Hello
and welcome once again to Flatpicking Guitar Magazine’s free lesson
portion of our monthly newsletter. This month I’d like to get you into
the holiday spirit with an easy yet moving rendition of the traditional
Christmas tune “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman.”
I
have always loved the introspective minor key Christmas songs and this
amazing melody is no exception. For this lesson I chose not to get to
wild with variations or anything complex -- rather this arrangement
focuses on the melody of the tune as it would be sung.
Their
are many chord options for a tune like this. My chords are influenced
by what I think someone like Tony Rice would play. To me, staying on the
Am chord for the first eight measures is very bluegrassy. If one were
to bust out bluegrass solos over this groove I feel these chords lend
themselves well to improvisation. The bulk of the chords are in fact
just the I, IV, and V chords in the key of A minor.
I
know you will enjoy picking through this simple arrangement of “God
Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” As always, if you have any questions or
comments on this e-lesson just drop me a line at [email protected]
