Song Demo

Hotel California - Introduction

Welcome to the guitar lesson on the acoustic version of one of the greatest songs of all time, Hotel California by The Eagles. This specific arrangement replaces the original electric instruments with nylon-string guitars, creating a different interpretation of the song. The track keeps the same chord progression and structure as the studio version but uses fingerpicking patterns and multiple guitar harmonies.

Hotel California, as writer Henley put it, is more of a symbolic piece about America in general, and added, “Lyrically, the song deals with traditional or classical themes of conflict: darkness and light, good and evil, youth and age, the spiritual versus the secular. I guess you could say it's a song about the loss of innocence”.

The song follows a narrative about a traveller staying at a mysterious hotel, with lyrics that some interpret as commentary on American culture, for instance, the most iconic line of the song being “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave”.

Hotel California Guitar Lesson

Hotel California guitar lesson is taught by our beloved expert, Mike Walker, who explains all the different sections of the song in a section-by-section manner, starting from the intro that talks about the chords and different voicings of those chords, through the acoustic overdubs and the guitar solo section.

The song features a number of minor 7ths, dominants, suspended and augmented chords. The intro alone covers all these variations of these chords. The tutor, nevertheless, goes into detail explaining how to play them using a fingerpicking pattern.

The song is written in B minor; the live acoustic version uses a capo on the 7th fret, making it an E minor. The intro follows a repeating progression of Em-B7-Dsus-A7-C-G-Am7-B7, which establishes the harmonic foundation.

Since this is an acoustic version of the song, played by multiple guitarists. There are a number of artistic motifs and embellishments using techniques like double stops, arpeggios, and most importantly, the individual guitarists harmonising with each other throughout the song.

The tutor explains all the solos of the song in great detail, the last of which features some of the notes from the harmonic minor scale, which carry a signature sound of the desert, or the Middle East. This lends itself literally to the theme of the narrative of the song.

FAQs

Q. Do I need a nylon-string guitar to play this version?

While the original recording uses nylon strings, you can play it on a steel-string acoustic. The tone will sound brighter, but the chords and techniques remain the same.

Q. Why is the capo on the 7th fret? Can I play it without one?

The capo transposes the chords to match the original key (B minor) and allows easier open-position shapes. Without a capo, you’ll need to play full barre chords in B minor.

Introduction:

If you know about Nirvana, the band, you know them for this one song Come As You Are. It is their most iconic song of all time, and it’s a must-learn for beginners who want to make it big in the guitar and rock scene. 

Strumming Pattern:

This particular song follows a plucking/ riff-based rhythm rather than using traditional strumming. The iconic riff can still be played using this pattern: D D U D D U. 

• D = Down Strum 
• U = Up Strum

Song Structure 

Introduction: The introduction starts with explaining to you how to tune your guitar and how to turn your guitar down to a whole step to get the exact sound which you hear on record. 

Chords and Rhythm: Over here you will be learning how to play the basic power chords that are part of this song along with the rhythm which you will be following. Keep in mind, if you are using standard tuning, you have to use a whole step lower chords. 

Song Arrangement: Here you will be given a walkthrough of each section of the tune, most of the tunes for this song are somewhat related to the intro riff. So you have mastered the starting riff and the rest will be much easier. 

Intro Riff and Solo: Here again you will be learning how to play the center riff which results in the different tunes that you get in the song. 

Song Demo: In this part J.J Pattishall is going to show you how to play the entire song with the backing track. 

Sing and Play: This section is all about J.J giving you tips and tricks on how to play the song as well as sing it. He will show you the coordination tricks you can use to keep up with the song.

Why Learn Come As You Are (Complete) By Nirvana? 

The opening riff of the song is simple and easy to learn making it great for impressive others. Also, it takes the benefit of minor scales with the addition of a slight bluesy feel, and in order to play it you will have to learn alternate picking technique and smooth transitions. 

FAQs-This Song Guitar Lesson

Q1. What is the meaning of the song Come As You Are by Nirvana? 

