A Summer Wasting.

Belle & Sebastian, A Summer Wasting. The obnoxious-sounding tips in the second section are primarily aimed at more beginners and will be second nature to most players so I apologise if they seem a bit arsey because they are a bit arsey. I know if the lyrics are right, I just copied them off Version 1. *BASIC VERSION* Summer in winter Winter in springtime You heard the birds sing Everything will be fine I spent the summer wasting The time was passed so easily But if the summer's wasted How come that I could feel so-- free I spent the summer wasting The sky was blue beyond compare A photograph of myself Is all I have to show for Seven years of river walkways Seven weeks of staying up all _ _ night. (Two bars instrumental) I spent the summer wasting The time was passed so pleasantly Say cheerio to books now The only things I'll read are faces I spent the summer wasting Under a canopy of Seven weeks of reading papers Seven weeks of river walkways Seven weeks of feeling guilty Seven weeks of staying up all _ _ night Summer in winter Winter is springtime You heard the bird say Everything will be fine *SOME EXTRAS* 1) Firstly, the start (and finish) of the song. On the recording the guitar plays the in unison with the voice. If you want to do this then this is a perfectly adequate way of doing it. Any complete beginners should note that this can all be played without moving from the of the chord of D major (concert E major), save for the high E (concert F#). The rhythm isn't exactly readable here, though the phrasing is quite obvious and, as of you know, the rhythm is the same as the words anyway so it's easy enough. 2) For a solo performance it can be nice to add a little bit of movement to your bass to give more of a feel of polyphony. I'm not a proficient guitar player AT ALL and I'm not just being modest, believe me, so I to do anything I can possibly manage to add to the musical interest of a performance. A simple example would be to add something between the Em and A chords during the On your low E-string add this phrase, one note on each beat to take you from the Em to the A via the notes E E F# G pitch F# F# G# A) Little things like this, when used sensitively and sensibly will really enhance your performance. 3) The chord of C on "staying up all night" has a lot of room in the harmonic context of Possibilities include a Cmaj7, a C9, a C6, a Caug4 or a D7/C to name but a few. to find something you like (and there's nothing wrong with liking the ordinary C major) and don't forget to consult with your - if you play with one - to make sure that you're all aware of what the others are doing so that any dissonances sound like and not like mistakes. 4) The 8-bar instrumental that precedes the final verse has a solo in it played by what memory) sounds like a melodica. Possibly a violin, but I can't remember. Anyway it plays this tune (each note is a crotchet/quarter-note): G|---0-------------|---0-----------2---| twice. If you play with a band, you can give this to the lead guitarist. If you want a notation for a pianist or a classically trained musician, just send me an email and I'll do one for you. If you are not in a band and intend to play this song on your own then you can just add notes into your chords as you play. In essence, it will mean that the chords you will be playing are these: HOWEVER, I encourage you not to play this with the mindset of just playing through this of chords. You need to think of it as you adding a second line - a melodic line - over your basic chordal accompaniment. Play as if it's just Em A Em A like in the verses, but you've added a tune as well. If you don't understand what I mean it's it's very hard to explain. Just, if it sounds shit, don't do it. Stick to the basic chords and leave out the 'solo'. Don't forget to rate, and comment if you've spotted something I haven't so I can amend it.