Heartbeats - José González

Hi everyone and welcome to this new tutorial! I hope you’ve missed the “alternate tuning guitar” haha though to be honest, this one isn’t too unusual: only the sixth and third strings are tuned down. Specifically, the low E becomes a D, and the G on the third string is tuned down to F#. I chose to use this guitar because the original track features a classical guitar, and in my opinion, my Fender captures that sound more closely than my Taylor does.

Let’s dive into the details. Structurally, I’d divide the song into two main sections: one comprising the intro, verses, and chorus, and the other being the bridge. In the first section, on the left-hand side, there are just three positions to learn. I highly recommend following the exact fingering I use, as it’s the most comfortable for playing all the hammer-ons smoothly. For the right hand, I suggest using the thumb for the sixth and fifth strings, the index finger for the fourth, and the middle finger for the third string — including in those two-note combinations where the second string is also played. Pay close attention to when you need to hit the note on the third fret of the third string!

As for the bridge, in the first half — the part that slides between the seventh and fifth frets — the right hand follows the same approach as the first section. However, in the second half of the bridge, everything shifts up one string: the thumb now plays the fifth and fourth strings, the index finger handles the third, and the middle finger plays both the second and first strings.

As always, you can find the tabs on my Patreon page. Have fun learning the song!