Month: August 2024

  • Nelly Furtado – I’m Like A Bird (Tabs)

    For my arrangement of Nelly Furtado’s I’m Like a Bird, I’ve slowed things down a little. Which emphasises the song’s melancholy feel. And makes it easier to play. Which is helpful, as this one is challenging.

    Intro: The start is nice and easy. Just fingerpicked chords with a slow melody on top.

    Verse: The verse sticks with fingerpicking. There are a couple of quick hammer-ons to deal with. Then some alternate picked notes leading into the pre-chorus.

    Pre-Chorus: The pre-chorus builds up with some strumming. And my favourite version of the Fmaj7 chord: 5500.

    Chorus: Another step up in difficulty here. There’s a long series of hammer-ons and pull-offs in bar 24. You can make these really sound out by pulling downwards with your finger slightly for the pull-off. Almost as if you’re plucking the string with your fretting finger.

    Bridge: I had a really hard time getting the phrasing right in bars 29-30. And I didn’t really manage it in the video. Listen to the original rather than mine to get it right. The odd phrasing continues through this section and into the modified pre-chorus that follows.

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  • Sleater Kinney – Modern Girl (Tabs)

    Sleater Kinney’s Modern Girl has a straightforwardness and sarcastic cheeriness that makes this one their most uke-able songs.

    Intro: The intro is a very simple bit of fingerpicking. It’s a good piece to try if you’re new to fingericking. The thumb picks everything on the C- and E-strings. And the middle finger picks the A-string. Then the index finger picks the E-string in bar 5 and from bar 10 onwards.

    Verse: The picking gets trickier in this section. I’m mostly using one finger per string picking. But I play the rapid notes in bar 22 with alternate picking.

    Chorus: A lot more strums in this section. But some more quick alternate picking in bar 26.

    Solo: The harmonic solo is my favourite part of the song. And it’s pretty simple to play. The tricky part is the quick transition into the next verse.

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  • Bob Dylan – Buckets of Rain (Tabs)

    Here’s my take on Buckets of Rain from Bob Dylan’s incredible album Blood on the Tracks.

    This one gets a little fiddly in places. But there are only really two sections. So it’s not a lot to get down.

    I’m using one finger per string picking all the way through. But there are a couple of places with quick repetition of notes on the same string where you might want to do a bit of alternate picking e.g. bar 8.

    There’s a slight variation in the intro/solo section. In bar 20 and 21, you have to head up the neck for a slide.

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  • Weezer – Island in the Sun (Tabs)

    In a shocking turn of events, it’s raining in England. So here’s  Island in the Sun for some sunny vibes.

    Intro: Just strumming out the chords. Be sure to make the “hip hip” bits stand out.

    Verse and Chorus: Other than a slide up to the fifth fret in bars 5 and 9, this is all stays in the first position. It does get a little fiddly in places.

    Bridge: Very straightforward. You can just bash this section out.

    Solo: The solo in the original just follows the verse melody. For my version, I’ve beefed up the melody with a few harmonies. You could just play this section like the verses. Or you could go your own way entirely.

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