"America" by Paul Simon, Tutorial

This is a lesson on how I play Paul Simon's song, "America". I recently recorded a performance of "America" here on my KZbin channel here: • America by Paul Simon ... I hope this might be helpful to those interested in learning how I play this song. Thanks for listening!

[@sketchyhead5878]

Glenn, thank you so much for showing us all of the chords and subtle intricacies of playing this song. I’m now destined for days of practicing. Paul Simon shouldn’t be concerned.

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Sketchy! Thank you for letting me know this lesson has been helpful to you. I'm so glad you are giving this a try! I would hope Paul Simon would be pleased! Take care and best of luck to you! Be well! - Glenn

[@1marklake]

Thank you for sharing this lesson. It is well structured and right on. All your lessons and covers are great!

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Marek! I appreciate your taking time to post a comment to let me know this tutorial has been helpful! Thanks so much! Be well! - Glenn

[@johnlynch6248]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Your efforts show the good character you possess. Again, thanks.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you very much for your very generous remarks, John! I hope this tutorial or others on my channel are helpful to you! - Glenn

[@uberjam-sam8512]

Such a great lesson. Such a beautiful tune. Very grateful 🙏

[@glennwillow5124]

My pleasure, Uber Jam Sam! I hope you find it helpful! Be well out there! - Glenn

[@gregalee9652]

Thank you for being so kind to take the time out to show us

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Greg! You are very welcome! Thanks for commenting here! - Glenn

[@charlylangen4445]

Glenn, thanks for this wonderful Tutorial. The best I got on the net. I, ve learned much from it. Thjs again Goahead.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Charly! I'm so glad you let me know that this lesson is helpful! Best of luck to you on your guitar journey! I hope all is well for you! Take care! - Glenn

[@paulbecher9159]

Thank you very much, Glenn, for putting this tutorial together. I found it very useful!

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you, Paul, for your kind feedback. I'm very pleased that this tutorial was helpful to you. I hope all is well for you, Paul. - Glenn

[@tanyadolinari4346]

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT lesson!!! Have wanted to learn to play that classic properly for so long but couLd never figure out the proper chords - and now you have made my dream come true.THANK YOU VERY MUCH.X

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you very much Tanya! I'm so pleased that you appreciate this tutorial! Best of luck with this! And be well! - Glenn

[@SjaakShirly6559]

Glenn, just discovered your channel today! Love your lessons. And indeed a beautiful collection of guitars. Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@glennwillow5124]

Hello Sjaak!!! Thank you for watching and commenting here! I hope you can benefit from the lessons! And thank you for the compliment on my guitars; I am very, very fortunate! Greetings to you from the USA! - Glenn

[@lukasdunford4265]

glenn, thank you very much. your guitar sounds amazing by the way. the singing really helps tie the tutorial together also.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Lucas! I appreciate your comments! I hope this helps you! Be well! - Glenn

[@sperryhunt]

Very accessible tutorial and nice vocal. Thanks, Glenn.

[@glennwillow5124]

Glad it was helpful Sperry! Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment! It's much appreciated! - Glenn

[@johnlim4204]

Glenn, love this rendition of yours. Love it.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you John! I'm glad you are enjoying this! I hope the tutorial helps you out! Be well! - Glenn

[@imannonymous7707]

clever arrangement...always loved this track.... liked✔

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you for taking time to comment! I hope you find this tutorial helpful! Be well! - Glenn

[@martinuglow116]

That was really nice. Lesson was well paced and showed detail. Cheers. MU uk

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Martin! I'm so glad to read that this lesson was helpful to you! - Glenn

[@jimbertrand2499]

Nice step downs in the song America by Paul Simon. Thanks for sharing!

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Jim! I'm glad you are watching! Stay well! - Glenn

[@renatocarbone8061]

Thanks Glenn. And a very powerful, tuned, good timbre voice

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Renato! I'm glad you are watching; I hope you find this tutorial helpful! Be well! - Glenn

[@SedamBisera]

Me too, simply a great lesson, thanks Glenn

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you SP! I'm so glad you thought this was worth your time! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@DanusMyName]

Well done, that was a great lesson!

