Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello – Señorita (Chords)
Following on from Lewis Capaldi, I wanted to do another recent song with an interesting picking pattern. And Señorita shares elements of that picking pattern but is more challenging and uses some interesting chords.
Suggested Strumming Pattern
If you’d rather strum than pick, you can use this pattern all the way through:
d – d u d u d u
Use that twice per chord until Em7. On Em7, play it once but switch to G on the last up strum. Then continue playing the pattern again on G.
The only exception is at the end of the second verse. On that G you just play two down-strums.
Picking Pattern
Señorita Picking
Like the Lewis Capaldi song, the picking is done with the thumb on the C-string, index finger on the E-string and middle finger on the A-string. The complicating factor is the percussive clicks the pattern contains. I produce these two different ways. The first two in each chord (show with just two xs in the PDF tab) are made by bringing my thumb down on the g- and C-strings so hit the fretboard and make a light click. The final one (shown by four xs) is a traditional chnk where I strum the strings but deaden them with the underside of my picking hand.
Twiddly Bits
Señorita Lead Intro
Here’s a version of the solo that plays in the intro and outro. For this, I’m using a lot of palm muting i.e. resting the underside of my picking hand on the strings as I pick them. Light enough that the notes still sound but heavy enough that they don’t ring out.