Many guitarists, especially when starting out, strive to play songs exactly as they hear them on recordings. However, most studio tracks, including Green Day’s iconic “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” are built with multiple guitar layers. Playing all those parts simultaneously on a single guitar can seem impossible. You might think you’re limited to songs written for just one guitar, but that’s far from the truth! This lesson will show you how to transform “Wake Me Up When September Ends” into a fantastic, easy-to-play solo guitar arrangement.
Over several upcoming lessons here at Guitar Noise, we’ll explore different methods for creating single guitar versions of songs that feature complex, multi-layered guitar parts. Our goal is to equip you with the skills and inspiration to craft your own unique solo guitar arrangements.
The first step in arranging any song for a single guitar is understanding its basic structure—the chords and rhythm. “Wake Me Up When September Ends” uses a classic A-A-B-A song structure. Each verse is composed of 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.
Understanding the Song Structure
To make it even easier to follow, each “A” section ends with the song’s memorable title. Here’s a breakdown of the first verse to illustrate this structure:
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 complete song structure includes an introduction, followed by the first verse, a brief interlude (which is musically the same as the introduction), a second verse, an instrumental solo (musically identical to the “B” section of the verse), another interlude (again, a repeat of the introduction), and finally, a third verse. In the last verse, the latter part of the final “A” section is repeated a couple of times to serve as an outro or coda.
Playing the “A” Section Guitar Part
Musically, the “A” section begins in a way reminiscent of “Friend of the Devil,” using a descending bass line based on the G major scale underneath a G chord. In the original recording, this is achieved with a simple arpeggio using the D, G, and B strings. To create a sense of harmonic ambiguity at the start, only the G and D notes are initially used:
Guitar tab example for the intro of Wake Me Up When September Ends
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You can think of this as the Introduction. It also reappears as an interlude between the first and second verses, and again before the guitar solo. For playing this, you’ll likely find it easiest to start with your index finger on the B string, third fret, and your ring finger on the D string, fifth fret.
It’s worth noting that while I’m referring to this as “G,” based on the G and D notes, many guitar tabs might label it as “G5” (a G power chord). However, because the song’s melody in this section centers around the B note, similar to “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” the key center is clearly G major. Recognizing this will be helpful when we explore adding chord strumming to this arrangement.
As mentioned, the “A” section opens with a descending G major scale line for the first four measures:
Guitar tab showing the A section arpeggios for Wake Me Up When September Ends
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If you’re using the suggested finger positioning, you’ll need to shift your fingers at the beginning of the third measure (the G/E chord). Use your index finger to fret the D string, second fret, and your middle or ring finger to fret the B string, third fret. Alternatively, you could use your middle finger on the D string and either your ring or pinky finger on the B string.
It’s definitely possible to play all four arpeggios in the “A” section using a single finger position if you prefer. Starting with your middle finger on the third fret of the B string, you would use your pinky for the fifth fret of the D string, either your pinky or ring finger for the fourth fret of the D string, and your index finger for the second fret of the D string.
From this point, the “A” section moves to a C chord, then a Cm chord, before concluding with two more measures of G. Typically, these chords are played as barre chords, but you can utilize the open G string and play them in these simplified shapes:
Guitar tab demonstrating simplified chord shapes for the A section of Wake Me Up When September Ends
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The smoothest transition here is likely achieved by using your index finger on the A string, second fret, with your pinky finger playing the fifth fret of the B string and your middle finger playing the fourth fret of the B string. This frees up your ring finger to easily reach the fifth fret of the D string when you switch back to the G chord.
As previously mentioned, you can also use full or partial barre chords for the C and Cm chords here, and even slightly adjust the rhythm to more closely resemble the original recording:
Guitar tab showing barre chord rhythm variation for the A section of Wake Me Up When September Ends
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Also, note that the final G chord in this example is a full G chord, adding a bit more depth to the single guitar arrangement. Dynamics are crucial for single-guitar arrangements. You want to avoid becoming too loud, which can make the sound thin when you revert to single notes for the second repetition of the “A” section. It may take some experimentation and practice to refine the dynamics to your satisfaction.