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Dan! Thank you so much for your comments! I hope this tutorial has been helpful! And thank you for subscribing to my channel! - Glenn

[@kevbodnar4089]

What a great guitar player you are , thanks for the tutorial

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Kev! Thanks so much for the compliment. In all modesty I know I am just one of millions of halfway decent guitar players in the world. But I am very pleased to know that this tutorial may have been helpful to you! Thanks for taking the time to comment here! - Glenn

[@frankcompagnone8550]

Hi Glen just checking in to see how you doing.. take care Glen. I watch this every now and then to keep my paying honest . Thanks again pal

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Frank! I really appreciate your kind feedback and hope you find this lesson helpful! And I hope all is well for you! Take care -- Glenn

[@edwardhammond9030]

Excellent lesson, thanks for posting

[@glennwillow5124]

You're welcome Edward! Thank you for watching and giving this song a try on the guitar! I wish you well! - Glenn

[@richardhumby8704]

Good lesson, I will capo 2 for my voice. Thanks for taking the time.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Richard! Glad you found this helpful! Capos are wonderful, aren't they!? Best of luck and stay safe out there! - Glenn

[@BarryElwyn123]

Wonderful. Good teacher. What a song.

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Barry, Thanks for watching and for your kind comments! It is a great song! I hope you find this tutorial helpful! - Glenn

[@BarryElwyn123]

Did I read that you damaged your arm? Tragedy. Are you better? Hope so - you are a gifted man. I do enjoy your tutorials, here in my shutaway room in Sheffield UK.

[@glennwillow5124]

@@BarryElwyn123 HI Barry, Yes, I damaged my left arm about a year ago, but it has healed now and I'm okay. My arm does hurt at times where I tore the muscle, but it's not something I can't work around. Thank you for your concern! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@tritone12]

very good Glenn. you are an excellent teacher.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Charlie! I appreciate your vote of confidence in me! - Glenn

[@tonia.s.3412]

Nices lesson and voice! Thank you!

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Toni! I hope this lesson helps you! Thanks for watching and thanks for taking the time to comment here! - Glenn

[@vangloberlos]

Thank you for your work, Sir...

[@glennwillow5124]

You're welcome Vangloberlos! Thank you for taking time to comment and letting me know you are listening! I hope you find this helpful! - Glenn

[@yetivanmarshall1473]

The best part of this tutorial is at 11:25 when you sing out CMaj7!. Thank you, this is the first song I've played with a capo in my 53 years of playing. What a great song, especially the Central Park version. It's interesting how the backup acoustic player is capo'd on the first fret and Paul on the 3rd.

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Yeti! Thank you for your thoughts and comments! I'm so pleased that you are enjoying this tutorial! It is a great song! I hope this tutorial is helpful to you! And I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@frankcompagnone8550]

Thank you so much sir. I've wanted to play this all my life.. this version is very accurate. Kudos to you sir and again thanks

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Frank for taking time to let me know you are using this lesson. I hope it's useful to you! Best of luck! - Glenn

[@frankcompagnone8550]

@@glennwillow5124 and I can't thank you enough. I'm old 65 and dug out the old Yamaha because I saw the concert at central Park. I was a decent player and did lots of guy Clarke and towns van Zandt long ago. I was looking for a tutorial and came across you. I can almost play it started at 6 am! It will be weeks til I can sing it and I will thanks in part to you. You nailed this song! . And you sing it well

[@glennwillow5124]

@@frankcompagnone8550 Hi Frank, Thanks so much for your reply! Good for you for pulling that old Yamaha out to play! And you are not all that old! I am nine years older than you are! LOL!😀 Have fun and make some music -- life is short! - Glenn

[@joejustice6959]

Thanks Glenn. Very nice.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Joe! I'm really pleased to know you are working on this! I hope you find it helpful! Be well! - Glenn

[@gregalee9652]

Very beautiful and excellent explanation

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Greg! I'm so glad to know that this tutorial was helpful to you! Thanks so much for your comments to let me know! - Glenn

[@MsMusicman56]

