Que Sera, Sera is a fantastic 3 chord song for a bit of fun on the guitar. The wonderful Doris Day performed this in an easy, chirpy and light way that makes this a pleasure to play.

We’re doing this as a simple ‘thumb-fingers’ picking version with a couple of more complex variations if you’re ready…

The song is in 3/4 so we have a lulling, waltz feel.  Each bar is made up of 3 beats.

THE CHORDS:

In the key of A.   We have the classic I IV V progression A (I)  D (IV)  E (V)

THE RHYTHM:

The easiest variation– Your thumb will play the Root note of each chord.  (A = A string, D = D string.  E = E string).  Followed by the index finger playing an up-strum from the B string, catching the B, G, D strings.   Follow the rhythm below as you play each chord in the sequence.  T = Thumb.  F = Finger.

A harder variation (but worth learning to develop your picking skills and finger independence)- Use your thumb the same as above but this time allocate your Index, Middle & Ring fingers to 3 separate strings.  For the A chord Index plays D string, Middle plays G string, Ring plays B string. E chord – keep the string allocation the same as A.  D chord move them down – Index G string. Middle B string, Ring e string.  Follow the rhythm above as you play the chord sequence (T = Thumb & F = Fingers).

Once you’ve mastered the separate fingers, try adding the mute to further accent the Waltz rhythm- 

X = mute the strings.   Do this by laying the side of your picking hand on the strings to stop them from ringing out.

Alternate Bass Notes:

To give the rhythm a bit more ‘waltz’ feel we’re going to add in alternate bass notes to each chord.

• For the A chord you will play Thumb on the A string followed by Fingers Fingers, for the next bar you will move your thumb to the E string followed by Fingers Fingers on the same strings as they were previously
• E chord – Thumb E string followed by F F, Thumb A string followed by F F
• D chord – Thumb D string, then F F, Thumb A string, then F F

THE CHORD SEQUENCES:

Verses –

Choruses –

SONG STRUCTURE:

This is nice and simple….

Verse 1

Chorus

Verse 2

Chorus

Verse 3 

Chorus

Enjoy getting to grips with this. I really enjoy playing and singing this. Short, sweet, fun.  Great to sing along.

For the full video lesson click here ➡️

For the acoustic play-through click here 🎸