Hey, guys, today I really want to show you how you can simplify this awesome song called Autumn Leaves on Acoustic guitar and really make it simple and fun to play.
Guitar Lesson Tutorial: Autumn Leaves -More Info: this guitar lesson we'll be checking. Nat King Cole - Autumn Leaves Chords Learn the song with the online tablature player. The falling leav Gm7 es C7 drift by my wi Am ndow. In this lesson, we look at the chords for the classic jazz standard Autumn Leaves, a popular starter for beginners! Em Am Am7 D7 Gmaj7 Cmaj7 The falling leaves drift by the window Am B7 Em The autumn leaves of red and gold Am Am7 D7 Gmaj7 Cmaj7 I see you lips the summer kisses Am B7 Em The sunburned hands I used to hold B7 Em Since you went away the days grow long Am D G E7 And soon I'll hear old winter's song Am B7 Em But I miss you most of all my darling Am B7 Em When autumn leaves start to fall. Intro: Gm Gm9 Gm7 Gm7 C7 Am The falling leaves drift by my window Dm7 Gm7 C7 Dm7 The autumn leaves of red and gold Gm7 C7 Am7 Dm7 I see your lips, the summer kisses Gm7 C7 Dm7 The sunburnt hands I used to hold E7 Am7 Dm7 Since you went away the days grow long Gm7 C7 Am7 Dm7 And soon I'll hear old winter's song Gm7 C7 Am Dm7 But I miss you most of all my darling, E7 Dm Dsus4 Dm When Autumn.
Autumn Leaves is one of the most famous Jazz Standard written by Joseph Kosma in 1945 and then played and rearranged hundreds of times by elite musicians worldwide.
A simple song for beginners
Today I am going to propose this fingerstyle acoustic guitar arrangement for beginners, which will help you improve not only your fingerstyle technique but also your musicality and dynamics.
If you want to warm up before you start to learn this song, you can check out this awesome fingerstyle warm up here!
Let’s get started and enjoy the lesson!
In this video lesson, I want to show you how you can easily simplify this beautiful song on acoustic guitar using the fingerstyle technique. If you are a beginner and want to learn how to play something really cool, make sure you watch the video lesson and learn how to play this awesome song. You can also start here if you need a few guitar tips for beginners.
Today I will tell you one thing that is going to change the way you think about learning and playing the guitar. This thing is: EVERYTHING CAN BE SIMPLIFIED.
I know it sounds pretty straightforward, right, yet many guitar players fail to understand this concept. They believe they know how to make a song simple, but practically, all they do is play the song slower. Trust me, playing a song at a slower speed doesn’t make it easier.
For me, simplifying a song means eliminating one or more musical elements so that all you are left with is one musical aspect of the song. Music is made of three elements: Harmony, rhythm, and melody. By eliminating one or two of these elements, you are not only simplifying the song, but you are also becoming aware of its structure.
Step 1 – Start with the melody.
One of the most common ways to simplify a song is by eliminating the harmony (chords) and learning the melody individually. I personally think that learning the melody as the first step will help you memorize the rhythm and chords easily. If you are a beginner, it’s probably the easiest way to get started with a song.
Autumn Leaves melody is straightforward and easy to memorize. This acoustic guitar arrangement focuses.
As you notice, the guitar tab above only shows Autumn Leaves melody played on acoustic guitar. The melody is quite “jumpy,” so I highly recommend you really learn it step by step and memorize the frets and notes to play.
One thing I would also consider is the “alternate fingering” with the right hand. Pluck the melody starting with the index finger and then always alternate between index and middle. The fingerstyle pattern will change a little when we add the bass note, but it will be easy for you to play this simple melody with alternating index and middle finger.
Step 2 – Add the bass note.
Once you practiced the melody and learn it by heart, it is time to add the bass note. The bass note will add more texture to the song and. Also, the chords will come up more clearly, and we start hearing the chord progression.
We are still only playing one single bass note per chord, but the difference is pretty clear. The acoustic guitar tab will look like that.
Autumn Leaves Chords Eric Clapton
Now that we added the bass note, the guitar tab looks more “busy” and reach. I can guarantee you that even though we added just one bass note, the song will sound completely different.
If you are a beginner guitar player, you will probably find this stage pretty challenging, so I highly recommend you practice one note at a time and slowly familiarize yourself with the fingerstyle pattern.
As we add the bass note, your plucking will be slightly different. You have to pluck some strings with the thumb simultaneously with the melody, so a little bit of time to adjust is required. Don’t get frustrated if you struggle at the beginning. Keep pushing forward, and you will be fine!
Step 3 – Add chords
Once you really feel like adding the ultimate touch to this awesome acoustic guitar melody, you can definitely start working on chords and harmony.
Let me show you a simple way to add a few chords to Autumn Leaves.
