At last, a relatively easy one! It's in the key of A, too, which many guitarists find easier than C. You'll have to play the Av, which is just an E barred at the fifth fret. C#m7IV and EIV are actually barred versions of Am7 and C, barred at the fourth fret. C#m7IV is actually one of the easiest barre chords to play. EIV is a bit harder, but if your fingers won't stretch that far, you can substitute C#m7IV. You can also use a regular E, though the melody line will suffer, as it will be going down when it should go up.
For those who do not like the "extra" notes, I've printed them in light face type, while all the others are in bold face. For those who like them, don't forget to put them in, just because they are printed in light face type! If you have trouble seeing them, let me know and I'll correct the problem in a future posting. The song was originally written in 3/4 time, but I've re-cast it in 6/8, to make counting easier.
The hardest part of the song is the slide-to-pull-off progression: -4-\-2_0- which occurs twice in each verse. It starts with a full-barre Av chord, so you only have to slide down one fret to hit the -4-. It's a bit tricky sliding down to the -2- while also shifting the index finger noiselessly across the strings, so you can do the pull-off. I have found that the easiest way for me to do this is to NOT slide across the strings, but to do the pull-off with the third joint of my left index finger. My third joint is rather fat, and provides enough of a "hook" to do an acceptable pull-off. If you have skinny fingers, I recommend ignoring either the slide or the pull-off.
Another place you might have trouble is in the next-to-last measure of the finale. You'll have to stretch the little finger of the left hand to hit the G# in the ninth fret on the second string. Alternatively, you can just hit the same note at the fourth fret on the first string, which requires a rather fast transition to get back to Av. My fingers are stretched out, so I find stretching easier, but you may not agree.
This song is in the public domain. It was included in the first LDS hymnal.
I Am A Child of God MP3
Another MJ Hufford MP3! And this time, it's even better than the last one. My stats show this is your all-time favorite of the tabs on this site, accounting for literally thousands of hits per month, so enjoy!
For those who wonder why I put in all those "extra" notes, this MP3 will show you why. About half the notes in the song are bass drones-- the same note repeated over and over-- done in counterpoint to the melody. They are easy to play, as they seldom change, and they add a richness to the sound that just makes the song.
A few words of warning:
1. Due to an apparent glitch in the program, some of the strummed chords may sound louder than the rest of the notes, depending on your computer. They are NOT supposed to be louder. This does not happen when playing an actual guitar, so not to worry.
2. I neglected to write instructions to slow down a bit for the finale, so MJ programmed the song exactly the way I wrote it. Trouble is, I can't play it that fast! It definitely sounds good that way, but don't worry if you have to slow down a bit at the end. Just don't slow down so much that it drags, and you'll be fine. MJ tells me he can't play it that fast, either. Hooray for computers!
3. Remember, this is not supposed to be an easy song to play, so don't feel bad if you don't get it down perfectly, right away. But do practice until you can make it sound easy-- audiences love it.
Go ahead and comment if you like the MP3, especially if it helps you learn the song. MJ is programming these MP3s for free, and I really want him to know how much his efforts are appreciated.
For those who wonder why I put in all those "extra" notes, this MP3 will show you why. About half the notes in the song are bass drones-- the same note repeated over and over-- done in counterpoint to the melody. They are easy to play, as they seldom change, and they add a richness to the sound that just makes the song.
A few words of warning:
1. Due to an apparent glitch in the program, some of the strummed chords may sound louder than the rest of the notes, depending on your computer. They are NOT supposed to be louder. This does not happen when playing an actual guitar, so not to worry.
2. I neglected to write instructions to slow down a bit for the finale, so MJ programmed the song exactly the way I wrote it. Trouble is, I can't play it that fast! It definitely sounds good that way, but don't worry if you have to slow down a bit at the end. Just don't slow down so much that it drags, and you'll be fine. MJ tells me he can't play it that fast, either. Hooray for computers!
3. Remember, this is not supposed to be an easy song to play, so don't feel bad if you don't get it down perfectly, right away. But do practice until you can make it sound easy-- audiences love it.
Go ahead and comment if you like the MP3, especially if it helps you learn the song. MJ is programming these MP3s for free, and I really want him to know how much his efforts are appreciated.
The Day Dawn Is Breaking
There are no hard chords in this song. Although G7addF may look odd, it's rather easy to play. It's just like a normal G7, except you have to add the F note on the fourth string, with your little finger. The only really difficult part is getting the whole song up to speed. It sounds OK played slowly, so you can play it anywhere from half speed to as posted, if you are playing it as an instrumental solo. If you intend to sing it or accompany singers, the guitar part needs to be played at the metronome speed listed on the tab.
This is the same speed called for in the hymnal, and it IS fast. I recommend that you practice it at half speed until you can play it perfectly, before attempting to increase the speed. That's how I learned it.
If you have trouble with barre chords, you may be tempted to substitute the regular F and G chords for the barred FI and GIII. If you do, the chords may not follow the melody, and, at the end of the verse, the alternate transition: F - G - C will actually be slower than the FI - GIII - C as written. An acceptable compromise, if you just cannot do barre chords at all, is to play the regular F, then slide it up two frets for an alternative G, thus: F = xx3211, G = xx5433. While this does not give as full a sound, or follow the melody perfectly, it is as fast as using the full barre chords, and does give an idea of the melody.
