The Corrs Pack

Lessons

• Lesson 1: Runaway

  Runaway is the debut single by the Irish family band The Corrs, and appears on their 1st album ‘Forgiven, Not Forgotten’ (1995).

  This lesson is entirely based on their acoustic performances and arrangement, and of course on how Jim plays it on guitar.

  He does this with chord shapes in the key of D, where the guitar is capoed on the 3rd fret. The chords are for the most part relatively easy, but the Bm7, including transitioning to and from it, might be a challenge to some.

  The arrangement is in 6/8 and strumming through it should be doable for everyone. In the first verse and pre-chorus Jim uses flatpicking which is a great technique to work on. We break it down thoroughly, even though it shouldn’t come out necessarily the same way each time.

  Other than that, occasional hammer on’s, and a little ascending baseline from Em7 to G are in there too.

   

• Lesson 2: Radio by The Corrs - Guitar Lesson

  Radio is a song by Irish Celtic folk rock band The Corrs. It was released in 1999 from the album ‘The Corrs Unplugged’, recorded at their appearance on MTV Unplugged.
  
  The lesson show the chords, including variations, such as sus2, sus4, 6 and maj7. Yet they remain relatively easy, with the exception of one barre chord.
  
  We go through the progression which starts in the key of G in the intro and verses, and moves into the key of D for the chorus.
  
  Of course we take a look at the right hand. This, in my opinion, needs most of the attention. The strumming should be subtle, sometimes focused, with even a little flatpicking, and more full on in the chorus.

• Lesson 3: Breathless

  Breathless is a Grammy Award nominated song by Irish pop rock group The Corrs. It was released as the first single from their 3rd studio album ‘In Blue’ (2000)

  The lesson is based on how Jim Corr plays it on guitar. In particular how he does it in the key of A (Capo II). This includes a few barre chords. 

  The strumming could be done in single time as well as double time. Jim switches from one to the other often throughout the song. This might be challenging to some, but I would at least recommend double time for the verses, and single time for the chorus’. 

  Another thing to keep in mind is that the chord changes are sometimes syncopated, which means that they appear at the ‘and’ of a beat. It’s not a must, since The Corrs don’t do it all the time as well, but it’s something you could do occasionally. 

  We also take a look at the flat picking intro, and how to incorporate the melody of the violin as well. 

   

• Lesson 4: Forgiven, Not Forgotten

  ‘Forgiven, Not Forgotten’ is the 2nd single by Irish band The Corrs, taken from their debut album (1996) with the same name.

  This lesson is entirely based on how Jim plays it on guitar in a few acoustic settings. (A performance in 1995 EPK, and The Late Late Show, 2015 )

  We take a look at the chords and shapes he uses, which are relatively really easy. The same applies for the chord progression.

  The main focus of this lesson is the strumming in double time. We break down several ways of doing that in really great depth.

  Anyone who considers double time strumming, and/or syncopated chord changes, with its many variations challenging, will benefit greatly from this lesson. I hope that many of you can take it away and carry it over into other songs.

   

• Lesson 5: Angel - Guitar Lesson

  *Angel*is a song by the Irish sibling group The Corrs. Their sound is an interesting blend of folk, pop, and Celtic, particularly with their use of the violin and tin whistle. This song starts with an intricate arpeggio figure using some slightly dissonant chords, then settles into a folk-pop strumming section for the chorus, before adding the Celtic sound for a violin/tin whistle break. This break is transcribed as a short strumming solo in the lesson. There is quite a range of techniques necessary to get through this fun tune.