LESSON - We've Only Just Begun by The Carpenters (acoustic)

[@seandunn10]

The carpenters brings me right back to the 70s . Whole family glues to the tv as dad forced us to watch what he wanted. Dave you have the ability to pick the very best thank you!

[@danserdutz6700]

I recall the Crocker Bank ad before the single... lol. Being rockers, some of us didn't wanna admit how f-ing great The Carpenters were back in the day. Now I consider Karen's voice as one of the finest female vocalists. Heavenly. Richard arranged the songs with great care. First class memories. Dave nails the color of the chords totally. Well done video! Brings the songs magic to the 6 string. Amazing talent to preen just the right chords and changes. Thanks

[@TheNobbynoonar]

Agree with Dan Serdutz 100%. Karen’s voice was heavenly and Richard’s arrangement is a lesson in itself. These two really knew their craft (as did all of the talented musicians and others who worked with them) A really useful lesson for any guitarist who wants to break out of the “three chord trick” rut and get into well crafted arrangements for guitar. So much to learn from lessons such as this. Dave, I just happened to stumble across your site, so glad I did-thank you for a truly fantastic lesson.

[@Gregdsilva915]

Always worth watching again and again

[@alexandremagnobraga-direca1869]

Absolutely adorable Dave, thank very much, I´ll try to learn with your lesson.

[@hughle2579]

Brilliant ! Thanks Dave !🙏🙏🙏

[@trevorflarty1811]

You old,romantic.love your accoustic,arrangements.plus ,New York,accent.keep up the good work.

[@johnbooth1556]

Another first-rate lesson of a stonking tune. Thank you.

[@ecjr6162]

Your lessons are gold. Thanks brother. Keep playing!

[@moreorlesslikeso]

Another good one - thanks, Dave!

[@sidneywhitehead1575]

Beautiful man WOW

[@stephengoh5456]

Marvellous song! Love it. Thank you Dave. God bless!

[@alansmollen]

Excellent choice sir

[@Gregdsilva915]

Great job

[@jimmyo7772]

Wonderful lesson Dave!

[@jordanoakes8237]

The melody and chords were actually written by Roger Nichols, who was Paul’s writing partner. Paul wrote the words.

[@duffypratt]

Man, I hated the Carpenters when I was a stupid kid, and their songs are so good. Haven’t thought about this one in years. The Bacharach and Leon Russell songs are incredibly good, and her voice... Thanks

[@daleywhaley]

Many thanks for this!

[@shadygrady65]

Thank you for showing these sometimes, difficult chords for most guitar players to tackle. After seeing how this beautiful song was written from your presentation, the structure of their chords fit perfectly around Karen, Richard, and the rest of the band’s, unique vocal style. The Carpenter’s vocal style, was way ahead of the digital processing of today music, that often seems too polished, and multi-layered to perfection. Not a bad thing, but I give the Carpenter’s a lot of credit for their basic studio arrangements, and analog equipment that they had available at the time.

[@terencehsu9576]

Thank you for your valued comments. I am also a fan of Carpenters for decades and will continue as time goes by.

[@josephleech595]

Really great Tutorial! Thank you :)

[@stegab17]

One of my faves, Mr Dave..Could you please do “ Rainy Days and Mondays” by Paul Williams. Thank you.

[@kittskiko]

Hi new student here! Thanks for an awesome lesson man. Greetings from the philippines 🤘

[@abdulabadkumbati664]

Charot

[@dannoyes4493]

Well Done, Dave!

[@stevenquing3228]

This is a good tutorial

[@davidmiller1218]

This video is the decider: Should I subscribe? Yes, I'm a fan of the Carpenters although I don't know the minutiae about their lives, I just enjoy the music. I have a "The Ventures Play the Carpenters" cd that I try to learn from and some Carpenters cds because Karen's voice is just gorgeous. I see that you've done a number of other videos that look interesting, too. I started with your rant on the Fender Ultra event; I have 13 various Fenders and enjoy them but no $2K models. Anyway, I enjoy your playing and opinions whether I agree or not.

[@plippleplop]

Would the ending chord be considered a Picardy 3rd?

[@DavesGuitarChannel]

No, that is when a song should resolve to the minor tonic but made major.

[@DavesGuitarChannel]

One could argue it though

[@plippleplop]

@@DavesGuitarChannel Dave, thank you for all your teachings, I really appreciate it!! You lift my spirits!! Would love to jam with you sometime!

[@chrisbergonzi7977]

You covered this? Great, great song.... Who the hell sang it? I'm lead vocals tenor....it's murder to sing lol...

[@scottbecker3485]

Dave doesn‘t really sing, as far as I have gathered. He has a lady singer who takes care of that quite fine. :-) As for us baritones, I love this song so much that I used Dave‘s video as inspiration to transpose it to suit my voice. Works great starting off in D and moving to a Dsus (no finger on the high E) with a G bass added (whatever that chord is called). Transitions later to an F#m7, Bm7, Em7, Bm7 and then, in place of that E11 Dave speaks of, there‘s an easy open chord that work. Feel free to ask if you want to know, and I‘ll try to describe it. Later in the song, two of the shapes used above just move farther up the neck. Again, would be glad to share if interested. I‘m accompanying myself with a Seydel Orchestra Session Steel in LD (low D), which works great as replacement for the strings at the beginning and for soloing.

[@chrisbergonzi7977]

@@scottbecker3485 thanks man

[@krelbar]

Find your happy place...

[@OJA1965]

Dayum, ANOTHER one! Not going to get much work done the rest of the day...