🎸 Beginner to Pro: Building a Fingerstyle Arrangement from a Simple Melody

As a kid, I was transfixed by Tommy Emmanuel’s arrangements of pop and rock tunes for solo guitar. Tommy would play the melody, bass, harmony – and sometimes add in percussion- just using 6-strings!
Amazing.
I wanted to learn how to do this, so I spent hours listening and watching Tommy play and trying to replicate what he was doing.
Tommy appeared regularly on Australian TV then, so I often recorded it and then wore out the VHS tape as I tried breaking down what was going on.

The internet was a few years away yet, and no-one I knew of taught this style, so all I had was those tapes, my ears, imagination, and perseverance.

Some years later, I arranged the classic “Georgia on My Mind’ for solo guitar. A much loved uncle had introduced me to the tune as a very little boy. I have loved it ever since. At one point I arrn aged it as a solo guitar piece to play for him. I was nominated for a national songwriting award for my arrangement of the tune, which opened all manner of opportunities for me. I was offered some very prestigious gigs opening for the likes of Tommy and Phil Emmanuel, a French record label that specialised in fingerstyle guitar reached out to me to discuss the possibility of recording an album with them, and my recognition as a player of some note increased significantly.
Martin Cilia is Australia’s premier surf guitarist. He’s also a friend of mine. Martin writes and plays in a style that it’s predominantly focussed on melody. He has challenged me to create some solo arrangements of his songs. I started, life got in the way, so I am starting again.

And while I might say that the melody is “simple”, it does not mean it is easy. How do we convey the emotion behind the notes? What about the tone we employ? The techniques employed to sound those notes? The harmony they are played against?

Martin is the master of this.

The following points represent the steps we might follow to arrange a tune. With more experience, you might skip some of the considerations, but for now, we will work through all points.

1. Start with the Melody

• Choose a recognizable and simple melody. We will start with Martin Cilia’s “Pacific Rain”.
• Work out the best way to play it on the guitar. Do we play in just one position, or shall we move up and down the neck to best play it?
• Is it in a guitar friendly key? When starting out with arranging, this is a good thing to consider. As we become more advanced, we will become more comfortable playing in “harder” keys, ie Bb. 

2. Add Basic Chords (Beginner/Intermediate)

• Identify the underlying chords that fit the melody.
• Play the melody over those open-position chords.
• This step shows how harmony supports the melody.

3. Incorporate Bass Notes (Intermediate)

• Use your thumb to play root notes or alternate bass lines.
• Try simple Travis picking or steady quarter note bass to anchor the piece.

4. Break the Chords into Patterns (Intermediate)

• Arpeggiate the chords instead of strumming.
• Introduce common fingerstyle patterns (e.g. PIMA for classical-style fingerpicking).

5. Sync Melody with Fingerpicking (Intermediate/Advanced)

• Let melody notes fall on the top strings while the bass and inner voices create motion.
• Practice slow, focusing on independence between thumb and fingers.

6. Add Ornamentation (Advanced)

• Hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, and harmonics to give your arrangement character.
• Subtle dynamics and timing variations to make it feel expressive and alive.

7. Polish and Perform (Pro)

• Focus on tone, dynamics, and consistency.
• Record yourself, listen back, and refine.
• Optional: notate or tab your arrangement.