The Family Treeby Venice

Venice is an American band comprising four brothers and cousins, and formed in Venice, California in 1977. They have achieved most popularity in The Netherlands. Other than that they have performed alongside, or recorded with numerous famous artists and bands. 

This lesson teaches one of their lovely songs, The Family Tree, released in 1999. The lyrics talk about losing a family member, but the ones left behind stay strong since the family tree will always grow. It remains a popular song during funerals.

It features a fingerpicking arrangement in the key of D, where the guitar is tuned to DADAAD (Capo I). A major advantage is that it takes only one chord shape and one picking pattern for most of the song. 

Another option is to simply play it in standard tuning, or Dropped-D Tuning (both Capo I). Even DADGAD would work. Each has its own pros and cons. 

For the sake of the neck of the guitar, the DADAAD version is taught in C#G#C#G#G#C#, Capo II. Still relatively everything remains the same. 

We take a look at all the chords for each tuning, the picking and fingerings, which you need for the 4 measure intro (interlude and outro) in particular.

This part is probably the most challenging, in any tuning. Standard tuning might be the easiest option, but lacks a low D in the bass and of course requires several chord shapes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQi2zq3t8xc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iZh2e3J81k