This song is in the public domain.
This is the same speed called for in the hymnal, and it IS fast. I recommend that you practice it at half speed until you can play it perfectly, before attempting to increase the speed. That's how I learned it.
If you have trouble with barre chords, you may be tempted to substitute the regular F and G chords for the barred FI and GIII. If you do, the chords may not follow the melody, and, at the end of the verse, the alternate transition: F - G - C will actually be slower than the FI - GIII - C as written. An acceptable compromise, if you just cannot do barre chords at all, is to play the regular F, then slide it up two frets for an alternative G, thus: F = xx3211, G = xx5433. While this does not give as full a sound, or follow the melody perfectly, it is as fast as using the full barre chords, and does give an idea of the melody.
This song is in the public domain.
For those who do not speak Spanish
The previous post was written in Spanish for the benefit of my many Latino readers. It tells them how to use this site to find the Spanish lyrics to the hymns published here. English is still the normal language of this blog, but I want to recognize that more than half of Church members worldwide speak Spanish. Rather than clutter the blog with links to each tab in both languages, I wrote a translation table. If you want to know the Spanish name of any of the hymns in the Spanish-language version of Hymns, you can look it up in the link, "Himnos y Hymns," or just click here. You may not find the hymn you are looking for, as over a hundred of the English hymns have not been translated, while 21 appear only in Spanish.
Himnos y Hymns
¡Bienvenidos! mís amigos hispanohablantes.
La mayoría de los himnos que les escriben en este sitio les escriben en inglés, pero la música no cambia mucho de una idioma a la otra. Pero, la programa buscadora de este sitio les buscara solo por sus nombres ingleses. Entonces, he provecho una lista de los nombres de los himnos en todos los dos idiomas. Para verla haz click aquí, o busca el link que se llama “Himnos y Hymns.”
La lista esta en dos partes: ordenado alfabeticamente por el nombe español, y también por el numero del himno.
Para el guitarista, se debe cambiar los nombres de las acuerdas de las letras (del estilo inglés) por los nombres del estilo español, de la siguente forma:
do = C, re = D, mi = E, fa = F, sol = G, la = A, ti = B
Todas las otras partes de los nombres de las acuerdas no cambian:
Do#m7 = C#m7, etc.
La mayoría de los himnos que les escriben en este sitio les escriben en inglés, pero la música no cambia mucho de una idioma a la otra. Pero, la programa buscadora de este sitio les buscara solo por sus nombres ingleses. Entonces, he provecho una lista de los nombres de los himnos en todos los dos idiomas. Para verla haz click aquí, o busca el link que se llama “Himnos y Hymns.”
La lista esta en dos partes: ordenado alfabeticamente por el nombe español, y también por el numero del himno.
Para el guitarista, se debe cambiar los nombres de las acuerdas de las letras (del estilo inglés) por los nombres del estilo español, de la siguente forma:
do = C, re = D, mi = E, fa = F, sol = G, la = A, ti = B
Todas las otras partes de los nombres de las acuerdas no cambian:
Do#m7 = C#m7, etc.
Sing We Now At Parting
No, I didn't add this just for General Conference, though I did love the way the Tabernacle Choir sang it! I've been working on it for weeks.
This is not an easy song to play on the guitar. It uses LOTS of barre chords, and relies heavily on some of the more difficult ones. My only excuse is that it's beautiful. I have tried to arrange it so that the chord transitions come as naturally as possible, which you may think isn't very. I won't argue. It's in C, so you could dumb it down and just strum C, F, and G7, if you only want to accompany a singer, but you won't get any of the melody notes that way.
On my classical guitar, it sounds way better if you finger-pick the chords as arpeggios, than simply strumming the chords, as shown in the first verse, but I've included both ways, as the left hand is a bit different if you're finger-picking. You can leave out some of the harder chords that way, especially some of the Fv's, which I find hard to fret well. In this way, the arpeggio version is actually easier!
No bar-by-bar explanation on this one. If you're good enough to play it, you won't need it, and if you're a beginner, the explanations won't help.
This is not an easy song to play on the guitar. It uses LOTS of barre chords, and relies heavily on some of the more difficult ones. My only excuse is that it's beautiful. I have tried to arrange it so that the chord transitions come as naturally as possible, which you may think isn't very. I won't argue. It's in C, so you could dumb it down and just strum C, F, and G7, if you only want to accompany a singer, but you won't get any of the melody notes that way.
On my classical guitar, it sounds way better if you finger-pick the chords as arpeggios, than simply strumming the chords, as shown in the first verse, but I've included both ways, as the left hand is a bit different if you're finger-picking. You can leave out some of the harder chords that way, especially some of the Fv's, which I find hard to fret well. In this way, the arpeggio version is actually easier!
No bar-by-bar explanation on this one. If you're good enough to play it, you won't need it, and if you're a beginner, the explanations won't help.
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