Bright Eyes - First day of my life

Community Recordings Audio-Video Of You Playing
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Hey folks!

Following up on my little fingerpicking journey – I just uploaded my cover of “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes and the fantastic Conor Oberst. :musical_notes:

I picked this one because I absolutely love the blend of fingerpicking and strumming – it flows in such a gentle, natural way, with beautiful instrumental parts and that unmistakable Beatlesque songwriting that Conor Oberst nails so well. It’s one of those songs that feels both simple and deeply emotional at the same time.

As always, I try to treat these recordings as live “one-shot” performances – just me, the guitar, and the moment. Inspired by Lieven’s great sessions, I do my best to memorize everything and let the little imperfections live and breathe as part of the performance.

That said – keeping time on this one was definitely tricky for me. The song has such a subtle pulse, and staying locked in while switching between fingerpicking and strumming, and still trying to sing on top of that… let’s just say my internal metronome got a bit of a workout. :sweat_smile:

Hope you enjoy it – and if you’ve got any feedback, fingerpicking tips, or timing wisdom, I’m all ears!

Have a wonderful 1st of May break and have a lot of fun,
Andreas

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Lovely gentle song, well played, Andreas. Gorgeous guitar tone.

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@DavidP Dear David, thanks a lot! I used my newest addition - a Line 6 Pod Go - a great thing i have not even managed to use 5% of its total capabilties but the tone came out well :slight_smile:

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Don’t know the song and only heard about the artist, but this was a fine performance :grinning_face:
Many struggle with singing and playing simultaneously. Fingerpicking and singing adds an extra layer of complexity, so well done!

For a while, the forum used to have a ‘1-take-Wednesdays’ theme. @sairfingers made it his own :wink:

Whenever I see a mention of this magic box, it makes me want to start exploring mine again (instead of switching between the two or three simple programmed tones I’ve already dialled in :roll_eyes: :rofl:)

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Nicely done Andreas. Lovely tone, and such a beautiful song. Fingerpicking, strumming and singing, mate, hats off great job.:clap::clap:

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Very well done Andreas!

While I don’t know this song, it does sound like it’s hard to do. The mixing of finger pickin and chord play. You did good I thought.

I hear ya on timing. I’m doing a couple of songs and timing is part of what holds me back. They are both songs like yours where they have finger pickin + chords. It is hard to go back and forth. Let alone try to sing along with my playing. Very hard to do.

I like that idea. This is you, making music. To me, this is making music. There is nothing covering up, it’s you. I appreciate that much.

Wondering though. I assume you practice the song till ya think you’ve got it. Then do a recording of it. Do you do multiple recordings till you get one you like? Or just sit down and do it. However it comes out, that’s what you post.
Myself, I find that hard to do too. It don’t seem I can ever get it right on the first recording. I have, but only on one song (that I’ve not posted up). All of my other songs have been multi attempts before I’ll post it up.
If that’s your first recording of the song, that’s even more impressive.

Again, very well done. A enjoyable listen for sure…

Thanks for sharing.

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Nicely done Andreas. I liked the mix of fingerstyle and strumming. I don’t know the song but it seemed to me there was some difficult vocal phrasing involved so well done on that too.

I haven’t posted an AVoYP for ages but yes, mine are pretty much all one takes as I feel that gives a realistic reflection of where I am with guitar. This is principally a learning/tuition site after all so well done to you for posting a one take Andreas.

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Andreas

Very good performance of a wonderful song: I have Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst songs in my Media Player collection. One thing I noticed: throughout most of the song I couldn’t see you tapping out the beat - no foot tapping or head bobbing. Perhaps if your body was somehow marking time you would better maintain tempo between strummed and picked sections. From about the four minute mark, your body suddenly relaxes slightly and your head starts to move and you play that last little phrase really well.

There’s a similar song by Conor called, ‘You Are Your Mother’s Child’: would love to hear you have a go at that one.

Brian

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I am not familiar with this song, but really enjoyed your performance of it. It’s got a very pleasant sound to it and I can see why you picked it to learn.

Singing and playing a song with both finger picking and strumming is no easy task, but you did a great job pulling it off.

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Hello Andreas,

this gives me really chill vibes likes indie folk fingerstyle while singing. This is what I like. :slight_smile:

As a fingerstyle main I know how much is behind this and when you was doing fast moves over frets for few notes, its really nice.

Only one thing that would be weird for me… is the cable under high e. I am sure if I touch it it would feel weird to me. :smiley: But I guess you get used to it.

Beautiful playing and singing. I would not change anything. :slight_smile:

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Great job on a great song! Fingerpicking and singing are something I aspire to in the distant distant future – you did a fantastic job! :clap:

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Sounds excellent Andy! I can see what you mean about keeping time - some of the vocal lines must be extremely difficult to align with the main beat of the song - so amazingly well done.

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Beautiful, Andreas. It’s something I would love to be able to do and hoping someday, maybe. I’m sure the singing, fingerpicking, strumming and keeping the rhythm between them all is challenging but, Oh! so rewarding. Well done.

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That was a great song Andreas :smiling_face_with_sunglasses: :clap: :clap:

Greetings

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Wonderful performance, Andreas.

