Then He Kissed Me / Then I Kissed Her - Fingerstyle Guitar with Free Tab

 

In this video, I want to share with you my fingerstyle guitar version of the classic song Then He Kissed Me / Then I Kissed Her. The song has two names depending on which version you listen to, but it's basically the same song just with different lyrics. The song was originally titled 'Then He Kissed Me' and it was released by The Crystals in 1963. The Beach Boys then released a version in 1965 which was musically almost identical but the lyrics were changed, as was the title to 'Then I Kissed Her'. The Beach Boys version is in the key of C# whereas The Crystals original version is in the key of E tuned down slightly between Eb and E.

The version I have given you in this video is in the same key as The Beach Boys version in C#. It is played on a guitar in Open D tuning that's tuned down half step to make it Open C#. The music is in 4/4 time and it utilises a Travis picking pattern throughout.

The song basically just comprises of a main section which is 16 bars long and that's repeated throughout the entire song. There is also a bridge section in the recorded version. In my version, I have just given you two playthroughs in the main section. The second more elaborate than the first. If you want me to tab out the bridge section as well, just let me know.

Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab.

Then He Kissed Me Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT

 

• Travis Picking Pattern - The music uses a Travis picking bass pattern throughout. However, in a lot of the bars in the first playthrough of the main section, the Travis picking pattern is broken up. For example, in bars 3 and 4, the base notes are only picked on beats 1 and 3., and in bars 11 - 14 they are picked on beats 1, 3 and 4. This can make timing the music more difficult and it can be easy to lose time when you don't have the regular bass notes getting played on each beat of the bar. If you're struggling with this, one thing you could do is use a metronome, or also what you could do is just play the bass notes on every beat of the bar.

• Tempo - The music I have written has a tempo of about 110 throughout. However, I think it also sounds good with the tempo increasing through the piece of music. In the original recorded versions, the music builds up as it progresses with the music being more minimal at the start and more instruments and sound being added as it progresses. I have tried to mimic that in my version with more notes getting played as the piece progresses. However, I also think that a tempo increase as it progresses would sound good too. So, don't feel that you have to stick to the temple that's set in this music and maybe play around with the tempo and increase it as you go through as this can actually sound quite good in this piece.

• Melody Notes - The melody, notes in my version only loosely follow the vocal melody in the recorded version. The notes I have put in for the mail, they are a combination of notes that sound like the recorded. Melody are playable and also sound good in a solo guitar version. However, feel free to vary the melody notes as you see fit. You may want to drop some of them out to give it a more minimalistic sound or you may want to add more in to make it sound closer to the vocal line in the original recorded versions. Just remember you don't have to stick rigidly to the music that I've written and I would encourage you to play around with it and alter it to your preference.

This is about all I need to say about this piece. If you're comfortable playing Travis picking guitar, it should be relatively straightforward to learn. You may get caught out slightly with the broken bass notes in some of the bars and this can make you lose tempo, but I'm sure with enough practise you should be able to get this.

Thanks for Reading,
Neil