Your First Song Guitar Lesson
Your First Song
Randall guides you through your very first song. He teaches a rendition of a current popular song that uses only three chords.
Taught by Randall Williams in Basic Acoustic Guitar with Randall Williams seriesLength: 6:25Difficulty: 2.0 of 5
Supplemental Learning Material
Basic Acoustic Guitar with Randall Williams
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsRandall Williams guides you through the basics of acoustic guitar.
Lesson 1
Series Introduction
Meet Randall Williams in this brief introductory lesson. Learn who he is, his teaching approach, and what he plans to cover in this series.
Length: 2:13 Difficulty: 0.5 Members OnlyLesson 2
Basic Chords & Strums Part 1
Randall starts off by teaching the Em chord and a basic strum to get you going.
Length: 5:25 Difficulty: 1.0 FREE
Basic Chords & Strums Part 2
Randall Williams continues his discussion on basic chords and strums.
Length: 7:22 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
The Learning Process
Randall discusses his philosophy on studying the guitar before moving onto some basic songs.
Length: 4:29 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
Your First Song
Randall guides you through your very first song. He teaches a rendition of a current popular song that uses only three chords.
Length: 6:25 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Song Two
Randall Williams shares another wonderful song in his beginner series. This song should be rather easy to pick up due to its similarity to the previous song.
Length: 3:10 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Song Three
Randall presents the third song in his beginner series set.
Length: 7:40 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Song Four
Randall Williams shares one last song in his beginner series.
Length: 2:55 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Right-Hand Techniques
Randall Williams talks about basic strums and right-hand techniques in this lesson.
Length: 15:20 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Fingerpicking
Randall continues his extensive coverage of beginner right-hand techniques with a lesson on fingerpicking.
Length: 34:17 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
About Randall Williams
View Full Biography
He felt that classical music lacked the inclusiveness of folk music, and that the inevitable division between performer and audience was unbearable. And so Randall returned to the world of traveling with his guitar, writing songs in train stations and sleeping on couches, then singing and playing on street corners, cafï, and pubs. For a time he lived aboard a 20' sailboat that he bought for $800, teaching himself how to sail by single-handing through the Baltic and North Seas with his guitar sleeping in the berth beside him at night. He wrote a book about the trip, which begins with the story of almost getting squashed by a tanker before dawn one morning in the North Sea.
He moved to North Africa, then set off across the Sahara by hitching with locals - bouncing through a minefield on the way that made his mother have bad dreams. He loved the adventure, but he missed the music.
In 2005, Randall returned stateside to scrounge up a career as a performing songwriter, hoping it wasn't too late. So far, it hasn't been. As the "Partial Capo Guy," Randall has written two books for Hal Leonard, recorded a DVD for Kyser Musical Products, and given workshops at some of the biggest festivals in United States. As a performer, Randall has been a finalist in the Founder's Title and Mid-Atlantic Song Contests, A regional finalist at Kerrville, a showcase artist at Northeast and Midwest Folk Alliance, and at the International Folk Alliance in Memphis, and an Audience Favorite at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. His 2007 live release, "One Night in Louisiana" made a respectable dent in the folk DJ charts (One single, "Lebanon," was #8 in May,) and he's generally a nice guy to have around, capos or not.
Randall is as much at home in a Bangkok slum or a Senegalese village, at the Kennedy Center in D.C. or the Fine Arts Palace in Brussels sandwiched between a twitchy orchestra and a full house, or shoeless on the floor of your living room. Randall has sung in a dozen languages in over 35 countries.
Lynne Andrews: "When Randall left the confines of classical music largely behind, they lost a great talent, but the world gained a good friend - a friend who will tell its stories with grace, compassion, humility and humor."
Randall began playing guitar seriously in 1988, and played his first open mic one year later. Randall kept playing and learning more and more. Randall began teaching guitar in 1992, while studying musical composition, analysis, and performance. Randall got his undergraduate music degree in 1996, then studied flamenco for about a year (1997) before beginning studies at the royal conservatory of music in mons, belgium.
From 1998 to 2001, Randall studied voice, analysis, and harmony at the conservatory, with classical guitar lessons on the side for about 6 months. Randall's undergraduate study and the conservatory courses added a degree of musical structure to his improvisational ability, and gave him a strong music theory base. He recieved the premier prix for concert singing from the conservatory in 2001.
Randall's most recent discoveries: how to build a structure for creating chords in open tunings, and learning how to structure placement of partial capos in standard and alternate tunings.
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Member Comments about this Lesson
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A capo isn't going to break anybodys bank...its under $20, less then what you spend on smokes, haha :P
When teaching beginners don't use advanced devices like capos on the first song. I have no idea what you were strying to do.
You completely lost me on the first song. If I'm a beginner what makes you think I'd just happen to own a capo? I dont so the first song you taught wwas well over my head. I was with you till then.
Thank you thank you thank you Randall! I have really connected with your teaching style and am really excited to continue through the lesson sets. I have progressed farther in 2 days of your lessons than I have in years of reading and trying to figure out how to play by myself. I am a vocalist by "trade" and am looking forward to when I can play and sing a song at the same time. Again, thanks for your terrific style.
this is great but it would be helpful if you would sy which string and fret to place the fingers. It's hard to tell where you are placing yours. Great teaching style!!
Yes, agreed, it would be helpful to see your fingers better or at least a diagram that shows. I like your style!
Man incredible teaching style, better than all the rest, hands down . love the do it process, man you are awesome.
I wish you had a set in the Phase 2 section also... I really enjoy your teaching method and don't seem to 'click' with the other instructors styles. But I can't go from Phase 1 to Phase 3 (where your next set is). Please make a Phase 2!
i use kyser to
I had the same issues until I saw the supplemental tab. It shows you where to put your fingers. I didn't have a capo so I just bought one. Spent $14 on a kyser.
