How to learn to sing "Famous Blue Raincoat" with guitar by songwine

"A gradual process of mastery, resulting in fulfillment."

How I did it:

  1. I got the lyrics from iTunes and cut and pasted them into a Word document, and checked them for accuracy with the original recording, which I already had in my collection.
  2. I listened to the recording and figured out the chords and melody. I happened to be extremely familiar with this song, so this was pretty easy.  
  3. I played through the song on guitar, reading/singing the lyrics off the page for a while, maybe three or four days.
  4. At a certain point I could sing through the melody, with the lyrics fully memorized. I practiced singing the song as I took my daily walks. 
  5. Finally, I played the whole thing with guitar, from memory a bunch of times, clearing up details that I wasn't sure of, with the aid of the recording. I did this for several practice sessions. Voila! Done!

Lessons & tips: The original recording's guitar is tuned down, or perhaps is played on a baritone guitar. I played it a whole step higher than the original sounded and the chords fit with a conventionally tuned guitar.

Make sure you love the song. That will insure a better result.

Resources:

A recording of the song, "Famous Blue Raincoat," by Leonard Cohen, in iTunes
an acoustic guitar
Microsoft Word
a music stand
time
dedication
a quiet place to work
patience


 

Jun 27, 2010, 06:33AM PDT | 0 comments | 21 cheers


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songwine has gotten 21 cheers on this entry.

 

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