This is the third record from The Weeknd's 'My Dear Melancholy,' album (2018) and it continues to demonstrate his ability to write unbelievably catchy melodies over 3 or 4 basic chords. In this track we are using a lot of 7th chords, as well as some lovely melody notes that we can place on top of the chords if you are looking for a challenge! Don't worry though, we'll also work through a total beginners version!
Let's start with the beginners version, which consists of 4 open chord shapes with the capo on fret 1. You may not have seen these shapes before as a beginner, so use this as a good exscuse to learn some brand new chords!
So, the first thign to remember is that typically the chord changes on the 4th beat of each bar. So, with the following strumming pattern you will make sure that the 4th down arrow (in red) will be the next chord allong (see chord chart below):
Dm7 // Am7 Em7 // Am Dm7 // Am7 Em7 /// (repeat)
If you would like to challenge yourself and get your guitar part almost identical to the synth on the song, then try the following chords instead. We have created the chords based around the melody line that is on the high strings. Remember to watch Dan walk you through how to highlight the melody notes in each chord (second half of the video).
You simply do one strum (fingerpick) per chord in this version and rely on some delay / reverbs (or any other cool effects you can use) to sustain the chords!
Ebm9 // Bbm7 Fm7 // Bbm Ebm9 // Bbm7 Fm7 /// (repeat)
Ready to move on? Remember to check out every lesson in this unit first – then try the next unit...
This chilled out track from the weekend is a great lesson for beginners who want to practice their open chord shapes and really master a basic fingerstyle arrangement that you can use over and over again with this style of music!