New Song: Annie’s Song

Let’s play this beautiful acoustic song! If you listen carefully to the rhythm you’ll notice it has a repeating pattern of 3 beats per bar. This is known as a 3/4 time signature: there are three beats per bar, and each beat is the length of a quarter note (hence “3” and “4”). This rhythm is common in folk music and wistful ballads, which really adds to the song’s evocative and timeless feel.

“Annie’s Song”, made famous by John Denver, is now available in Yousician for Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Bass, and Singing.

Annie’s Song for Guitar
by: James Neilson, Music Education Designer for Guitar

In the basic melody exercise (level 3) you’ll play along with the main instrumental and vocal melodies, simplified slightly for playability on the guitar. The speed should be ok for this level, but it’ll take some practice to get the longer phrases smooth, so start slow as needed.

In the cowboy chords exercise (level 5) you’ll play the main chords of the song, using familiar cowboy chord shapes (and a capo if you have one). There are a lot of frequent chord changes as well as a slightly unusual rhythm (3 beats per bar), so keep an eye out!

In the fingerpicking exercise (level 8) you’ll play the recorded fingerpicked guitar part. It’s originally played on a 12-string guitar (which doubles each string, most of them an octave higher), but here it’s arranged for a standard 6-string guitar. Watch out for some tricky chord shapes, and focus on getting the notes as smooth as you can for a flowing feel.

Annie’s Song for Bass
by: Antti Halmetoja, Bass content specialist

In the basic bassline exercise (level 2) you’ll learn a simplified version of this beautiful 70’s song. There are a lot of chords but the rhythm is quite simple.

The full bassline exercise (level 6) includes the originally recorded bassline. It’s originally played with double bass, but it works nicely on electric bass, too. There are a couple of faster parts, so focus on them to get them smooth.

Annie’s Song for Ukulele
by: Joona Hasan, Music Education Designer for Ukulele

In the melody exercise (level 4) you’ll play along with the main instrumental and vocal melodies, simplified slightly for playability on the ukulele. The speed should be ok for this level, but it’ll take some practice to get the longer phrases smooth, so start slow as needed.

In the chords exercise (level 6) you’ll play the main chords of the song, using mainly familiar chord shapes, and maybe a couple of new ones. There are a lot of frequent chord changes as well as a slightly unusual rhythm (3 beats per bar), so keep an eye out!

Annie’s Song for Singing
by: Sonja Patrikainen, Music Education Designer for Singing

This song has a lot of phrases that end in a long note. When practicing, make sure your airflow stays even and stomach relaxed by avoiding the urge to crunch and, instead, thinking of the notes as energetic but still smooth and free.