Moon River

[Triple-o]

I must admit that before I picked up the guitar my music background was pretty sparse. I never knew the lyrics to Moon River.I especially like the line “my huckleberry friend” even though it took me a few minutes to understand why it made perfect sense. I must say that the beginning verse .”wider than a mile”  sounded a lot better  after I tried to change it and couldn’t find a suitable replacement.

 

PS. the first position Bm7(b5) is a “heartbreaker” if only I had the hands, “I coulda been a contender”.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Triple-o

[Odie]

2 hours ago, Triple-o said:

I must admit that before I picked up the guitar my music background was pretty sparse. I never knew the lyrics to Moon River.I especially like the line “my huckleberry friend” even though it took me a few minutes to understand why it made perfect sense. I must say that the beginning verse .”wider than a mile”  sounded a lot better  after I tried to change it and couldn’t find a suitable replacement.

 

PS. the first position Bm7(b5) is a “heartbreaker” if only I had the hands, “I coulda been a contender”.

What arrangement? 

[Triple-o]

 

3 hours ago, Odie said:

What arrangement? 

Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini 

[NeilES335]

Anyone else woking on this song? If been at it a while. Do you use a pick, brush with thumb, or fingerstyle? I've tried all 3.

[NeilES335]

On 3/20/2018 at 12:34 PM, Triple-o said:

I must admit that before I picked up the guitar my music background was pretty sparse. I never knew the lyrics to Moon River.I especially like the line “my huckleberry friend” even though it took me a few minutes to understand why it made perfect sense. I must say that the beginning verse .”wider than a mile”  sounded a lot better  after I tried to change it and couldn’t find a suitable replacement.

 

PS. the first position Bm7(b5) is a “heartbreaker” if only I had the hands, “I coulda been a contender”.

You're right about that 1st position Bm7b5.... Im trying substitution at 7th position (6th string root)

[NeilES335]

I worked on this song from Song Hits for quite a while and I admit I couldn't seem to get it quite right... in Fmaj.

Then I found a transcription in Dmaj  which I found quite a bit easier to play.  I played the rhythm track finger-style and the melody track with a pick. 

Godin 5th Ave Archtop, recorded direct to Reaper DAW through a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 interface, using a touch of reverb and compression.

I hope you like it.

Here it its;

Moon River.mp3

[Fretless]

Nicely done, Neil, and I like the tasteful recording, too. All that is missing is Audrey Hepburn's vocal and some lush strings.

[matonanjin]

6 hours ago, Fretless said:

Nicely done, Neil, and I like the tasteful recording, too. All that is missing is Audrey Hepburn's vocal and some lush strings.

@NeilES335, ^^^^   Ditto what Fretless said.

[NeilES335]

Thanks very much @Fretless and @matonanjin  I appreciate the comments very much. Sadly my singing voice is no Andy Williams and certainly not Audrey Hepburn, but  I'm glad you enjoyed it!

( I had posted this under Member Recordings as well, (not fishing for compliments ? ) but my thought was to complete my earlier post about learning this song from Song Hits. )

[Nairon]

I'm learning Moon River in the Hits and following the 5th string barre chord chapter in the learn and master course. Got to say its some rough going with the barre chords so far but improving really slowly. I could see myself spending a lot of time before moving on from barre chords.

In this song I noticed that there are variations in the chords themselves which is also adding to the challenge.

Either way, its such a beautiful song.

[Gary Nelson]

Hang in there, @Nairon.   Just when I think I have my Barre chords down, I'll encounter an arrangement that requires me to rethink and practice more!   By the way,  there is a nice simple arrangement of Moon River in the book "100 Most Beautiful Songs Ever for Fingerpicking Guitar" that is available on Steve's store site.    No Barre Chords required!

[matonanjin]

Yes, @Nairon!  As @Gary Nelsonsaid, "Hang in there".   It will come.  We all found it "rough going" with barre chords.  Keep in mind with barre chords there is the extra element of developing finger strength in order to master them.  With everything else that you have learned so far it has been a matter of learning and practicing the technique to improve it.  With barre chords one must also build up the muscle strength for the fingers forming the barre.  That just takes time to build that strength and there is no shortcut.  

If you have learned the different Fifth  and Sixth string forms and you are comfortable with them, consider moving on.  If you know the major, minor, 7th, minor 7th and sus form for both 5th and 6th strings, if you have them firmly entrenched in memory, I think Steve would be ok with your moving on.  Just continue to allocate some practice time each day to developing that finger strength. 

Thanks for keeping us up to date on your progress.

[Nairon]

5 hours ago, matonanjin said:

Yes, @Nairon!  As @Gary Nelsonsaid, "Hang in there".   It will come.  We all found it "rough going" with barre chords.  Keep in mind with barre chords there is the extra element of developing finger strength in order to master them.  With everything else that you have learned so far it has been a matter of learning and practicing the technique to improve it.  With barre chords one must also build up the muscle strength for the fingers forming the barre.  That just takes time to build that strength and there is no shortcut.  

If you have learned the different Fifth  and Sixth string forms and you are comfortable with them, consider moving on.  If you know the major, minor, 7th, minor 7th and sus form for both 5th and 6th strings, if you have them firmly entrenched in memory, I think Steve would be ok with your moving on.  Just continue to allocate some practice time each day to developing that finger strength. 

Thanks for keeping us up to date on your progress.

Thanks for the encouragement. Another issue I found that really makes the strings buzz is when the strings are pressed by the joints of the index finger so even when I try to keep my finger straight and bring my wrist forward etc I still always have to reposition the finger till it stops buzzing. Hopefully that problem goes with time too.

[Nairon]

Hi Everyone,

I've been working on this from the Song Hits. Just wondering how you successfully get the Eb9 chord (thrid line, second measure). More specifically, the two fingers to hold down the first three strings. Trying different things but its a little buzzy. In the video, I think Steve leaves it up to the student but I'm just searching for some ideas on what works.

Nairon

[Nairon]

On 4/25/2022 at 9:12 AM, Gary Nelson said:

Hang in there, @Nairon.   Just when I think I have my Barre chords down, I'll encounter an arrangement that requires me to rethink and practice more!   By the way,  there is a nice simple arrangement of Moon River in the book "100 Most Beautiful Songs Ever for Fingerpicking Guitar" that is available on Steve's store site.    No Barre Chords required!

Thanks. Glad to get the encouragement. I'll check out the book. Hopefully, in a some weeks, I'll have the basic barre chords clean.