“You Are My Sunshine” resonates deeply with many, evoking personal memories and feelings. For me, this song holds a special place as my wife and I often sang it to our daughter, our sunshine, when she was a baby. Beyond personal connections, the song gained renewed popularity through the film O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, introducing bluegrass music to a wider audience. When asked to create a tutorial on cross-picking for this timeless tune, I was thrilled to share my approach.
Let’s embark on a journey to learn “You Are My Sunshine” on guitar. Our method begins with understanding the foundational chords and melody, progressing to a Carter-style arrangement, and finally culminating in a dynamic cross-picking rendition. Ideally, discerning the melody by ear is an invaluable exercise for developing your musical intuition. However, to assist you, I’ve provided the melody along with corresponding chords in notation. Let’s first examine the basic melody structure:
You Are My Sunshine basic melody guitar notes
With the melody laid out, our next step involves crafting a Carter-style arrangement. The core principle here is to introduce a chord strum after any note sustained for two beats or longer. This technique adds rhythmic depth and harmonic context to the melody. Here’s the Carter-style arrangement I developed for “You Are My Sunshine”:
You Are My Sunshine Carter style guitar arrangement
Having established the Carter-style foundation, we are now ready to construct a captivating cross-picking arrangement of “You Are My Sunshine.” In place of the chord strum from the Carter style, we employ the forward roll technique to articulate the chords. This creates the signature rapid, articulate sound of cross-picking. Below is the cross-picking arrangement:
You Are My Sunshine cross-picking guitar notes arrangement
Now, let’s explore another dimension by applying the “Not So Carter, Carter Style” variation. We’ll begin again with the fundamental melody as our starting point:
You Are My Sunshine melody guitar notes high register
Applying the “Not So Carter, Carter Style” technique to this melody opens up new possibilities and textures within the arrangement. This variation allows for more melodic freedom while retaining the rhythmic drive. Here’s how the “Not So Carter, Carter Style” arrangement takes shape:
You Are My Sunshine Not So Carter style guitar arrangement
From this “Not So Carter, Carter Style” arrangement, we can seamlessly transition into a more intricate and dynamic cross-picking rendition. This final step showcases the versatility of cross-picking and its ability to elevate a simple melody into a virtuosic piece. Behold the “Not So Carter” cross-picking arrangement:
You Are My Sunshine Not So Carter cross-picking guitar arrangement
There you have it – four distinct arrangements of “You Are My Sunshine,” each building upon the last. If you’ve been following along, you should now grasp the process of transforming a simple melody into progressively complex guitar arrangements. I encourage you to experiment with these techniques on other songs and explore the creative potential of cross-picking.
In our next exploration, we’ll delve into adding further embellishments and variations to these arrangements, unlocking even more musical possibilities with “You Are My Sunshine.” Stay tuned for “Pizzazz My Sunshine” and more guitar lessons!
Thank you for reading, and if you found this lesson helpful, please share it with fellow guitar enthusiasts. Happy picking!
