Preview

July Matham - Introduction

July Matham is a beloved Tamil song from the 1993 film Pudhiya Mugam, composed by A.R. Rahman in his early career. The song features the legendary voices of S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and Annupamaa, with lyrics by Vairamuthu. It is set in Pilu raga, which gives it a sweet yet melancholic feel. The film tells the story of an assassin who transforms into a hero, and this song plays during a key emotional moment.

The melody flows gently, with soft orchestration and expressive vocals. Rahman’s use of harmonies and subtle rhythm changes makes the song stand out. Even today, it remains a favorite among fans of 90s Tamil music because of its simple yet deep emotional appeal. The way the vocals glide through the notes makes it perfect for guitar adaptation.

July Matham Guitar Lesson

Taught by Mike Walker, this lesson covers the song’s structure in D minor, shifting to D major in some sections. The harmonic minor scale (D-E-F-G-A-Bb-C#) is used for the sorrowful parts, while the major scale brightens the mood. The chords follow a cycle of Dm - Bb - F - C, with occasional passing chords like Gm and A7 for tension.

The strumming pattern is relaxed, matching the 6/8 rhythm. Use downstrokes on beats 1 and 4, with light upstrokes in between. The pre-chorus has arpeggiated chords, where you pluck individual notes instead of strumming. The chorus returns to fuller strums, emphasizing the emotional highs.

For the melody, focus on the D minor pentatonic scale (D-F-G-A-C). The vocal line moves smoothly, often sliding between notes. On guitar, try bending into some notes for expression, like bending the F (1st fret, high E string) slightly upwards. The bridge shifts to D major, changing the mood completely before returning to the minor key.

Beginners should practice the chord transitions first, especially Dm to Bb. Intermediate players can work on the arpeggiated sections, ensuring each note rings clearly. Advanced players can experiment with subtle vibrato and slides to mimic the vocal phrasing.

FAQs

Q. How to play the arpeggios smoothly?

Pluck the strings one by one in order and keep your fingers close to the frets. Avoid moving your arm and try maintaining a rhythm with moving only your wrists.

Q. Why does the song switch between minor and major?

The minor scale brings sadness, while the major parts add hope, matching the song’s emotional journey.

Q. Can I use a pick for this song?

Yes, you can use a pick for the picking patterns but the songs’ authentic feel comes only when fingerpicking is involved.

Q. What effects should I use?

A little reverb and delay help recreate the original’s dreamy sound. 

Yedhi Yedhi is a romantic track from a Telugu film, Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu; with this song, both the director and the composer tried to convey the emotional depth and nostalgic tone of the story. Yedhi Yedhi blends Indian classical influences with the presence of modern orchestration, which creates a pretty massive soundscape. 

The melody is simple and yet hauntingly beautiful; as you learn to play it on your guitar, you will develop sensitivity in your fingerpicking and strumming, thus enhancing your expressive playing skills. 

Song Structure 

Introduction: The introduction is given by J.J. Pattishall, and he will be your guitar instructor for this lesson. J.J. will show you how to tune up your guitar in order to play this song. 

Chorus(Song Arrangement): In this part of the song lesson, you will learn all the chords and rhythms that are necessary to play this song. Here, J.J. has divided the song arrangement into sub-parts so that you will be able to understand which chord belongs where and which rhythm you need to use for that particular section. 

Interlude: This interlude comes right after the first chorus. The interlude has a string section, but here, J.J. has converted it for guitar. As a result, he will first show you how it sounds and then show you how to play it yourself. 

Pre-Verse and Verse: There is a quick guitar break right before the first section, so that particular guitar break is taught in pre-verse; after that, you will get to know about the song arrangement for the verse. 

Orchestral Bridge: This is an orchestral bridge that, if you want, you can skip, and by doing that, you will come straight to the verse once again. On the other hand, if you want to learn the technical aspects of this song, then you should definitely go for it. 

Bridge, Cello Section, and Ending: This is the last bridge section that you will have to learn for this song; it also includes some parts of cello, and then comes the ending. 

Song Demo: Here, you will get to see J.J. play the guitar parts of the song with the backing track. 

Intro Solo: Finally, here is the solo, which you hear as the song begins. 

Why Learn Yedhi Yedhi Song On Guitar?

