May i be BOLD and offer what i believe is the correct strumming pattern for this song?
1eae2eae3eae4eae1eae2. etc etc
D. . .D . . udud . .uduD . . .D. etc etc.
My guitarteacher showed me a different chord shape , i'll try to explain:
eadgbe
-32-13
32--13
--2213
--3213
I am not trying to outsmart Matt, i love his postings, this is just an other way the song could be played and i hope you'll give it a try and let me know what you think(BTW i capo on the 3th, can't sing like James can :( ).
I have the album and James uses this strumpatern in 5 or 6 of the 10 songs, guess he really likes it :D
Thanks for listing
Ron
Hi just to add my two cents. I listened to the song on the radio and it defintely includes a lot of sixteen notes. So it shoud work with patterns like (a slash divedes each beat)
dd /ddu/ dd /ddu
or maybe better since it seems me that involves syncopation
dd/ddu/uu/dudu
or also
dd/ddu/ud/ddu
Cheers to everyone and a big hello to Matt for the excellent job (one of these days I'll gonna buy a capo to try some of the songs you posted)
Matteo
mattguitar - excellent lesson. I have not been playing guitar, long but when my wife recognises the song after the 4 notes of the intro (yes really!), I know I have to learn it. Sometimes, when practising something for the first time (badly) it can sound like a cat having it's throat cut (I imagine!). As a beginner, any recognition of a song when I am learning it, is a boost to me. Was it like that for all of you?
This James Blunt classic was so successful over here in the UK that most people are fed up with hearing it, and it has become almost un-cool to like it. But as with a lot of songs I revisit to learn on guitar, the song has so much more than I first heard - do others find this?
The song played with capo on 8, sounds so much like the original, but as others have commented, the strumming pattern can be varied to personalise it. I feel that capo on 8 (or 7 as in the GN lesson for Fields of Gold, and 6 for Losing My religion) gives a whole new sound to my guitar.
I cannot sing, have many of you had a stab at singing this song? JB has a very distinctive voice which I think is the beauty of this song.
I will just have to be content with learning to play it as my singing is appalling.
Thanks again mattguitar.
