3 Steps To Creating A Fingerstyle Guitar Arrangement

In this video, I show you how to create your own fingerstyle arrangements on guitar using a tune called “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”.
Playing the chords and melody of a song on one guitar does not have to be difficult to do if you break it down into simple, manageable steps to digest.
I am going to start by getting you familiar with both the melody and chords to this tune before we get into arranging the two parts together onto one guitar.
Knowing the chords and melody and how they relate to each other is crucial when creating a fingerstyle arrangement of a song.
Once you are somewhat familiar with the melody and chords, we will begin the method of putting the two parts together via 3 simple steps.
Step 1: Bass And Melody
The first step is to play the root/bass notes of each chord along with the melody of the song. This in itself sounds good, and could be a smaller part of a larger arrangement of a song.
Step 2: Adding The Harmony
Now we have the bass and melody down, it’s time to fill the space in-between these two parts with the harmony. The bass and harmony parts together create the chord.
Step 3: Breaking Parts Up (Arpeggiating)
The final step is all about breaking up the 3 layers we have now created, bass, harmony, melody, to fill out our fingerstyle arrangement of the song. A great approach here is to arpeggiate some or all of the chords.
While each step above is a part of the overall method, they also work in and of themselves.
For example, our fingerstyle arrangement of “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad” could start out with just the bass and melody, followed by adding the harmony/chords, evolving then into a more elaborate arrangement where parts are broken up and arpeggiated to make the arrangement sound more sophisticated.
Learn how to create your own fingerstyle guitar arrangements: acousticguitar...
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[@acousticguitarlessons]

Tablature for examples presented in this lesson can be found here: acousticguitarlessonsonline.net/fingerstyle-guitar-arrangement

[@stevelopo2009]

melody note is the highest note, simple but useful . Thank you sir.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Wong :)

[@martylaprise5988]

Great video! These are the exact steps I needed to organize my thoughts. Hoping to create my own arrangements of popular songs in the next couple of days. You’re the best!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@martylaprise5988, you are very welcome! Glad my video has helped. Let me know how you go :)

[@martylaprise5988]

@@acousticguitarlessons Thanks for responding! I ended up writing a short 15 second melody but I had to tune it so then I could have more open bass notes to make it easier to play. I might even tune some of the higher strings so then the notes are closer together. Would you happen to have any videos on how to rationalize the best tuning for an arrangement? Deep down I feel that I have the right thinking, but I still doubt myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@@martylaprise5988, I have some videos on open tuning. I don't play in open tunings a lot myself, although I would like to explore more. While they can be good for Chord/Melody stuff, you don't need to play in alternate tunings to do so. Here are some of my videos on open tunings that might help push you in the right direction: kzbin.info/aero/PLJXtMWIq5iFRBS8zgcqcZ6xUc3eo5CI96

[@johnriperti3127]

Thanks for the detailed and informative breakdown. It would be interesting to take it to the next level by arranging a jazz/swing track

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@johnriperti3127, you are very welcome! I will keep in mind your suggestion; it is a good one. :)

[@victoryamadi9646]

God! This was so simple to understand. Nothing supernatural like some other KZbinrs explaining to beginners. I hope it would be equally easy to try out too. Thanks man!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@victoryamadi9646, you are very welcome! Let me know how you go with this :)

[@user-sz4ti4yj6j]

Man you're the best👍

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@user-sz4ti4yj6j, very kind of you to say and you are welcome :)

[@koontzman123]

An alternating bass line would work in this song. Also, Travis picking would sound good.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@koontzman123, yes, you are right, travis picking this tune is also an option. I do that exact thing in this lesson if you are interested: acousticguitarlessonsonline.net/how-to-create-fingerpicking-guitar-arrangements-travispicking

[@koontzman123]

@acousticguitarlessons that was an excellent lesson. Thanks a million!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@@koontzman123 you are very welcome! :)

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@@koontzman123 you are very welcome! :)

[@carolstogner6092]

Thank you. This really helped me

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@carolstogner6092 you are very welcome! I'm glad the video has helped you :)

[@tuna22lm]

So now I really get it so it is just a matter of practicing all of it so I can play it in my sleep, very good informative lesson indeed thank you.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome! Yes, practicing effectively as opposed to just practising is vital in making good progress on guitar :)

[@fattyz1]

Thanks I think this is where my guitar trip of the last 40 years is leading . I should have known when I came in to my teacher in the 80s after a fingerpick assignment that I could do after one week.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@fattyz1, good to hear! We are always evolving as guitarists :)

[@w4njpro976]

Hidden gems 💎 ❤ thanks bro i was lost on a maze of thoughts with notes. But beacause your guidance fingerstyle guitar is easy ❤ thanks bro 🫡

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@w4njpro976, you are very welcome! I am glad my video has helped you :)

[@makelyaabaisa3135]

Beautiful lesson! Thank youuuu

[@acousticguitarlessons]

Thank you Makelya! You are very welcome :)

[@heskethlistening24]

Hi Simon, I'd been working on a fingerstyle arrangement and needed some guidance, I found your lesson and appreciated it so much. Covered all the areas I had been trying to work out for myself and its given my transcription some structure and a model I can use for the next one. Thank you.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

That's fantastic to hear Jonty!! Glad that my video was helpful to you :)

[@Paul_Dalangpan]

Grateful for you sharing this video. Thank you.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@Paul_Dalangpan you are very welcome! :)

[@jvp9703]

Thanks, this was very easy to understand. I now see how important it is to know chords!

