The Six Strings Ballad, fingerpicked

The song

The Six Strings Ballad is an original piece written for this site, in A minor. Listen to the whole thing while following the tab: it scrolls with the music, and you can slow it down.

Amnext: F

Bar 1 / 36 · 4/4

Now playing

Next chord

eBGDAE

▶ Play

Speed−+

75 %

Loopfrom 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536to 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536

Metronome Count-in

Verse 1

AmFCGAmFCG

Chorus

FGAmAmFGCE

Verse 2

AmFCGAmFCG

Chorus

FGAmAmFGCE

Ending

FGAm

Last chord

Am

Keyboard: Space play or pause, ← → previous or next bar, − + speed, B loop.

The picking-hand pattern

The song is in four, and slow: eight notes per bar. On 1, the thumb plays the bass note (A string for Am and C, low E for F, G and E); then your fingers go up and down the G, B and high E strings. It’s a cousin of p-i-m-a-m-i, with two extra notes.

The chord chart

Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, then the ending: F, G, Am, and one last A minor played as a full chord.

How to learn it

1. Strum through the chart, one strum per bar, to memorize the changes.
2. Learn the pattern on A minor, then go from A minor to F without stopping your picking hand.
3. Loop the verse, with the player slowed down, then the chorus.
4. The whole song, and the ending: let the last chord ring.

The tricky spots

• The F barre chord. It comes up a lot: put the barre down during the last two notes of A minor. In a pinch, Fmaj7 works.
• The chorus climbing to E. E is the only major chord “outside” the scale: it pulls toward A minor. Don’t cut it short; let it ring until the verse comes back.
• Evenness. Eight even notes per bar: if one note is louder, it’s often the thumb. Listen to yourself.

You’ve got it when…

• You play the pattern through the whole verse without stopping
• Your F shows up on time, inside the arpeggio
• You play the whole ballad, from the first chord to the last