Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven is the gold standard for intermediate acoustic fingerstyle. Three or four bass walks, slurs in the melody, a key change in the bridge. It's the song every studio musician learns to prove they have technique.
Read the full guide
A longer write-up with every detail, drill, and common pitfall.
The chords
Verse: A → E/G# → F#m → A/E → D/F# → A/E → E7 → A.
The slashes (E/G#, A/E, D/F#) are slash chords: same root chord, different bass note. A fretting finger moves the bass note and your thumb plucks it while the chord shape stays the same (or close to it).
Read the full guide
A longer write-up with every detail, drill, and common pitfall.
The fingerpicking pattern
Travis-style. Thumb plays the bass note (and the slash bass when there's one). Index and middle finger play the inner two strings (G and B). Ring finger plays the high E for melody accents.
beat: 1 2 & 3 4 &
thumb: bass D bass D
fingers: M I A ...
That's the pulse. It changes subtly with each chord but the foundation stays.
The hard part: the slash chords
A/E: A chord shape, thumb plucks the open low E.
E/G#: E chord shape, pinky frets G# at the 4th fret of the low E, thumb plucks it.
D/F#: D chord shape, a fretting finger holds F# at the 2nd fret of the low E, thumb plucks it.
These slash chords are what create the song's descending bass line. Sing the verse to yourself; you'll hear the bass walking down under each chord change. That walk is the heart of the arrangement.
75 BPM. The song is slow; don't push the tempo. Slow practice + a metronome is how you nail this one.
Why it's worth months
This song teaches you everything intermediate acoustic does well: chord changes inside a fingerpicked groove, walking bass, slurs, the importance of thumb independence. Players come back to it for years and find new things.
Next: writing your own progressions.