Signe was written by Eric Clapton in 1992 after the tragic death of his son Conor. Clapton opened with the song for his MTV unplugged live album and played the piece as a beautiful ensemble with fellow guitarist Andy Fairweather Low. Throughout the concert these two masterful musicians performed acoustic versions of Eric's songs and covers of traditional blues numbers. If you have never heard the album then you absolutely must, it went on to become the most successful live album of all time.
Signe is no. 48 on my Top 60 Fingerpicking Songs of ALL TIME list. If you've not seen the list be sure to check it out and sign up to my weekly email lesson. That way you won't miss learning any of these great fingerstyle songs.
This song may sounds pretty straight forward when you listen to it but it certainly has its challenging moments. I think one of the hardest things to master is the timing, it's very syncopated throughout and there's a lot of tying across bars going on. Also, the structure of the song is somewhat confusing and will likely take a bit of work but I'm sure with a bit of practice you'll get it down!
Signe Song Details:
- Key - A major
- Tempo - roughly 176 bpm
- Tuning - standard
- Difficulty - Intermediate - advanced
Intro:
Really the intro is just two chords (A and A/E) but as you can see from the score the rhythm is pretty busy. Make sure that you get this section of the song mastered before moving on, as it'll make learning the rest of it easier.
Want to really take your fingerpicking to the next level?
Verse:
A lot of chord movement going on here and often times they change on the '&' counts. This will likely be tricky. It's best to just try and feel the rhythm, as counting may trip you up.
Bridge:
The C#m7 really adds a great lift when the bridge comes along. It's no harder than any other part of the song but it's far from easy!
Outro:
For the ending you repeat this progression six times. Halfway through on the fourth time round you want to play a little softer and decrease the volume. It's a nice, very tasteful little touch that's well worth getting in.
Want to really take your fingerpicking to the next level?
If you want to make sure that you're really on the right track with fingerpicking, then try one of my fingerstyle guitar courses - find out more here.
If you have any questions or want to share anything at all, then please leave a comment below.
I hope you've found this lesson useful and thank you for reading.
hi, I have to do this piece for an exam and couldn’t get it until I found your lesson. Ive learned more in an hour on this than I thought possible. Thank you.
PS is that an APX 5 (6) 00 your playing?
cheers
Hey, well I’m really glad that I’ve been able to help you out. I’ve always loved this song!
It’s a CPX 500vs. Similar to an APX I guess.
Thanks a lot.
Thank you for the great work it must have been, and all for free. This is so great!
You’re welcome Jens.
To be honest this is the best guitar tutorial I have ever seen. You are great at playing and explaining, thank you so much for uploading!
Thanks Leo, I’m really pleased that you like my lessons.
May have ruined this great song for my wife who has had to listen to my relentless practice! Got it down now and am well pleased. Really clear and thorough lesson. Huge Thanks
Thanks Tom, really glad you enjoyed the lesson.
Really truly! Free ? Wow, Enjoyed learning this from you, thank you so much!
It’s a pleasure Stuart.
Great lesson, thank you very much. In your opinion what is the best type of string to fingerpicking? Mine is too hard to make it (0.12).
Thanks
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I think the best type of string for fingerpicking is the one you like the best. Try loads and pick your favourite.
thank you so much. it is very helpful.
Pleasure.
Love this. So annoying when tutorials insult your intelligence by over explaining the simplest concepts.
Thanks Zephan, glad you like it.