Alicia Keys – wow, what a voice! Today we’re going to be taking a look at her very first single, “Fallin’,” which still holds up today as one of her strongest and more vocally impressive ballads. For a singer whose career mainly consists of strong vocal performances, that’s certainly saying something.

If you’re any bit familiar with Alicia Keys and her music, you’ll know that she is a pianist, not a guitarist. As such, most of her songs center around the piano, but no problem – they can still be adapted to guitar. They’re just chords, after all, aren’t they?

For this tune, there are really only two chords that alternate for the duration. When you’re given such a bare-bones song, there’s plenty of opportunity to play around with the sound, the dynamics, and the textures. Also, the song is in 6/8 time, which gives a sort of “waltz” feel to the song. If you’re less familiar with 6/8 time, give the song a few listens and pay attention to where the downbeats fall.

In this lesson, I’ve given you a few different chord and fingering options, as well as tips on how to fingerpick and strum it. If you’re new to fingerpicking, this is a great tune to practice with. Just start slowly, working with one chord at a time, and make sure each note is ringing out clearly as you hit the string. Once you’ve nailed that, practice going from one chord to the other.