Below is the lesson for “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett.

Helpful Tips

A fun, fingerstyle take on Jimmy Buffett’s signature song! There are two things I love about this arrangement. First, it’s a nice blend of fingerpicking and strumming. Which means you get to work on the best of both worlds! Second, it strengthens your ability to play syncopated rhythms.

Syncopation means that we are accenting the weak beats (the &’s). This can be tricky because accenting weak beats doesn’t come as natural as accenting strong beats (1, 2, 3, 4). Therefore, I’d recommend tackling the syncopated bars ‘by ear’, but also ‘by counting’ the rhythms.

Playing by ear simply means to memorize the beats. In other words: if you can sing it, you can play it. Whereas counting rhythms requires an understanding of rhythmic notation.

If you really want to gain a thorough understanding of rhythmic notation, there is no better way than by learning to read standard notation.

Part 1 – Performance & Free Lesson

Tab Play Along