Hey there, friends! New lesson today where I show you two different ways to fingerpick Paul Simon’s 1986 classic Graceland. This one isn’t as much a direct “play it like Paul” tutorial. Instead, I’ll show the process I just went through (over the past week) in working out some fingerstyle options for this song — trying to find the balance between accessibility (easy to play!) vs. making it sound like Paul.
Straight up, I can’t play like Paul. I’m likewise miles behind the likes of Josh Turner, whose from-the-couch cover of this song perfectly captures Simon’s vibe. Unlike both Paul and Josh (who play this in E major), I’ll be in the Key of C – which is my preferred key this type of fingerpicking. I’ll show the process of transposing the song from the Key of C, teach the beginner-friendly chords I started using, and then walk through some of the more advanced stuff I worked out after getting some confidence.
In case you didn’t see it, lesson #509 — which I posted last week — is very much a prequel to this lesson. Here, I’ll continue to pull on some of the threads from that earlier lesson, mainly grab-and-go Travis Picking in the Key of C. I hope you enjoy!
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Here’s me playing through the song using the more basic Travis Picking pattern (identical to what I teach in lesson #509). This one is much easier to play, due to the half-time picking speed. This gives extra mental bandwidth you can devote to singing, the chord changes, or the picking itself. Definitely start with this!
Here’s a playthrough where I use the more advanced picking pattern. This one is tough! The picking speed is twice as fast on the bass notes, leaving much less room for distraction. I actually need to dial down the melody notes while singing, lest I lose the groove altogether. But oh, is it a joy to capture some of these Simon-esque riffs!
Here’s a handful of related lessons on the topic of Travis Picking, as it pertains to what I teach here.
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