Well done n tks Glenn. This is a beautiful song n I've always liked it.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Blue Boy! I'm so glad you are watching! Thanks for taking time to comment! I hope all is well for you! Take care! - Glenn

[@MsMusicman56]

All good here in Australia, just got out of a 4th lock down. As for alot of us, no live music but hopefully we can start playing again. take care too cheers Paul

[@glennwillow5124]

@@MsMusicman56 I hope things will improve soon for you. Australia has been so fortunate up till now. All the best to you! - Glenn

[@MsMusicman56]

Thanks n to you too. We've had zero emissions here for a week .. fingers crossed

[@glennwillow5124]

@@MsMusicman56 Yes! Fingers crossed!

[@richardwedlich8823]

Good lesson. Thanks.

[@glennwillow5124]

You are welcome, Richard! I hope you find this helpful! - Glenn

[@guntergfa]

Gute gemacht. Vielen Dank. Thanks a lot ...from Germany

[@glennwillow5124]

You are welcome Günter! Thanks for watching! I hope this lesson was helpful to you! - Glenn

[@karrot101]

great tutorial, nice voice too

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Keith! I hope this tutorial is helpful! Thanks so much for watching and for taking time to comment! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@jerryodom7358]

Great demo. Thank you.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you too, Jerry! I hope this is helpful to you! Thanks for watching and taking time to comment! Be well! - Glenn

[@gibby6904]

Great lesson Glenn! Thank you...

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Gibby! Thank you! I'm glad you were able to watch this! I hope it was helpful to you! - Glenn

[@gibby6904]

I called my internet provider and they think KZbin are having some issues but I have had better luck today.....I had issues with some other videos not loading also....some that I had viewed previously.....thank you....

[@glennwillow5124]

Good -- I hope this gets better for you! - Glenn

[@josefduster2400]

Super, great.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Josef! I hope you find this helpful. And I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@youngjohn071242]

Lovely,well done,jh

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi John! Thanks for taking the time to comment here! I'm glad you are liking this -- I hope this tutorial does you some good. Thanks for trying this out and watching! - Glenn

[@larryzink8978]

Nice one old spor, I'm with ya.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Larry! I appreciate your kind feedback! I hope you find this tutorial helpful! - Glenn

[@stephencleland6529]

Great that Glenn, thanks buddy

[@glennwillow5124]

Thanks Stephen for your kind feedback! I hope you find this tutorial useful! And I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@rashidwilliam2402]

thank you very much Mr glenn

[@glennwillow5124]

You are welcome Rashid! Thanks so much for watching and letting me know you are getting something out of this tutorial! All the best to you -- stay safe! - Glenn

[@robertclymer6948]

Thank you Glenn! I thought Paul played it with the Capo on 2nd fret.? Simply an awesome awesome song.

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Robert! Thanks for watching and for your comments! Paul Simon may well have played this with capo on the 2nd fret. That's the great thing about the capo -- you can move it where you like! Be well, Robert! - Glenn

[@14DaveS]

Another good tutorial Glenn, I love your guitar playing. You have a very nice collection of guitars too, just out of interest as I know they all have their own virtues, which one is your favourite ?

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Dave! First, thank you for listening and commenting here! Regarding which one is my favorite, it's pretty hard to pick one, because they are all my favorites! If I could only have one, it would be my old 1967 Martin D-35 that my father gave me when I turned 21. It's a special guitar and so are the memories attached to it. - Glenn

[@Elaleyelunivese]

Hi, what kind of accoustics strings an material was used on the late 60?. I am wondering about that from many many years. Cheers!

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Alejandro! Various string companies offer a range of string formulations to get that retro sound. To get back to the 1930's sound Martin Retro strings made of Monel, a nickel-copper alloy, takes you there. I believe that back in the late 1960's we were all using 80/20 bronze formulations because mostly that's all there was. I still use 80/20 strings when I want to get the brightest possible sound from an otherwise very warm sounding guitar. I use 92/8 Phosphor Bronze strings (92% Copper, 8% tin, a little phosphorus) on most of my guitars today. Have a great 2020 Alejandro! - Glenn

[@chriselliott726]

I wish I could sing like you.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Chris! I appreciate the compliment! I hope you find this tutorial helpful! Be well! - Glenn

[@guntergfa]

Hello Glenn, ich fange an zu üben! I start practicing.... With best regards.

