play, though it is quite a lot to chew on when it comes to the chord shapes & progressions needed. In my tutorial, Iβll walk you through everything β showing the easiest way to make your way through the song, along with several tips for adding flair & flourish throughout.
Don't miss all my additional practice materials for this lesson β step by step notes, a vocal melody deep-dive, a zoomed playthrough, a link to a recommended lyric sheet, and more. Get all this on my America lesson page Β»β Techniques Used in This Song For additional help with the tips & techniques used in this song, here's a quick list of the tutorials to help you along the way:
β Looking for More Simon & Garfunkel? If you're hungry for more lessons teaching Paul Simon (or Simon & Garfunkel), here's the tutorials I've made:
β Sunday Fun at Formula 1 Yesterday I had an absolute blast at the United States GP here in Austin, TX. I've been a bit obsessed with F1 the last few years, and seeing these cars sweep through these corners in person was a true delight. In that spirit, I'll share this lead guitar lesson teaching the main riff heard in the F1 theme song: And this lesson from Turnpike Troubadours, who played just after the race. This is the #1 band I've wanted to see the past few years β so this was a cherry on top of an amazing day. Thanks to a good friend I got to sit dead center, which was a huge relief considering I'd walked over 18,000 steps when they hit the stage. β
Thanks & Enjoy! Hard to believe October is almost halfway over! I'm cooking up a few lessons at the moment, as always β and can't wait to share them with you all soon. Until then βοΈ David Browse all my lessons at songnotes.net |
Song Notes by David Pots
Learn to play guitar with weekly video lessons & print-friendly guides! Learn your favorite songs & techniques with step-by-step tutorials that actually explain how to get from here to there.
Hey there, friends! Today I want to share what is possibly the single most helpful tip to help you change chords while strumming β and ensure your rhythmic groove stays smooth as butter π§ The secret: begin your chord changes while finishing your strum pattern. This means you will briefly be strumming open, unfretted strings... but this buys you valuable time, and it sounds just fine. Check out my new video lesson showing this up-close: LESSON #601Smooth Chord Changes while Strumming Click to...
Hi there, Reader β hard to believe it, but I've reached my 600th weekly guitar lesson! Thanks to all of you who've been along with me on the journey so far. New lesson below... along with a roundup of my favorite songs in 6/8 time! LESSON #600Melodic Beauty of Eddie Vedder's "Rise" Click to watch free video lesson In this lesson I'll teach you to play Eddie Vedder's 2007 song Rise from the Into The Wild soundtrack. This song has remained one of my favorite songs of the 2000s β and I'm excited...
LESSON #599Unlock the Fretboard with Diagonal Pentatonics Click to Watch Free Video Lesson In today's new lesson, I'm excited to tackle a much-asked-about topic that's been a game changer for my playing in the past year: diagonal pentatonics. This is an informal name Iβm using for a particular way to play any pentatonic scale, which allows us to play multiple octaves in an incredibly smooth & fluid manner. Why this approach is worth learning, compared to memorizing the five "box" shapes...