Arranging a melody in fingerstyle – free course

Playing the melody and its accompaniment alone on one guitar is the great art of fingerstyle, from Merle Travis and Chet Atkins to today's folk guitarists. Arranging a melody this way is an excellent composition exercise, because you have to fit three layers into two hands. We are going to arrange Au clair de la lune (a traditional French song) step by step with an alternating Travis bass.

1. The three layers

The bass (thumb): on every beat, alternating between two bass strings (the root, then another chord tone).
The melody (index, middle): on strings 1 and 2, above everything else.
The filler: a middle string (often the open 3rd) on the off-beats, which keeps the engine turning.

2. Choosing the key

The golden rule: the melody must fall on the treble strings, and the chord roots on open or easy bass strings. The keys of C, G, D, A and E (and their relative minors) are the most generous. In C, the melody of Au clair de la lune fits on strings 2 and 1 (C at fret 1, D at fret 3, open E), and the basses C, E, G are under the thumb.

3. Step 1: the melody alone

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:C clef=treble-8
"C"c2 c2 c2 d2 | e4 "G7"d4 | "C"c2 e2 "G7"d2 d2 | "C"c8 |]

4. Step 2: the alternating bass alone

In C: string 5 (C) – string 4 (E) – string 6 (G) – string 4 (E). In G7: string 6 (G) – string 4 (D). Play it until it is automatic: it is the engine.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=90
K:C clef=treble-8
"C"C2 E2 G,2 E2 | "C"C2 E2 "G7"G,2 D2 | "C"C2 E2 "G7"G,2 D2 | "C"C2 E2 G,2 E2 |]

5. Step 3: all together

The melody lands on the bass (struck together, the "pinch"), and the open 3rd string fills the off-beats. Here is the whole song: A (bars 1 to 4), B (5 to 8), then A.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=84
K:C clef=treble-8
"C"[Cc]G [Ec]G [G,c]G [Ed]G | "C"[Ce]G EG "G7"[G,d]G DG | "C"[Cc]G [Ee]G "G7"[G,d]G [Dd]G | "C"[Cc]G EG G,G EG |
"G"[G,d]G [Dd]G [G,d]G [Dd]G | "D7"[DA]2 A,2 [DA]2 A,2 | "G"[G,d]G [Dc]G [G,B]G [DA]2 | "G7"[G,G]2 D2 G,2 B,2 |
"C"[Cc]G [Ec]G [G,c]G [Ed]G | "C"[Ce]G EG "G7"[G,d]G DG | "C"[Cc]G [Ee]G "G7"[G,d]G [Dd]G | "C"[Cc]G EG [CEGc]4 |]

6. Solving conflicts

The melody drops onto the filler string (bar 6: A on string 3): drop the filler and keep bass + melody.
A long note: let it ring while the bass carries on underneath. The alternation is what creates the sense of motion.
A melody that is too low: move it up an octave, or change key.
Transitions: at the end of a section, walk the bass towards the next chord (bar 8: G – D – G – B, then C).
Style: by anticipating some melody notes by a quaver (on the off-beat) you get the typical swing of country picking.

Arranger's tip: bring the melody out by picking it slightly harder than the bass, and lightly palm-mute the basses (as Merle Travis did). The two layers separate naturally.

Common mistakes:

Too many notes: an overloaded arrangement hides the melody. Always start with bass + melody, and only add filler where there is room.
A bass that stops as soon as the melody gets tricky: slow down rather than break the engine.
A "sheet-music" key instead of a guitar key: E♭ or A♭ force you to barre everywhere.

Your workshop

Choose a public-domain melody you know by heart: Frère Jacques, Aura Lee (1861), Oh! Susanna (Stephen Foster, 1848), Shenandoah…
Find a key that puts the melody on strings 1 and 2 (try C, then G, then D).
Harmonise it with two or three chords (I, IV, V), one per bar or per half bar.
Write the alternating bass alone, then add the melody on the beats, then the filler.
Write your arrangement in the ABC editor, with both voices combined as chords ([Cc]) and clef=treble-8.

Self-check: play your arrangement to someone without telling them the title. Do they recognise the melody by the second bar?