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Günter! Wunderbar! All the best to you! - Glenn

[@keithdyson9016]

Excellent lesson. Many thanks & a beautiful sounding guitar. What brand & model is it, please?

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Keith. The Guitar is a Gibson Advanced Jumbo "Luthier's Choice" built in 2002. I'm glad you like it; it really is a lovely sounding guitar! Hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@adelomrane3863]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Adel! - Glenn

[@BarryElwyn123]

Glen. Have returned again to your excellent tutorial. The flute section between two of the verses- do you have tabs/music for this? Can’t seem to transpose this to guitar. Many thanks, Barry

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Barry! Great to see you here again. However, I am sorry in that I have no tabs made up for this song. -- Glenn

[@robertsweeney9183]

👍

[@glennwillow5124]

Thanks for watching Robert and thanks for your kind feedback! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@pinball1970]

9.56 another great vid !!! At this tho he goes to an F# the F over the Am. Pretty sure. So Am7 F#m7b5 then Fmaj7 which makes sense progression wise. What you think?

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Pinball! I did take some liberties with this arrangement in comparison with Paul SImon's version. I figure, that's what covers are for. Thanks for watching and thanks for your comments! Take care! - Glenn

[@pinball1970]

@@glennwillow5124 I'm not being picky mate. I was aware of that little bit from a chord book from years ago. I've picked up so many gems from your playing, technique to take away and learn/practice.

[@dottydorsch8608]

@@pinball1970 Hi Pinball! No worries, mate! I didn't think you were being picky, just carrying on a conversation about music you care about! This is great! Thanks so much! - Glenn

[@matigoldbergguitar9013]

Hello there! Gimme some john Mayer, eric clapton, bill withers. Great video this one. Cheers

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Matias! Thanks for the suggestions! Hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@matigoldbergguitar9013]

@@glennwillow5124 check out my vids

[@woowah32]

Nice job👌😎 What guitar are you using? Sounds great

[@glennwillow5124]

Hi Ash! Thank you for your feedback! I hope you find this tutorial helpful! The guitar I am using is a Gibson Advanced Jumbo, Luthier's Choice, built in 2002. It has an Adirondack Red Spruce top and Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. It is a very nice guitar, very alive, and I'm very fortunate to have it. I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@woowah32]

@@glennwillow5124 It’s a beauty, for sure. Bright, yet warm and rich sounding. I thought it was a J-45 at first. I currently play a Maton but eying up a Gibson

[@glennwillow5124]

@@woowah32 Hi Ash! Maton makes some very nice guitars. The Tommy E. models are quite nice. :-) Regarding Gibson, it can be hard to tell the J-45 from an AJ just on looks from a video. J-45 models have a short 24.9" scale while the AJ has a longer 25.4" scale. The J-45 is usually made with mahogany back and sides while the AJ is usually made with rosewood. So the AJ has a little more punch, with the longer scale and stiffer strings and a little more bass and treble chime from the rosewood back and sides. The AJ is kind of a Martin-like Gibson, though it still has Gibson territory, while the J-45 is really, I think, the epitome of Gibson character. Both are great guitars when made well. Take care Ash! - Glenn

[@woowah32]

@@glennwillow5124 Cheers Glenn! Best wishes. If you have a minute check out my acoustic duo ‘Edwardswoodward’ on here on You Tube👍🏻

[@glennwillow5124]

@@woowah32 Cheers back to you, Ash! Yes, I will check out your video! :-) - Glenn

[@samsonwilkinson8090]

Lovely. And now back to my ratatouille.

[@glennwillow5124]

Thank you Samson! I'm glad you are listening! I hope all is well for you! - Glenn

[@chathunihansamali3152]

X

[@glennwillow5124]

Thanks for listening Chathuni! I hope this tutorial has been helpful! Take care! - Glenn