Ain’t No Sunshine Guitar Lesson

Learn how to play Ain’t No Sunshine on one Acoustic Guitar!

The rhythm guitar part of Ain’t No Sunshine is analyzed in Spy Tunes blog.

As discussed in the blog, the rhythm guitar part comes from fusing the guitar with what the rhythm section does, this creates a “call and response” with the vocal.

When arranging for one guitar and vocal it is the relationship between them that is important.

First of all the chords have to be right, dynamics need to be built up so the arrangement feels alive but once this is sorted, it is rhythm that matters!

Building a finger style arrangement

As the blog describes, the rhythm guitar answers the vocal, just like the original recording do through bass and drums.

By taking turns rhythmically and establishing a calm 8th note groove from the instruments, the vocal can deliver its message using syncopated rhythms.

To learn more about this, practice 16th note funk patterns and these Chromatic Exercises.

If you can see the similarity between the opening ain’t – no – sun, Spyder 13 and All my life‘s guitar riff you are on your way to understanding music at a different level.

To quickly get started with the finger style pattern, check the e Book Acoustic Finger Style Guitar for clues.