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In today's lesson, we're checking out California Dreaming by The Mamas and Papas.
It's a cool little tune - one you can play real simply if you're a beginner guitar player! This song is excellent for Grade 3+ students. It's suitable for advancing beginners but gets a little more complex with exciting chords and strumming patterns!
The original strumming pattern in the original recording is tricky. Especially if you want to sing along - but it's worth the time and practice because it sounds awesome.
Let's first start by checking out the chords - there are quite a few in there. :)
The intro sounds a little different from the recording cause the original recording has more than one guitar!
To play California Dreaming, you'll need to put your guitar capo on the fourth fret of your guitar.
You'll need the A minor, G, F, E7 to play this folk song. You'll also need an E7 sus chord in there - so let me walk you through how you can get this under your belt. It's essential you nail this one because it's used in the intro and throughout the song many times.
To play an E7 Sus chord, start with the regular E7 chord with your Finger 1 and 2 to play this suspended chord. Then, you'll want to put Finger 3 on the third finger in the second fret. Use Finger 3 to do this - you'll easily be able to transition back to E7 by simply lifting off your finger.
🎶 This song is included in my Beginner Songbook 1- it's one of the harder tunes part of the book! If you've been looking for song inspiration - I highly recommend you check it out! I've got over 100 songs in there with full tabs, lyrics, and diagrams to walk you through the tunes. If not, I recommended writing out the chord sequence and the strumming patterns to make things a lot easier for you!
This is an incredible grower song - it can be simplified or developed using different rhythm patterns and pushed chords. You'll be able to spice it up and add new strumming patterns as you progress!
The rhythmic push is a technique on guitar that adds excitement to your strumming pattern. It's almost like having someone come behind you and gently push you on the back. :)
Check out the original
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