Ans. The song is about how people are expected to act when struggle arrives in their life. Still, the song is filled with contradictory meanings and it is full of confusion, similar to how most people are in their lives.  

Q2. What genre does Come As You Are fall in? 

Ans. This particular song falls in the category of grunge alternative rock, the song writer is none-other than Kurt Cobain who was the lead singer of the band Nirvana. 

Q3. Which one is the saddest song from Curt Cobain?

Ans. The most haunting and saddest song ever written and recorded by Curt Cobain was Something In The Way. The tragic tune of the song is entirely written by the lead singer himself. 

Sing is the lead single from Ed Sheeran's sophomore album “X” (Multiply). This was the first time Ed moved past his acoustic singer persona. The song was produced by Pharell Williams, and after it got released it really did shock some of his fans, at the same time it delighted critics. 

Sing is a funky, falsetto-driven song, and even after a decade, this song holds true to be one of the most intriguing and enduring tracks that came out from Ed’s album. It’s a song that shows his willingness to evolve and take those creative risks that many artists fear to take when they reach the height of their career. 

Fun Fact: Ed Sheeran, in one of his videos, said he took the inspiration from Justin Timberlake’s Justified album. The composer Pharrell Williams also worked on the same album and leaned towards the idea of creating something similar for Ed. 

Half of Sing’s credit needs to be devoted to Pharrell, Ed was reluctant on using Falsetto heavy style, feeling it will be too far from his original sound, but Pharell insisted that he should try it out and the result was such a massive breakout that Ed was able to reach UK #1 spot for the first time in his career. 

Why Learn to Sing By Ed Sheeran On Guitar?

''Sing'' is the exception in Ed Sheeran’s discography, most of his fans think of Ed as a tender acoustic musician. It was Sing that flipped the narrative. From this song, Ed offered a danceable energy to his fans, in addition to confidence and versatility. 

Sing is there to help you level up your guitar playing techniques, allowing you to practice strumming precision and the musical groove of a song. At first glance, you will find that the chord progression present in this song is quite simple, but if you look closely, the challenge lies in the rhythm and feel. 

The song requires you to master percussive and palm-muting techniques, which creates a funk-guitar style sound. With this song, you will develop tight timing and rhythmic accuracy. 

Furthermore, it also teaches you to properly use muting, ghost notes, and silence that are crucial means for groove. 

FAQs – Sing By Ed Sheeran Song Guitar Lesson

Q1. Which chords do I need to use to play Sing by Ed Sheeran on guitar? 

Ans. Am, F, C, and G are the few chords that you need to keep on repeating throughout this song, because it is a loop-style progression. 

Q2. In which key does the song Sing by Ed Sheeran present in? 

Ans. The song is present in A minor, which is considered the relative minor of C major. Keep in mind that there are no sharps or flats present in it. As a result, it is much easier for beginners to navigate through the guitar using it. 

Flowers – Introduction

Welcome to the guitar lesson on a sweet pop single –Flowers by Miley Cyrus from the Endless Summer Vacation album that rose to the top numbers as soon as it hit the charts. The song has more than a billion views on YouTube and has become the best-selling global single of 2023. It was her second song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart after ‘Wrecking Ball’ in 2013.

Flowers is about the realisation that you do not need to rely on someone else to feel complete and that you can take care of yourself, give yourself flowers and become the reason for your own happiness and need not look for it elsewhere. She says in an interview, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”.

The initial version of the song was a slow ballad, with Cyrus singing and Michael Pollack playing the piano. Later, during the production phase, it became an uptempo song.

Flowers Guitar lesson

In this lesson, the instructor goes over all parts of the song, covering each section of the song arrangement. Starting from the basic tuning and key of the song to the structure and layout of the chords that are played, followed by a demonstration of how to improvise on the song with an acoustic guitar.

Flower guitar chords are in the key of A minor, which consists of standard chord shapes of C, Am, Dm, G, F and E. The rhythm of the song is in the standard 4/4 time signature, and the strumming pattern, as meticulously shown by the instructor, is D - D - U D U D U D - D (D is a downward strum, and U is an Upward strum).

