Hey there! Jacob Lamb from Guitar Tricks has an awesome tutorial for you on playing the classic Christmas carol I Saw Three Ships. He breaks it down into three simple parts so you can learn it at your own pace and even impress your friends during the holidays.
First up, Jacob shows you the open chords for the song. It’s super beginner-friendly since the carol only has four repeating lines, and you only need to know four chords: G, C, D, and E minor. If you master these, you’ve basically nailed the entire tune.
Next, he walks you through the melody using tabs, which all stay within the first four frets. Jacob keeps it simple by assigning one finger per fret—perfect for beginners. The melody is straightforward and repeats a lot, so it’s quick to pick up.
Finally, he combines the melody with the root notes of the chords, making it sound like you’re playing two parts at once. This might seem tricky at first, but Jacob’s method is easy to follow. He uses his third finger for the root notes while letting the other fingers handle the melody. Plus, he ditches the pick and uses fingerpicking, which makes splitting the strings way easier.
To wrap it up, Jacob plays the full song slowly with tabs on the screen and a metronome at 60 BPM, so you can play along and practice. He even tweaks the ending slightly for a fun variation.
