Neil’s Top Strumming Songs Volume 1

Lessons

• Lesson 1: Yellow Submarine - Guitar Lesson

  Yellow Submarine is a fun song to play for guitar students of all levels. It includes mostly open chords but a lot of one-beat changes as well.

• Lesson 2: Knockin' On Heaven's Door

  This lesson on Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan is part of the series of complete lessons we call The Campfire Versions. Learn the chords, learn the strumming pattern (or make up your own), and get some friends to sing along!

• Lesson 3: Lucky Man Guitar Lesson

  Lucky man is a very simple folk song, playable by almost any beginning guitar player. It is a great song to start with for learning a few common chords, as well as an easy 3/4 or 6/8 strumming pattern. It is played in the key of D but the chords are from the mixolydian mode, it is not in a major key.

• Lesson 4: Brown Eyed Girl

  This lesson goes over the chord progression, the strumming, the opening lead, and some of the licks and fills in Van Morrison's hit from his 1st solo album Blowin' Your Mind, released in 1967.

• Lesson 5: Wonderwall

  One of the biggest hits by Britpop band Oasis, Wonderwall is a simple strumming song featuring easy chord changes. This short lesson gives you everything you need to strum along with the band, as long as you have a capo at the second fret. The lesson is done without the capo.

• Lesson 6: Solitary Man

  Solitary Man was Neil Diamond's first solo hit, released in 1966, although it was rereleased in 1970 and had better chart success. The song uses the five open chords in the key of G and the basic folk strum.

• Lesson 7: Sundown

  Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown was one of his biggest hits, as well as one of his easiest songs to play. It was released in 1974 and got him back on the musical map as it had been a few years since his last hit, If You Could Read My Mind. It uses just a few open chords and is done with a simple rock strum.

• Lesson 8: Margaritaville

  Margaritaville would have to be the defining song of Jimmy Buffett's career, as well as a poignant commentary on the state of American culture. In any case, the song is very fun to play and would have to be considered a poster song for the term 'Campfire Song'. In this lesson we look at some variations in chord voicings and inversions that can be added to the chorus, as well as playing the intro and the lead in 2-part harmony.

• Lesson 9: Tequila Sunrise

  This is a great song for beginning students. It uses the basic folk strum and mostly open chords in the key of G.

• Lesson 10: Nights In White Satin Guitar Lesson - Moody Blues

  Nights In White Satin is from The Moody Blues 1967 album Days Of Future Passed and is a basic strumming song. This short lesson goes over the chord progression and includes a bit on understanding time signatures. This lesson now includes tab to a Chord Solo that appears on an early video Neil did before the lesson was completed.

• Lesson 11: Comfortably Numb Guitar Lesson - Pink Floyd

  Comfortably Numb is one of the most popular songs from Pink Floyd’s album The Wall, released in 1970. It is one of only 3 songs on the album credited to both Roger Waters and David Gilmour. This lesson concentrates on just the rhythm guitar aspects of the song. We use a single strumming pattern that is very common in slower songs. The chords are from the keys of Bm (D major) and C, and give the student a good opportunity to work on bar chords.

• Lesson 12: Lay Lady Lay

  Many Bob Dylan songs have fairly simple chord progression and strumming patterns. *Lay Lady Lay*is a great example of this as it uses just a few barre chords in a repetitive fashion. This Campfire Lesson goes a bit into barre chord theory and the basic way to strum through the song.

• Lesson 13: Walk Don't Run Guitar Lesson

  A popular sound of the 1960s came to be known as Surf Music. This usually featured the simple arrangement of a catchy melody played by two guitars (lead & rhythm), bass, and drums. The Ventures were one of the first instrumental groups on the scene, although they soon branched out into many different styles. Their version of *Walk Don’t Run*, released in 1960, was written by Johnny Smith in 1955, recorded by Chet Atkins two years later, and went on to become a defining anthem of the times and the sound. Neil likes to use the rhythm parts this song as a barre chord exercise for beginners and the lead sections as intermediate exercises to work on steady alternate picking and playing scales. This lesson works on both aspects.

• Lesson 14: Sister Golden Hair - Guitar Lesson

  Sister Golden Hair was written by Gerry Beckley and first appeared in 1975 on America’s fifth album Hearts. It is a fairly basic strumming song but has quite a few barre chords used, many changing quickly. This short lesson includes a chord chart with lyrics and all the details you need to get it down.

• Lesson 15: Just A Song Before I Go - Guitar Lesson

  This short lesson on Just A Song Before I Go by Graham Nash will show you everything you need to strum through this beautiful song.