The special thing about this song is that, since it is a pop-up tempo song, there is an opportunity for players to learn it and play a slow, acoustic version of it using the same chords in their arpeggiated form (picking the individual strings instead of strumming all at once). The tutor shows how to achieve this sound accurately on every chord that is played on the track. There is also an opportunity to solo or improvise on the track using the A minor pentatonic scale.

FAQs

Q. Is ‘Flowers’ by Miley Cyrus easy to learn on the guitar?

Yes, ‘Flowers is a beginner-friendly song as it uses standard chord shapes that are easier to play in the open position on the guitar. A steady 4/4 rhythm and a standard pop strumming pattern also help in quick learning.

Q. Do I need a capo to play ‘Flowers’ on the guitar?

You do not need a capo because the song is in the key of A minor, the chords of which can be easily played in the open position. 

Welcome to the guitar lesson on a song that is an anthem for the spirit of youth and also for road trips. Phir Se Ud Chala is a track from the Rockstar album, composed by A. R. Rahman, voiced by Mohit Chauhan, a singer whose songs most indians have grown up listening to. The song has received over 150 million views on YouTube and has been playing in every youngster's earphones ever since.

It is a song about dreams and the freedom to take flight in pursuit of those dreams. The lyrics ‘phir se ud chala’ means, I fly again. The song follows on from the core story of the film, which is about a rebel artist hustling to make it big, while exploring themes of existentialism, love, discovery and the perils of life.

Phir Se Ud Chala Guitar Lesson

The lesson on Phir Se Ud Chala is done by one of our beloved experts, Mike Walker. The lesson is quite straightforward and a short one. It is divided into sections and contains all the information needed to play the song on an acoustic guitar. The initial sections talk about the chords and rhythm of the song, along with the strumming pattern. The latter sections talk about some of the articulate motifs in the song, along with a section on how to improvise on the track.

A special thing about this song is that it features some slash chords –chords that have a different bass note than the root note. For instance, there’s a Dsus2/G chord that is played after the 2nd verse that sounds dreamy and uplifting and fits the overall story of the song. 

The bit that makes this song easy to play is that there is a lack of frequent chord changes. The majority of the song can be played on a G major chord using a simple strumming pattern that goes like D - D U D U D - (D is a downward strum and U is an upward strum.)

The best part about the lesson is the section that talks about improvising on the track. The instructor demonstrates how to use the B major scale and the G# minor pentatonic scale for improv ideas. This improv section teaches one to unlock the fretboard horizontally.

FAQs

Q. Do I need a capo to play Phir Se Ud Chala

1. Yes, you need a capo on the 4th fret, as the song is in the key of B major, playing a G major shape will give you a B major chord.

Q. Can this song be played solo on an acoustic guitar?

1.  Absolutely! The capo makes it easier to fret the major chord shapes, and the strumming style makes it perfect for intimate solo performances.

In this video lesson Mike Walker teaches how to play the song Socha Hai as part of our guitar series on Indian songs. The song is broken down into multiple lessons for easy learning - Introduction, Intro Lead and Riff, Song Arrangement, Song Demo, Overdub Section, Overdub Demo with Backing, Solo Lesson and Improvisation. Don't forget to make use of the chords and tabs provided with the song lesson!

In this video lesson Mike Walker teaches how to play the song Rock On as part of our guitar series on Indian songs. The song is broken down into multiple lessons for easy learning - Introduction, Intro Riff, Verse and Chorus, Solo Rhythm, Bridge, and Overdubs, Song with Backing Track, Solo Lesson and Improvisation. Don't forget to make use of the chords and tabs provided with the song lesson!

In this video lesson Mike Walker teaches how to play the song Sun Raha Hai as part of our guitar series on Indian songs. The song is broken down into multiple lessons for easy learning - Introduction, Song Arrangement, Song Demo, Solo 1, Solo 2, Improvisation and Lick. Don't forget to make use of the chords and tabs provided with the song lesson!