Arranging a song for solo guitar

Here everything meets: you take a song and make a complete solo-guitar version. A bass line from the thumb, the tune on top, chords where they help, and a short lead fill between phrases. The key is deciding what to include and what to leave out.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Map the form of a song and choose what to play in each section.
• Combine a bass line, melody and chords in the same section.
• Add a short lead fill and a planned ending.

An arrangement for solo guitar is a set of choices about what to play and, just as importantly, what to leave out. The ingredients are ones you already have:

• A bass line from the thumb: root and fifth, or an alternating bass.
• The melody on the top strings.
• Chords where there is room: a strummed chord or a held chord in the gaps.
• A lead fill: a short pentatonic lick, played where the melody rests.
• An ending you have planned.

Start with the form. Write the song's sections and the number of bars in each, using what you learned about form. Then choose a texture for each: arpeggio and melody in the verse, strummed chords in the chorus, melody over bass in the bridge.

Leave things out. You have two hands and a few strings. If the melody is moving, the bass can simplify to a root note. If the bass is moving, the melody can hold a long note. A good arrangement gives each moment one clear focus.

Fills go where the melody rests, and are short. Two beats is plenty. They should sound like a reply to the melody.

Plan the ending. Decide the last bar before you start: slow the tempo, let the final chord ring, or finish on a single bass note.

A sample plan for Let It Be (C, G, Am, F):

Intro   (4 bars)  bass only, C G Am F
Verse   (8 bars)  alternating bass + melody on top
Chorus  (8 bars)  strummed chords, fuller
Fill    (2 bars)  pentatonic lick between phrases
Ending  (2 bars)  slow down, let C ring

From plan to performance.

1. Write the plan above for your chosen song, with bar counts.
2. Play the verse with an alternating bass (root and fifth) from the thumb.
3. Find the melody by ear and play it on the top strings over the bass. Where the melody rests, hold the chord.
4. Pick a two-beat fill from the A minor box (or the C major pentatonic). Play it at the end of each phrase.
5. Plan the ending, then perform the whole arrangement and record it.

Listen back for the places where two things compete. Remove one.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Map and plan

  4 min

  1. Choose a song from the library, such as Let It Be (C, G, Am, F).
  2. Write its form map with bar counts.
  3. For each section, decide the texture: arpeggio, melody over bass, strummed chords, or a mix.

  You have it when

  • You have a one-page plan with a texture for each section.
  I practised this one

• 2.Bass, melody and chords

  5 min · 50 → 70 BPM

  1. Play the progression with an alternating bass (root and fifth) from the thumb.
  2. Find the melody by ear on the top strings and play it over the bass.
  3. Where the melody rests, fill the gap with a chord or a bass run.

  You have it when

  • You can play a verse of the song with bass and melody together.
  I practised this one

• 3.Fill and ending

  5 min · 50 → 70 BPM

  1. Choose a two-beat lead fill from a pentatonic box, to play at the end of a phrase.
  2. Play it where the melody rests, once per verse.
  3. Plan the ending: slow down and let the last chord ring, or finish on a bass note.

  You have it when

  • You can play a verse with a fill and an ending, and record it.
  I practised this one

Choose a tempo that suits the slowest part of the arrangement: usually the melody-over-bass section. 60 to 80 BPM is typical.

• Trying to play everything at once. Leave things out. A good arrangement is chosen, not crowded.
• Fills that cover the melody. Put fills where the melody rests, and keep them short.
• No plan for the ending. Decide the last bar before you start. Endings do not improvise themselves.

This is the point of the whole curriculum: you take a song you love and make it your own, with your own bass, your own tune and your own fill.

Try it in: Let It Be.

Short version (10 minutes)

Make the plan for one song, then play its first verse with bass and melody.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises and record the whole arrangement. Listen to it a day later and note one thing to change.

• Map the form, then choose a texture for each section.
• Bass with the thumb, melody on top, chords in the gaps.
• Fills go where the melody rests.
• Plan the ending.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I have a written arrangement plan for a song.
• I can play a verse with bass and melody together.
• I can add a lead fill and an ending.