The slow tempo of the song gives the song an introspective mood, which allows you to focus on dynamic control, tone, and timing; all of these things are essential for emotive performance. It’s a great song to play in intimate gigs, open mics, or simply in your practice sessions. 

Elay Keechan is a song composed by A.R. Rahman for the Tamil film Kadal, which was released in 2013. This particular track from the movie's album stands out as the most listened-to song because of its energetic folk-rock fusion and catchy rhythm. 

A.R. Rahman made sure to infuse folk elements with contemporary rock, making this song a truly refreshing listening experience. In this song you will witness acoustic guitar strums in addition to the bluesy bass lines and even the use of harmonica. 

Strumming Pattern 

Elay Keechan has a laid-back sound to it; it holds a nostalgic feel as well, which comes from gentle strumming or light fingerpicking. The recommended strumming pattern for this song is D – D U – U D U. 

• D = Down Strum. 
• U = Up Strum. 
• “–” = Pause or hold

• When you play this song, try to use light dynamics; what this means is that you have to let the strums breathe in order to maintain the song's emotional depth. 
• Furthermore, it would be great if you could use a capo on the 1st or 2nd fret to match up with the original pitch of the song. 
• You can also use fingerpicking in the intro to add more layers of retro vibe to the song. 

Song Structure 

Introduction: The introduction of the song lesson is by Mike Walker, who is also going to be your guitar instructor for this song. Mike talks about how this song is unique with its repetitive rhythmic parts and how it has a country-like solo. In this part of the lesson, you will be learning how to tune up the guitar for this song. 

Riff: Here Mike will first play the closed version of the song, and he explains to you the chords used for it, then he moves to the open version and shares with you the chords for the same. 

Song Demo: After showing you the repetitive rhythm that you need to follow, Mike will demonstrate how to play the song on guitar with the backing track. 

Improvisation: In this section of the guitar lesson, Mike will show you how to implement improvisation techniques for this song. These techniques will make it easier for you to play the song. 

Solo: The last part of this lesson is a guitar solo, which is played at the 10th fret of your guitar. Mike has divided the solo into multiple licks and shows you how to play the entire solo, one lick after the other. 

Crazy Minnal is one of the vibrant Tamil songs that was part of the movie Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, which was released in 2012. This song stands out as the promotional track for the film due to its upbeat tempo and memorable tune. 

Song Structure 

Introduction: The introduction of this guitar lesson is from Bobby Koelble, who is also going to be your instructor. In this introduction, Bobby shares his views on the song; he tells us that the song includes a pretty nice tune that has to be played on acoustic guitar for the best results. 

Verse 1: This particular part is the longest, and here you will learn about the chords, rhythm, and song arrangement of the 1st verse that comes in the beginning. The guitar part starts from the lead vocals; for this part, you will be using right-hand fingerpicking techniques, so do spend some time perfecting this particular part, as this technique is quite useful if you are going to be a professional guitarist. 

Pre-chorus and Chorus: The pre-chorus present in this song is just 4 bars long, and it follows a simple rhythm. 

Solo Rhythm: Now comes the part where you will learn how to play the epic solo; here, Bobby first shows you the chords that are being played below the main solo, which has a very subtle rhythm part that keeps playing in the background as the guitar solo progresses. Once this is done, Bobby will teach you how to play the solo part. 

Bridge: This part shows you how to play the bridge, which is a total of 12 measures; here, you will be mostly playing the chords that you have already learned in the above section; there are two or three additional chords for this lesson. 

Verse 3: When you listen to the third verse, you might think it’s pretty similar to what you have learned in the first verse; well, it is partially true; here, you will find there’s a change in harmony, and if we compare it rhythmically we can find that it is completely different than the 

first one. 

Pre-chorus 2 and Chorus 2: Once again, the pre-chorus is similar to the first one but with the addition of two new chords for you to learn and practice. 

Song Demo: This is the part where your guitar instructor plays the guitar parts of the song with the backing track. 

Solo Lesson: Here, you will learn how to play the solo, which is pretty small in terms of bar length. But it does hold significance when it learns the right essence of this song. 

Simple Version: In this last section, Bobby plays each section of the song, but this time, instead of using complex bar chords and progressions, he will keep things simple to make it easier for beginners to learn this song.