The Sound Of Silence was written by Paul Simon between the years 1963 - 1964 and the song first appeared on his debut album with Art Garfunkel, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. It has since gone on to become one of the duo's biggest hits. In this lesson we're going to be learning a fingerstyle arrangement of this classic folk song.
I've tried not to make it too difficult to play but it will still have some challenges - as most solo fingerstyle arrangements do! I'd say that this arrangement is ideal for someone around the intermediate level.
OK, let's start learning how to play The Sound of Silence!
Song Details:
- Key - Eb minor, but for simplicity reasons we've moved it to E minor
- Tempo - Starts somwhere around 100 bpm and increases to around 108 bpm
- Tuning - Standard
- Difficulty - Intermediate
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How to Play The Sound of Silence (Fingerstyle)
OK, let's get into the lesson. Remember to really take your time and to focus on the accuracy of all the notes you play rather than the speed of them. Once you've learnt what's taught in the video you'll be OK as the rest of the song is the same thing repeated. Make sure to listen to the song as you learn this fingerstyle arrangement as it'll help guide you through.
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Want to learn more fingerstyle arrangements of famous songs?: Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley), Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver), Don't Look Back In Anger (Oasis), Ticket to Ride (The Beatles), Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival).
Alternatively you can browse the whole song catalogue: Song Lesson Library
Let me know what you thought of the lesson in the comments section below. Say what you found hard/easy, what level you're at and what your fingerpicking goals are.
You said, the “Key [is] Eb minor, but for simplicity reasons we’ve moved it to E minor”.
So can I just tune my guitar 1/2 down and it’s on tune with the original song?
Yeah it’ll probably work. Go ahead and try.
I want to buy this course but when I pressed Paypal the link did not work. Once I’ve bought it how do I find it on my phone or iPad?
Hi Joan, sorry to hear you’re having trouble with PayPal. Try once more signing up here and see if it works: https://academy.sixstringfingerpicking.com If not let me know and I’ll help you out.
Once purchased you’ll be able to log in and find your course in the ‘Academy’ section in the menu bar. You’ll also be guide with what to do by an email.
Thanks a lot,
Chris
Yes, I’ve just tried purchasing myself and can see there’s a problem with PayPal. Leave it with me and I’ll get back to you. Thanks
Do you have any hard copies of your song lists? Or is all material online only?
I’m afraid it’s all just online.