I still want to keep things pretty simple, so I am not going crazy with chords. I will only add a few notes here and there to spice up the harmony and make it sound less basic and more advanced. Check it out!
Few words about Autumn Leaves chord progression and its structure. Like much standard Jazz, this song follows a prevalent chord progression found in hundreds of Jazz songs. It goes as follow:
Am7 – D7 – Gmaj7 – Cmaj7 – F#min7b5 – B7 – Em
Many guitar players would refer to this chord progression as II – V – I – IV – VII – V – I.
Music is numbers
The Roman numbers represent the grades that each chord represents in the G major scale (which is the scale/key of this song). Jazz musicians need to know each song’s chord progression perfectly so that when gathering together for a “Jam,” they can freely improvise and express themself.
The art of simple songs
Playing the guitar is awesome. It’s fun, creative, and “social.”
The acoustic guitar is definitely one of the most popular instruments around, and it’s amazing how you can learn songs easily if you just spend a few hours practicing.
However, playing the guitar can be frustrating and upsetting sometimes. As for everything we learn, we all come across setbacks and frustrations. The awful moment we try to become better, but for some reason, we don’t see the results.
So how can you keep going even when things get ugly and keep motivated if you are stuck in a guitar rut?
Easy! You simplify the song as we did today so that it’s easy and step by step!
You start by playing the melody and familiarizing yourself with the mood of the song. Then you add the bass note, and only at the end, you spice up everything with some beautiful chords.
The art of simplifying a song is the one important skill you want to acquire if you want to make playing guitar the most enjoyable moment of your day.
To learn this song and then apply this concept to everything you play. You will improve quickly and with joy!
Good luck with your journey, guys.
3 Autumn Leaves Chord Progression Studies
Learning the Autumn Leaves chord progression is an important part of learning jazz guitar. Besides being one of the most commonly played standards at jam sessions, the Autumn Leaves chord progression is a great study for major and minor ii V I chords.
90% of the Autumn Leaves chord progression alternates between major and minor ii-V-I progressions.
The examples in this article only cover these two ii V I progressions. But you could play through each example twice and then play the minor ii V I followed by the major ii V I to get the B section which would give you three quarters of the Autumn Leaves chord progression.
For a full and detailed analysis of Autumn Leaves, check out this in depth article that I published.
To play through each of these Autumn Leaves chord progression studies you will need to know the following techniques:
Having the Autumn Leaves chord progression memorized is also important.
Try playing through chords using whole notes rhythms at first and eventually quarter notes while humming or whistling the melody to memorize the chords.
Many jazz standards modulate from the major to the relative minor and vice versa.
Because of this it is worth taking each of these studies into all 12 keys.
For further chordal study I recommend creating a melody arrangement using the chords from the Autumn Leaves chord progression.
Autumn Leaves Chord Progression
Autumn Leaves Chord Progression Study 1
As mentioned earlier, the first rhythm to explore when practicing the autumn leaves chord progression or any set of new chords is the whole note rhythm.
Practicing using whole note rhythms ensures that there is enough time to switch between each chord which is particularly useful if you are working on new jazz guitar chords.
Take note of the voice leading in each chord too. Rather than jumping across the fretboard, each of the chord moves to the nearest available chord which only requires moving a few frets.
This example uses drop 2 chord inversions for the minor 7th and major chords and dominant7b9 chords for the dominant 7ths.
Once you can fluently play this study, use the same chords on the same string set, but start with a different C-7 voicing.
Doing this will ensure that you cover all the possible inversions using drop 2 chords and dom7b9 chords on the top four strings.
You can also start with a C-7 higher up the neck and descend through inversions rather than ascend, like in this example.
Autumn Leaves Chord Progression Study 2
Learning to play walking bass lines is an important part of developing good comping skills. This next autumn leaves chord progression study demonstrates the comping with bass lines technique.
Drop 3 chord inversions are used in the last two bars to create movement and interest. Try to create your own bass lines starting in different areas of the neck that go in different directions.
Autumn Leaves Chord Progression Study 3
Here is an etude that features modern jazz guitar voicings to finish off this autumn leaves chord progression study.
The chords in this example are more advanced than the previous studies so they might require more practice to play proficiently if you are new to jazz guitar.
Most of the chords is in this example feature clusters which are two intervals that are close together usually resulting in a dissonant effect.
If modern jazz guitar comping is your thing and you want to expand on this example, try experiment with inverted quartal chords and sus9 chords.
I hope that you have enjoyed playing and working through each of these Autumn Leaves chord progression studies.
Autumn Leaves Chords G Minor
Check out this link to a FREE Autumn Leaves backing track without piano to practice these chords over.
Autumn Leaves Chords Guitar
What do you think of each of these studies? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.