Your first fingerstyle arrangement

An arrangement is a plan for how a song unfolds: what you play in the intro, how each verse differs, and how it ends. Using House of the Rising Sun, you will put the arpeggio, dynamics and a melody on top into a complete arrangement.

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

• Plan an arrangement with an intro, two verses and an ending.
• Vary dynamics and texture between sections.
• Perform a complete arrangement without stopping.

An arrangement is your plan for how a piece unfolds. The song is the chords and tune; the arrangement is the decisions about texture, volume and structure.

A simple plan for a short piece:

1. Intro. One verse of the pattern alone, quietly, to set the mood.
2. Verse 1. The pattern at medium volume.
3. Verse 2. Louder and richer: bring out the top notes so a tune emerges.
4. Ending. Slow down on the last bar and let the final chord ring.

The rule is to change one thing between sections. Volume, texture (adding the melody on top), or the bass pattern. When everything changes at once the listener loses the thread, and when nothing changes the piece sounds flat.

Plan the ending deliberately. An unplanned ending is the most common weakness in a first arrangement. Slow the last bar down, play one low bass note, or let the final chord fade.

Write the plan on a card. It is much easier to remember four labelled parts than a long sequence of bars.

The structure of the arrangement:

• Intro (8 bars): arpeggio only, quiet.
• Verse 1 (8 bars): arpeggio, medium.
• Verse 2 (8 bars): arpeggio, louder, top notes brought out.
• Ending (2 bars): slow down, let Am ring.

e|------------0------|-----------0-------|
B|---------1-----1---|--------1-----1----|
G|------2-----------2|-----0-----------0-|
D|-------------------|-------------------|
A|---0---------------|--3----------------|
E|-------------------|-------------------|
     1  2  3  4  5  6   1  2  3  4  5  6

Putting it together.

1. Write the four-part plan on a card, with a word for the volume of each: quiet, medium, louder, fading.
2. Play the intro verse quietly. Notice that you have nothing else to add: the quiet is the point.
3. Verse 1: raise the volume slightly. Verse 2: emphasise the top note of each arpeggio, and let the thumb be a little firmer.
4. The ending: in the last bar slow down, play only the bass note of Am, and let it ring.
5. Record the whole thing once through and listen back. Write down one thing to change.

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

• 1.Plan the sections

  4 min

  1. Write the chords: Am C D F, Am C E E. That is one verse of 8 bars.
  2. Decide: intro (one verse, quiet arpeggio, no melody), verse 1 (arpeggio at medium volume), verse 2 (louder, top notes brought out), ending (slow down on the last Am).
  3. Write the plan on a card.

  You have it when

  • You have a written plan with four parts and a dynamic for each.
  I practised this one

• 2.Verse with dynamics

  5 min · 60 → 80 BPM

  1. Play the 6/8 pattern over the verse chords, quiet for the first four bars and slightly louder for the second four.
  2. Bring out the top note in verse 2.
  3. Keep the thumb on the right bass note for each chord.

  You have it when

  • You can hear a gentle rise in volume across the verse.
  I practised this one

• 3.Play and record the arrangement

  5 min · 60 → 80 BPM

  1. Play the whole plan once through without stopping.
  2. Record it on your phone.
  3. Listen back and write down one thing to improve.

  You have it when

  • You play the complete plan and you have noted one improvement.
  I practised this one

Use 70 BPM in 6/8 (one note per click). A steady tempo matters more than speed in a full arrangement.

• Playing every verse the same. Change one thing per section: volume, texture or the top note.
• Forgetting an ending. Plan the last bar: slow down, let the last chord ring, or end on a single bass note.
• Over-complicating the plan. Two verses and an ending is plenty for a first arrangement.

Use the same method on any song: a few clear decisions about sections and dynamics turn a pattern into a performance.

Try it in: House of the Rising Sun.

Short version (10 minutes)

Write the plan and play the first verse with a rise in volume.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then perform the arrangement for someone, or record it and listen back a day later.

• An arrangement is a plan for how a piece unfolds.
• Change one thing between sections.
• Plan the ending.
• Record to hear what you cannot hear while playing.

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

• I have a written arrangement plan.
• I can play it through without stopping.
• I recorded it and noted one improvement.