The pace of this song is actually much faster than I’d remembered. Justin’s rendition at the beginning of his lesson ST-625 sounds relaxed and normal to me. After learning the chord progressions and trying to nail down the rhythm, I tried to play along with various James Taylor recordings. While some of his live recordings are a little slower, the initial album version is at 145 bpm. I think I’m about halfway between that and Justin’s version.
Also, I’m playing with a pick. While this song doesn’t feature James Taylor’s intricate finger style, he doesn’t use a pick.
Sweet! Nice playing!
As for speed: that is relative. Chasing a particular bpm speed is a red herring. It’s more important to play at a speed you are comfortable with and at which you can be (and hence play) relaxed. Playing any faster than that and can come across as rushed, regardless of the actual bpm of the piece played.
Well played: steady rhythm and mostly very clean chords, with a subtle dynamic on the downs at the start of the strum pattern. It was very recognisable, very enjoyable.
