Dressing up a song

The original version

The song from the Beginner course: a verse in G, D, Em, C, a chorus in C, G, D, G.

The verse: soft colors

Replace Em with Em7 and C with Cmaj7. Both are easier than the original chords, and the progression turns dreamier.

Then slip D/F# between D and Em7 the second time through: the bass walks down G, F#, E.

The chorus: some movement

• On D: play Dsus4 on the last beat of the bar, then go back to D. The chorus breathes.
• On C: play Cadd9 instead of C. It shares the ring finger and pinky with G.
• In the last bar, add G/B before going back to C: the bass walks up B, C.

This player plays the original chorus, one chord per bar: it’s up to you to use Cadd9 instead of C, Dsus4 on the last beat of each D bar, and G/B in the last one.

The ending: triads

To finish, play the verse one last time in triads on the high strings, softly, one strum per beat. The song seems to drift away.

The triads for this ending, around the 7th fret: G (G 7, B 8, E 7), D (G 7, B 7, E 5), Em (G 9, B 8, E 7), C (G 9, B 8, E 8). Check every note: they’re all chord tones.

The whole song

1. Dressed-up verse, twice (Em7, Cmaj7, then D/F#).
2. Moving chorus, twice (Dsus4, Cadd9, G/B).
3. Verse and chorus one more time.
4. Ending in triads, over the verse, one strum per beat.

Then do the same with a song of your choice: keep the progression, pick two or three embellishments, no more. A good arrangement doesn’t put everything everywhere.

You’ve got it when…

• You play the verse with Em7, Cmaj7 and D/F#
• You play the chorus with Dsus4, Cadd9 and G/B
• You play the whole song, triad ending included, without stopping