Yesterday is the most recorded song in history, and its enduring appeal rests on the perfection of its melody and the bittersweet simplicity of its harmony. Paul McCartney wrote the song with a classical guitar in hand, and its natural affinity for solo fingerstyle makes Sungha Jung's arrangement feel both inevitable and revelatory.
Jung's version is a chord-melody arrangement that places the vocal line in the treble strings while the bass and inner voices fill out the harmonic framework below. The chord progression — moving through F, Em, A7, Dm, and C — sits naturally on the guitar and allows the melody to flow without awkward position shifts.
The original was recorded with a string quartet, and Jung's arrangement subtly suggests orchestral voicing through careful use of open strings and strategic chord inversions. Moments where open-string notes ring against fretted melody create a natural reverb effect that suits the song's nostalgic character.
Natural harmonics appear at transitional points, providing brief moments of chiming brightness. These are simple harmonics at standard nodes — 12th, 7th fret — and are accessible to intermediate players.
The primary challenge for learners is achieving clean bass-melody independence: the treble melody must sing clearly above the bass and inner voices without the picking hand favoring one register over another. Slow, mindful practice with attention to voicing balance will unlock the arrangement's full depth.