[@acousticguitarlessons]

Great to hear the video was useful for you j vp! And you are welcome :)

[@Virtual-Media]

Thanks for making this so logical !

[@acousticguitarlessons]

You are very welcome Virtual Media. Glad you found the video helpful :)

[@Virtual-Media]

@@acousticguitarlessons Extremely helpful! Making sense of fingerstyle arrangements always eluded me exactly how you stated early in your video. Your breakdown of the steps and process are so logical..

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@@Virtual-Media great to hear! Music is very logical :)

[@kittatro]

What should I do when the chord isn't strummed at the same time as the melody? This happens with the song "Sur tes pas" I think and I'm struggling with step 2 here

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@kittatro you don't have to strum a chord with every melody note. Not all notes need to be harmonised, so you can have some melody notes on their own. Having said that, where you put the harmony is up to you, so you can strum wherever you like really, as long as you adhere to the feel of the song and make the chord changes in the correct places in relation to the melody. I hope this helps :)

[@kashivishwanath7603]

Hi Simon. Such a great video & very clearly demonstrated. Each point you have suggested , I feel are very important. Great video. By the way the sound from your guitar is so beautiful, Each note is so crisp & clear. Thank you. One question - some melodies are in more than one octave, do you suggest to play it higher in the fret board on the first 3 strings?

[@acousticguitarlessons]

Thanks Kashi! I appreciate your kind words and glad you like the lesson :) Generally speaking it is better to have the majority of the melody fall on the top 3 strings of your guitar, so then there is room to harmonise it on the lower strings. You can actually place the melody in the bass deliberately and accompany it on the higher strings for a cool effect, however this is not typically how you would arrange a chord/melody piece. You can also displace part of a melody into a higher or lower octave if you wanted. I do it here in an arrangement I did of "Auld Lang Syne" at 1.06 and 1.29: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3XdZ62Oo7N3iKc It's the same part of the melody each time I do it and it is only for a couple of bars each time.

[@kashivishwanath7603]

@@acousticguitarlessons Hi Simon. Thank you very much for your suggestions. Understood the concept now. Will check out the song.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@@kashivishwanath7603 you are welcome :)

[@kashivishwanath7603]

@Acoustic Guitar Lessons Thanks Simon for your input. Understood now, will try this...Thanks...🙏🙏🙏

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@@kashivishwanath7603 great to hear! :)

[@davidmcleod1760]

X1.25 speed = 😊😊😊

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@davidmcleod1760, yes, I speed up videos sometimes too :)

[@progaming.5765]

Sir how to find out the melody of the song? according to each cords of the string? like C string, D string?

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@progaming.5765, you need to learn the melody separately, in isolation, and then see who it fits with the chords :)

[@progaming.5765]

Thank u sir

[@mkaz2497]

I don't understand the chord section. I have a lick that i liked and i want to create a finger style arrangement. How do you know what chord is part of the melody. The best way i have is just trial and error which works. But i cannot understand how you play open E string and deduce it's E7 chord or any other chord

[@acousticguitarlessons]

mkaz2497, it's an E7 chord because I am creating a chord/melody arrangement of an existing tune. The chord has already been decided for me if that makes sense. However, if this is not the case, or you want to reharmonise an existing melody, which is a cool thing to do, then you simply use chords that contain the melody note in them. For example, if I am in the key of C Major, and I want to harmonise an E note in the melody I could use either a C, Em, or Am chord to do so because all these chords contain the E note in them, and these chords also belong to the key of C. Does that make sense? You could also harmonise using chords from outside the key if you wanted a more unique, less predictable sound but would need to proceed with caution :)

[@framk0412]

I don’t get it tab doesn’t match what you’re playing?

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@framk0412, can you tell me exactly where in the video, as in a time stamp, so I can check it out for you?

[@user-rr2op3fy3m]

It would have been better, if you taught how to add percussion in it. But other contents were helpful.

[@acousticguitarlessons]

@user-rr2op3fy3m, glad you liked the video :) Percussion a good idea but beyond the scope of the video. I do have some percusisve guitar videos you can check out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJaZooB4oaeYoa8si=1CxcznK4vMSicPfr kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqO7f4R-r8qFftUsi=aDV1TuAqwNEFl_er