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What a beautiful song Andreas, I’m hearing it for the first time and you played and sung beautifully.

I can well imagine the effort you’ve been putting in, especially with timing and fingerpicking/strumming switches.

The only way that works with me as regards timing is forcing myself to tap my foot when I practice until it becomes automated. With most songs, most of the times I can already play the chords and my fingerpicking seems decent enough already and 90% of my effort goes into tapping my foot and be able to coordinate and play along with it. I feel my internal time feeling is not well developed yet and relying on a physical objective pulse in my body helps me to feel more confident when I play.

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@brianlarsen Thanks a lot, Brian, for listening in! It’s definitely been an exercise of its own figuring out how to use the Pod Go in the recording chain — and honestly, it still is :slightly_smiling_face:. Amazing how deep that thing goes. I totally get the temptation to stick with a few go-to tones, but every time I experiment a bit more, I discover something new. Glad to hear I’m not alone in that!

@CD02 Thanks, Craig – really appreciate that! It was a real workout to get it done, but definitely a fun exercise. Glad you enjoyed it!

@HappyCat Thanks, Jim! Really appreciate your thoughtful words. You’re absolutely right — mixing fingerpicking and chords while keeping timing in check (and singing on top of that!) can be quite the challenge.

To your question: no, it’s definitely not a one-and-done recording for me. I usually practice the song without recording until I feel somewhat comfortable with it. Then I start recording — not so much to capture the final take, but more to get used to the whole setup: the mic, camera, Pod Go, software, all that stuff. It really helps to reduce that “red button fever” and makes it feel more like part of the practice routine.

In fact, I use pretty much the same setup I’d bring to an open mic, so it’s also a bit of a training ground for that. I’ve set myself the personal goal of posting one song per month, so when the four weeks are up, I go with the best take I have by then and hit upload. It’s all part of the journey — progress over perfection!

@sairfingers Thanks, Gordon! That really means a lot. You’re right — doing it in one take definitely shows where we are at the moment, warts and all! I agree, there’s something honest and valuable about capturing that raw snapshot in time, especially in a learning-focused space like this. Appreciate the encouragement!

@beejay56 Thanks so much, Brian — really appreciate your kind words and the thoughtful feedback! You’re absolutely right about the timing and body movement. It’s something I’m becoming more aware of, especially when switching between strumming and fingerpicking. I tend to get a bit tense when I’m focused, and that probably keeps me too still. Funny you mention the change around the four-minute mark — I felt it too while playing, like something finally clicked and I could just flow with it.

Thanks also for the song recommendation — You Are Your Mother’s Child is a beautiful one (just listened to it for the fist time ). I’ll definitely give it a try and see if I can work it out!

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@deiussum Thanks so much, Dan! Really glad you enjoyed it, even without knowing the song. It’s one that really resonated with me, so I was excited (and a bit nervous) to give it a go. Combining fingerpicking, strumming, and vocals definitely took some practice, but it’s been a fun challenge and still is a great learning experience!

@Carreta Hey, thanks so much! Really glad the indie folk vibe came through :blush:
Coming from a fingerstyle player, your words mean a lot. Those quick fret moves took some effort to fit in, so I’m really happy you noticed them! One of the nice things about this song is that those little “breaks” are short and still playable for me. I’m aiming to get to the solo parts someday, and working on these transitions feels like a good stepping stone.

Haha, yes — the cable under the high e! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I totally get what you mean. It felt odd at first, but I’ve gotten used to it over time. I do plan to replace the pickup with something permanently mounted. This is actually still my first acoustic guitar, and back then I thought, “Nah, I won’t need a pickup” — which turned out to be a bit of a mistake in certain situations :sweat_smile:
Thanks again for the kind feedback — much appreciated!

@southpaw6 Thanks Hilary! Thanks so much! Really appreciate that :blush:
Definitely give it a try — it looks harder than it is, or at least that was my experience. Once I got the basic coordination down, it started to feel pretty natural. Funny enough, now when I go back to just strumming, it actually feels a bit strange!

@twistor59 Thanks so much! Really glad you enjoyed it :blush:
Yeah, you’re absolutely right — some of those vocal lines felt like they were fighting the beat at first! Took quite a bit of slow practice to get them to sit right. Still not perfect, but I’m happy with how it came together in the end. Appreciate the kind words!

@pkboo3 Thanks Pamela! Thank you so much — that really means a lot! :blush:
It definitely took some time to get all the elements working together, but you’re absolutely right — it’s incredibly rewarding when it starts to click. I’m sure you’ll get there too! Just take it step by step — it’s surprising how things start to fall into place with a bit of patience and practice. Appreciate the kind words!

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@roger_holland Thanks so much, Rogier! Really glad you enjoyed it :smiling_face_with_sunglasses::clap:

@Willsie Thank you so much, John — really appreciate the kind words! :blush:

@Silvia80 Thanks so much, Silvia — really appreciate your kind words! :blush:
And that’s a great tip about the foot tapping. I’ll definitely give that body pulse practice a proper try. I like the idea of treating it as a third instrument — guitar, voice, and now… rhythm from the body! Makes total sense, especially for building more confidence with timing. Thanks again for the inspiration!

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