“Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day is a song that resonates deeply with many, thanks to its poignant lyrics and memorable melody. For guitarists, especially beginners, wanting to play this iconic track, the original recording, rich with layers of guitars, might seem daunting. However, you don’t need a full band to capture the essence of this song on your guitar. This lesson breaks down how to create a fantastic single-guitar arrangement of “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, making it accessible and enjoyable to play solo.
Many aspiring guitarists get caught up in trying to replicate every single guitar part from a recording. While admirable, it’s often unnecessary, especially when you’re playing solo. The beauty of guitar arrangements lies in adaptation. Instead of being limited to songs with only one guitar track, you can learn to arrange multi-layered songs for a single guitar, opening up a vast repertoire of music. This guide will walk you through the process using “Wake Me Up When September Ends” as our example, showcasing how to simplify and still sound great.
Over several lessons here at guitarplayers.net, we’ll explore various techniques for crafting single-guitar arrangements from complex, multi-guitar songs. Our aim is to equip you with the knowledge and inspiration to create your own solo guitar versions of your favorite songs. Let’s start with “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and unlock its single-guitar potential.
The first crucial step in arranging any song for solo guitar is understanding its basic structure – the chords, rhythm, and overall form. “Wake Me Up When September Ends” follows a classic song structure: A-A-B-A. Each verse is built upon two sections, “A” and “B”. The “A” section is played and then repeated. This is followed by the “B” section and concluded with a final repetition of the “A” section. This pattern is consistent throughout the verses, making the song relatively easy to learn and memorize.
To help you visualize this, let’s look at the structure of the first verse:
A Section:
Summer has come and passed the innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
Repeat of A Section:
Like my father’s come to pass seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends
B Section:
Here comes the rain again falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again becoming who we are
Repeat of A Section:
As my memory rests but never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends
The song unfolds with an introduction, the first verse, a short interlude (repeating the intro), a second verse, an instrumental solo (musically based on the “B” section), another interlude, and a final third verse. In the last verse, the latter part of the final “A” section is repeated a couple of times, acting as an outro or coda.
Playing the “A” Section on Guitar
Musically, the “A” section of “Wake Me Up When September Ends” begins with a similar feel to “Friend of the Devil” by the Grateful Dead, featuring a descending bass line from the G major scale under a G chord. In the original recording, this is achieved through a simple arpeggio focusing on the D, G, and B strings. To create an initial harmonic ambiguity, only the G and D notes are used in the very beginning.
Wake Me Up When September Ends intro guitar tab example
This opening can be considered the Introduction and is also used as an interlude between verses and after the solo. For playing this, starting with your index finger on the B string, 3rd fret, and your ring finger on the D string, 5th fret, can be comfortable.
While we’re calling this “G”, even with just the G and D notes, many transcriptions might label it “G5” (a G power chord). However, the song’s melody at this point heavily features the B note, much like in Green Day’s other hit, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”. This clearly establishes G major as the tonal center, which is important to remember as we explore adding chord strums to our arrangement.
As mentioned, the “A” section starts with a descending G major scale line for its first four measures:
Wake Me Up When September Ends A section guitar tab example
If you’re using the suggested fingering from before, you’ll need to shift your fingers at the third measure (G/E). Use your index finger for the D string, 2nd fret, and either your middle or ring finger for the B string, 3rd fret. Alternatively, middle finger on the D string and ring or pinky on the B string works too.
It is possible to play all four arpeggios of the “A” section with one consistent finger position if you prefer. Starting with your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the B string, use your pinky for the 5th fret of the D string, and either pinky or ring finger for the 4th fret of the D string, and index finger for the 2nd fret of the D string.
From there, the “A” section progresses to a C chord and then a Cm chord before returning to G for the final two measures. Typically, these chords might be played as barre chords, but we can utilize the open G string for a simpler approach:
Wake Me Up When September Ends chords C Cm G guitar tab example
For a smooth transition, consider using your index finger on the A string, 3rd fret, with your pinky on the B string, 5th fret, and middle finger on the B string, 4th fret. This frees up your ring finger to easily grab the 5th fret of the D string when you switch back to the G chord.