Playing the “B” Section Guitar Part
In the original recording, the “B” section employs barre chords for Bm, C, G, and D. However, you can continue playing arpeggios on the D, G, and B strings, similar to the “A” section, without using barre chords at all:
Guitar tab for the B section arpeggio arrangement of Wake Me Up When September Ends
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As you move up the neck, you’ll likely play the Bm chord with your index finger on the second fret of the B string, your ring finger on the fourth fret of the G string, and your middle finger on the fourth fret of the D string. In the third and seventh measures, when you shift to the C chord where all three fingers are at the fifth fret, simply remove your index finger and use your pinky on the fifth fret of the B string. Maintain this fingering for the D chord in the eighth measure.
The main challenge in this section isn’t playing the notes themselves, but rather creating a smooth transition back to the initial G chord of the following “A” section. This is why playing the open D string as the last note in the eighth measure is a good technique – it gives you a brief moment to reposition your hand.
Technically, you could play the entire song using this three-string arpeggio style if you wish. It’s actually an excellent method for younger beginners who aren’t yet comfortable with barre chords to learn about navigating the guitar neck. And it sounds perfectly acceptable, although it might sound a little less full in certain parts.
However, there are certainly other ways to approach this song. A guitarist might choose to play solely power chords, strumming all downstrokes in eighth notes. But you might find you capture more of the arpeggiated feel and spirit of the song by using fuller chords and incorporating the occasional upstroke to emphasize the D note at the third fret of the B string, as shown in this example:
Guitar tab example of using fuller chords in the B section of Wake Me Up When September Ends
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In this example, you use open position chord shapes for Em, Bm7, C, and G. To add some variety to the C chord, it’s initially played in standard open position (x32010), and then the pinky finger is added to the third fret of the high E (first) string. This pinky addition is optional, but this voicing works nicely to lead into the voicing of the D chord in the last measure:
Guitar tab for the D chord voicing in Wake Me Up When September Ends
Playing the “B” section in this manner also works well for the instrumental solo section. For the final D chord in the solo and outro, you’ll want to play a Dsus4 chord high up the neck, alternating it with a similar D chord, like this:
Guitar tab showing Dsus4 and D chord combination for Wake Me Up When September Ends
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To play this Dsus4 and D chord combination, barre the first three strings (high E, B, and G) with your index finger at the seventh fret. Then, use your pinky finger to fret the D note at the tenth fret of the high E string, and either your ring or middle finger to fret the G note at the eighth fret of the B string. Simply lift your finger off the B string to switch from Dsus4 to D.
Finish with the same type of G chord from Example 4 and play this last measure of G four times. Now you’re 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 progression at the end.
With these different approaches to playing “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” you can mix and match your accompaniment, as demonstrated in this final overview of the song:
Wake Me Up When September Ends chords and lyrics guitar cheat sheet
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I hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of the fundamentals of “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” In an upcoming Guitar Noise Podcast, we’ll delve into how to use these different approaches to create a solo for your single-guitar arrangement. Additionally, we’ll have a separate lesson right here on how to play the original recording’s guitar solo.
As always, feel free to post any questions, comments, or suggestions here or on our Forum Pages (we have a dedicated forum for Guitar Noise Song Lessons!). You can also email me directly at [email protected].
Until our next lesson, keep playing!
Peace
Liner Notes: Song Release History
Released on June 13, 2005, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” was the fourth single from Green Day’s monumental album, American Idiot, which was released almost nine months prior. It was also featured on their subsequent album, Bullet in a Bible, a live recording from their American Idiot World Tour at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England.
While this single, unlike its three predecessors, didn’t reach Number One on the Modern Rock Tracks chart (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 single significantly broadened the band’s audience, introducing them to the adult contemporary market on a large scale.