For those who don't have a capo you can get the same sound by barring across all 6 strings with your index finger on the 3rd fret. Easy? Not really, but learning something new never really is easy. If you can't get it right away, try again later, or tomorrow once your fingers have stretched out a bit.
Hi - I loved the lessons up to number 4. But I am totally lost with the first song. I have no idea what you are doing. Can you give some printed material to help, please.
Help! I can't see/figure out where your fingers are. Diagrams, por favor? Exactly which string on what fret with which finger? That would be super helpful. (-: Thanks.
are you any kin to rockin' randel hank williams jr?
are you any kin to rockin' randall hank williams jr?
I too had trouble discerning where the fingers go, a small diagram of the chord in the corner would probably be the best solution.
I'm liking the "dive right in" approach, but a little heads up on the capo would be good.
The lessons are slow and easy. That's great. It would be just a little easier if a diagram of the chord being played was shown at the same time as the instructor is playing it. Even though there are 3 windows, the two that show the chord being played are hidden by the instructors fingers. A chord diagram would eliminate the hand blockage.
Not sure exactly were to put my fingers? You dont need a clearer camera angle as much, just tell us like 3rd or 2nd fret or something, that'd be great.
Liking the lessons so far but I agree about not being able to see the proper placement and not having a capo as a beginner.
pretty disappointed in this lesson. I don't have a capo and I am having a hard time seing exactly where your fingers are. There are many comments similar, and I read your reply that it will be updated. But that was three months ago and it doesn't appear to have been addressed yet.
im at a stand still on this lesson until a better version of this video comes out. my moneys on you to teach me dude. dont let me down. i wana get onto lesson 6 soon. ;)
knowing the words or you singing the words for this song would help me. and seeing your fingers and where there going also would help. and whats with the whole capo coming outa box??? lol it brought me to a stand still. :/ now i have to go buy one of those. being a scotsman i dont like unexpected costs. rrr ha also dont go off for a second onto random advanced notes too much. my head almost burst open.. slowly but surly is my moto. great lesson apart from this. cheers bro
Thanks everybody - also for the suggestions about a clearer camera angle on the fingers. I'll tape more this year, so let me know what else you need, ok?
Please consider Phase 2 lessons . . . Awesome teaching style!
Totally grooving on your teaching style, I'm sittin here laughing at the screen, I'm having fun. This is really great. As far as the Capo(sp?) goes, I'll run out and get one so i can keep on track with the lessons. Keep up the great work, your philosophy works, because I'm playing the first 4 chords em/a2/g6/cmaj7 and making music on the first day. Fantastic! THanks!
would like if you could do a series without the use of capos
I don't have a capo so seemingly these lessons are not going to teach me anything. As with other comments I find it very difficult to follow when the format changes mid stream. ie learning the notes without a capo then popping a capo on.
any ideas what this song is?
Randall. I really like your style of teaching. Very calm. Hope you will be adding more content soon. Thank you
I like you teaching style and approach, but calling this a 'song' is stretching things a little :-)
anytime you can take something to make a sound, is music. To create a music, begins in the soul, and it has no bounderies
when you add the index finger to song, are you putting it on the "B",, 5th string??
the chords are listed in the "supplemental content " Section
i like your style of teaching,,, been here one day and already love the site. looking forward to learning more already.
Like how you teach, makes the lesson go by fast.
Hi loved the lessons, I went and got a capo. Now, just to make sure I understood this right. We start on CM7 and change to EM, is this right? I got a bit confused at first.
I am also having trouble seeing which fingers are where and as heiner requested can you please show all the tabs in the supplemental info. I like the sound of the Capo but it doesn't sound as good without it and being a beginner I do not own one yet and would have expected to have to use anything this early on. I like your technique though and it has got me excited about learning more so keep it up!
I was confused as h3ll about the notes he was playing on this. I eventually got it. But he switches the way that he plays his C (from 2 to 3 fingers) and tells you about it in the middle of strumming. He should have played the chords individually at the beginning. And to make it more confusing, the tablature in the "supplemental information" does not match what he's teaching because he has the capo on. So the disadvantage of this style of teaching is that you are totally relying on HIS interpretation of the chords, since he does not bring in any theory. And as music567 points out, sometimes you can't see his fingers!
i just started learning guitar, i am follwing randall williams lessons. was doing fine until 1st song lesson, which you commented on. you mentioned having fiqured this out, so in the supplimental info section it shows (3) chords can you explain the em/b chord? what i'm thinking here is that it's exactly the same as the normal em only it's only being played on strings A-E. where the normal em is played on all 6 strings. am i on tract here / i really can't go on until this is cleared up. thanks.
I dotn get it at all...
hey my guitar spunds funny but my korg says its perfectly in tune any adivce on what the problem could be
I had a korg tuner that was never accurate especially on the E and A strings. I tune the high E and B strings and then do the others by tuning to those I like the clear tune app for my iPhone and iPad. It's always right on. I'm trying to learn to tune by ear
Everyone's questions are easy to fix. Yes you can play without the capo. All the capo does is change the pitch or key. The tabs and finger positions are found in the supplemental tab below the video and they can be printed. Capos can be bought for less than $20 at any music store.
can you play this without a cap?
so im kinda stuck at the moment
i cant see how you are putting your fingers
Any recommendation for a good model capo ?
I like the way you teach and your philosophy but most beginners don't have a capo and we can't get it to sound like you do.
i thought you were getting us up and running and than you poped the capo on us..now i know 4 chords and noting to do with them, thanks
Please show me the Tabs too! So I can print them.
i dont have a capo!
Thanks for a great lesson; I'll do more of yours. I like your philosophy!