52 Song Challenge 2021

Are you ready for a challenge? Whether you are just starting out or you have been playing for a couple of years, there will be something in here for you to learn and practice. 1 song each week for the whole year.

There will be an 'EASY' version for absolute beginners to play along and a 'HARD' version to provide more of a challenge.

[Please note that this challenge is designed for guitar beginners so 'hard' really just means 'challenging' for beginners]

Every song you will find on this list can be played almost exclusively with 2 chords.

JANUARY

WEEK 1 - 505 -Arctic Monkeys

From their album Favourite Worst Nightmare in 2007

How To Play - The Chords

This song is a continuous 4 bar loop of Dm and Em. 2 bars of each throughout.
It also includes a very simple guitar solo in the key of Am [C major].
Start by playing along using the open chord shapes in the EASY version.
The HARD version uses barre chords and a simple melody on string one.

EASY

You could play the whole song just switching between theses two 'open chords'. Open chords are called that because they contain open strings.

HARD

If you are new to barre chords this can be a little tricky at first but don't let it put you off. Once you can play barre chords it will open up a whole world of songs you can play!

EVEN HARDER

Try using this strumming pattern with the barre chords too when the song gets a bit more energetic at 2:56. Keep your strumming hand in a steady 8th note rhythm and add the muted strums where indicated. If this is a bit too much for you right now please come back to this later. No stress :) You can always come back to these songs later on.

How To Play - The Solo

The solo is very accessible for beginners and shouldn't take too long to play along with the original speed. It is first played in a lower octave on string 4 and then towards the end of the song it is played one octave higher.

This video shows you the lower octave solo. Notice that I am using a mixture of down and up picks to help get the speed on some of the faster notes.

This video shows you the higher octave solo played at the end of the song

ANY QUESTIONS?

Feel free to contact me anytime on WhatsApp for feedback and advise for your practice. If you are not currently a student of mine please instead email me at contact@ryaninglis.com. Happy practising :)

Ryan

WEEK 2 - A Horse With No Name - America

From their self titled album America released in 1971

How To Play - The Chords

There are a few variations of how they play this exactly but when it really comes down to it you can just use the same two chords all the time; Everyones favourite chord Em and a chord that sounds much harder to play than it actually is D6/F#
The strumming pattern is relatively easy but to get the little dynamics, accents and triplet feel is where the challenge can be found.

EASY

Without worrying about the accents or dynamics at all you can strum the song like this. You still have to play with triplet feel and look out for the two up-strums for the D6/F# chord.

HARD

Now let's try to be a little more precise with your playing. Paying attention to the emphasis on the higher or lower strings, the accents marked with a 'v' and the slight palm muting to really get the best sound.

How To Play - The Solo

Although this solo can be played completely on string 1 it is deceptively challenging for beginners. Including hammer-ons, slides and triplets

EVEN HARDER

The last 2 bars of the solo also come with 2 other guitar parts that harmonise together (played at the same time) to make this beautiful sound. Have a listen and try to play each line for yourself. Look out for the triplet rhythm and learn the part slowly at first until you can play it comfortably.

I've looped the tab 4 times at original speed for you.

ANY QUESTIONS?

WEEK 3 - Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus

Released on his debut album Some Gave All in 1992

How To Play - The Chords

This song uses A and E major only. 3 Bars of A followed by 1 bar of E. Then another 3 bars of E followed by 1 bar of A... continuously.
The riff uses power chords and simple bass notes with a few little string bends in A major pentatonic along the way.

EASY

Start by playing the chords once on each bar. When you're ready to add a strumming pattern you can use the

[D DU UDU]

pattern you learned in the beginner course.

HARD

Here's the intro for you to try. Starting with a slow bend on fret 3 string 6 it is all based around the A major pentatonic.

Here is the main rhythm played throughout the entire song. There is a short melody at the end here from the first verse which you can just remove and replace with what you play in the first bar.

WEEK 4 - Always Alright - Alabama Shakes

From their album Silver Linings Playbook released in 2012.

How To Play - The Chords

The only 2 chords you need for this song are E and A major. 2 bars of each chord throughout the whole song.
The rhythm guitar utilises power chord versions of the chords with a 'gallop' rhythm

How To Play - The Solo

The lead guitar spends most of its time playing staccato double stops
This cool little solo uses string bending and switching between the A and E major pentatonic scales