In this free video guitar lesson from his Fingerstyle Breakthroughs course, Tommy Emmanuel gives a short fingerstyle performance of the song “House of the Rising Sun” played at a moderate tempo then breaks it down for you with tab and notation in the following videos.
Once you’ve worked with the guitar lesson for this song and have learned to put the parts and necessary techniques together, be sure to work with the slow playalong first before moving it up to this tempo.
Take your time working this guitar song out, learn the mechanics of “House of the Rising Sun” slowly first and then as you become more comfortable, work your way up to this tempo.
“House of the Rising Sun” is an old song that makes a wonderful instrumental, the most popular likely being The Animals’ version. The melody in this tune is based on the vocal melody, played over a boom chick bass line. There’s some ideas stolen from Chet Atkins from a version he played with Mark Knopfler, and even an original Tommy Emmanuel lick thrown onto the end of the verse!
Take your time with this song lesson and hey, if you’re still having trouble, go back and review the breakdown and make sure you have all of the mechanics under your fingers. A metronome is another great tool to help you work this piece at different tempos.
Download the tab & notation for this guitar lesson.
“House of the Rising Sun” Guitar Performance
“House of the Rising Sun” Guitar Lesson Breakdown
“House of the Rising Sun” Guitar Playalong
Dig this free guitar lesson? Be sure to check out Tommy Emmanuel’s full course, Fingerstyle Breakthroughs, for more song lessons and much more!