Below is the lesson for “My Girl” by The Temptations.

Helpful Tips

A classic soul hit from the 60’s; this arrangement covers everything, from the iconic intro riff to the smoothly delivered vocal lines. While this arrangement clocks in around 2 minutes in length, we have to keep in mind that it is a pop song from the 60’s; which lends itself to having a simple form, with a lot of repetition and slight variations. With that in mind, I’d say about 30% of this arrangement is a mix between the two; thus making learning easier.

The main things that you want to focus on is keeping the feel of the song relaxed and the backbeat steady. Some of the chords (specifically partial barre chords) and their movement (going up and down the neck) can be a little tricky. As such, I’d encourage you to break this song down into 2 or 4 bar phrases and master them before trying to tackle an entire section.

In the original recording, the song modulates up a whole step to D major. We will follow suit with the Outro, although we will be ending on the Riff; instead of playing another verse, pre-chorus, chorus, and vamped outro. If you’d like to add the last section, you could always capo the second fret immediately after the solo, and jump back to the first verse, playing everything relative to the capo.

Part 1 – Performance & Free Lesson

Part 2 – For Premium Members

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