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Melissa

by Allman Brothers Band • Lesson #456 • Oct 15, 2022

Description

Hey, friends! In this week’s lesson I’ll teach you how to play Melissa, the Allman Bros classic from 1972. I’ll break down the chord shapes, talk about the progression & rhythm, and show you a few different strumming options (for both beginners and more intermediate players). This is one so many of you have requested over the years… it’s been a joy to learn, and I hope you enjoy!

Free Video Lesson

Slow Strum-Along

Requires membership to Song Notes Premium. Here’s two videos showing play-throughs of each section, played at a slower pace (70 bpm), without any singing. Once you’ve learned the chords & the overall progression, use these videos to get practice playing along & maintaining a steady tempo.

Strum-along with a very simple strum. Start here if you’re just getting started with this song:

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Strum-along with a full (intermediate) strum, matching what Gregg Allman plays:

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Vocal Melody Notes

Requires membership to Song Notes Premium. If you’re interested in learning the vocal melody notes this song uses, check out this tutorial. I begin by showing a summary of the melody in tab form, before showing the real-time process of transcribing it (1:26). If you’re interested in singing this song and need help knowing which exact notes to hit (like me!), this video will be incredibly helpful.

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Licensed Song Sheet 5 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

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Lesson Discussion

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Allman Brothers Recordings of Melissa

Album version (1972):

Live version (1991):

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