Your first complete fingerstyle piece: a gentle, unhurried tune in G major, with open chords only.
Form
- Intro (2 bars): a G arpeggio, then a D chord.
- Verse (4 bars, played twice): G, Em, C, D, with a melody on the high e string.
- Outro (2 bars): C with a hammer-on, then a slow rolled G.
That's 12 bars in all. Let it sound calm, like a morning with nowhere to be.
Picking hand
Use p-i-m-a: the thumb (p) takes the bass on the E, A and D strings, index (i) on G, middle (m) on B, ring (a) on high e. In the verse, every chord starts with a pinch: thumb and ring finger together. That top note is the melody, so let the ring finger play it a little louder and let it ring for two steps.
Fretting hand
The melody notes sit on top of the chord shapes. On Em, add your pinky on fret 3 of the high e, then your index on fret 2. On C, the pinky reaches fret 3 on the high e. On D, lift the finger off the high e to let the open string ring. In the outro, lift your middle finger off the C chord and hammer it back onto fret 2 of the D string.
Common mistake
Stopping to reach for the next chord. In the G and Em bars the last two notes are open strings, so start moving your fretting hand while they ring. Going into C and D, beat 1 needs only one finger (fret 3 on the A string for C, fret 2 on the high e for D): place that one first and add the rest as the notes come.
How to practice
Loop each section slowly until it flows, then chain them: intro, verse twice, outro. If one change breaks the flow, loop just that bar change. Count the verse out loud the second time through so you don't lose track of where you are.