Remember, you can always use full or partial barre chords for the C and Cm if you prefer that sound, and slightly adjust the rhythm to more closely mirror the original recording:
Wake Me Up When September Ends rhythm variation guitar tab example
Notice in this last example that the final G chord is a full G major chord, adding a bit more depth to the single guitar arrangement. Dynamics play a crucial role in solo arrangements. Avoid getting too loud when strumming chords so that the quieter single-note arpeggios still have impact when you return to the “A” section repeat. It takes practice to find the right dynamic balance you’re happy with!
Tackling the “B” Section on Guitar
In the original version of “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, the “B” section employs barre chords for Bm, C, G, and D. However, you can maintain the arpeggio style from the “A” section, focusing on the D, G, and B strings, without using barre chords at all:
Wake Me Up When September Ends B section arpeggio guitar tab example
As you move up the guitar neck, you’ll likely find it easiest to play the Bm chord with your index finger on the B string, 2nd fret, ring finger on the G string, 4th fret, and middle finger on the D string, 3rd fret. When you shift to the C chord in the third and seventh measures, where all three fingers are now on the 5th fret, simply lift your index finger and use your pinky on the B string, 5th fret. Maintain this fingering for the D chord in the eighth measure.
The main challenge in the “B” section is often the smooth transition back to the initial G of the following “A” section. Ending the eighth measure with the open D string is helpful as it gives you a brief moment to reposition your hand.
Technically, you could play the entire song using this three-string arpeggio technique. It’s an excellent way for younger or beginner guitarists who aren’t yet comfortable with barre chords to explore playing higher up the neck. While it sounds good, it might lack some fullness in certain parts.
But there are indeed other ways to play this song! A common approach is to use only power chords, strumming them with eighth-note downstrokes. However, to capture more of the arpeggiated feel, consider using fuller chords and incorporating occasional upstrokes to emphasize the D note on the 3rd fret of the B string, like this:
Wake Me Up When September Ends B section full chords guitar tab example
In this example, we utilize open position chord shapes for Em, Bm7, C, and G. To add variation to the C chord, it’s played first in standard open position (x32010) and then with the pinky added to the 3rd fret of the high E (first) string. This isn’t mandatory, but this voicing creates a nice transition to the D chord in the last measure:
Wake Me Up When September Ends D chord variation guitar tab
Playing the “B” section in this manner also works effectively for the instrumental solo section of the song. For the final D chord in the solo, you can play a Dsus4 high up the neck, alternating it with a regular D chord in a similar position, like so:
Wake Me Up When September Ends Dsus4 D guitar tab example
To play this Dsus4 and D chord combination, barre the top three strings (high E, B, and G) at the 7th fret with your index finger. Use your pinky to fret the D note on the 10th fret of the high E string and either your ring or middle finger to fret the G note on the 8th fret of the B string for the Dsus4. Simply lift your finger off the B string to switch to the D chord.
Finish with the same type of full G chord from Example 4 and repeat this last measure of G four times. You’re then ready for the final verse of the song, which repeats the “A” section twice, with two additional repeats of the C to Cm to G chord progression at the end.
Now that you have several ways to approach playing “Wake Me Up When September Ends” on guitar, you can mix and match these techniques to create your own arrangement, like this final example:
Wake Me Up When September Ends full song guitar chords lyrics tab
We hope this exploration of the fundamentals of “Wake Me Up When September Ends” has been helpful. In future lessons and podcasts on GuitarNoise, we’ll delve deeper into using these techniques to create a solo specifically for your single-guitar arrangement. We’ll also provide a lesson on playing the original recording’s guitar solo right here.
As always, please feel free to share any questions, comments, or suggestions in the comments section below or on our Forum Pages. You can also email me directly.
Until our next lesson, keep practicing and making music!
Peace.
Liner Notes
Released on June 13, 2005, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” was the fourth single from Green Day’s monumental album, American Idiot, released almost nine months prior. It also featured on their live album, Bullet in a Bible, recorded during their American Idiot World Tour at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England.
While this single didn’t reach Number One on the Modern Rock Tracks chart like its three predecessors (peaking at Number Two), it achieved significant success on both the Adult Top 40 (also Number Two) and the Mainstream Top 40 (Number Three). This broadened the band’s appeal considerably into the adult contemporary market.
