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Rock on with this groovy song! During the early 90s Lenny Kravitz had a string of retro-inspired hits, managing to capture the awesome vibe of the 60s and 70s, but with a modern twist. This song is a great example: a great drum groove, funky bass, classic rock chord progression, and catchy vocals that all feel like they could come from a 70s rock band, but with a modern production that feels fresh. All music is like this in some way – part of a complex web of influences and relationships. As musicians, we’re all standing on the shoulders of giants.
“Fly Away”, made famous by Lenny Kravitz, is now available in Yousician for Guitar, Ukulele, Bass, and Singing.
Fly Away for Guitar
by: James Neilson, Music Education Designer for Guitar
In the basic riff exercise (level 2) you’ll play a simplified version of the main riff, all on the big E-string and A-string. It features some tricky position shifts and off-beat rhythms, so start slow and have fun!
In the cowboy chords exercise (level 4) you’ll play the main chords of the song using familiar cowboy shapes: A C G D. It’s a classic chord progression used in lots of songs, and a useful one to add to your repertoire. The main challenge will be the fast strumming, so start slow until it becomes automatic.
In the full rhythm exercise (level 7) you’ll play the original rhythm guitar part, featuring some common movable major chord shapes. The trickiest part of the riff is the hammer-on into the C chord, so start slow with that. During Verse 1 and the Bridge, there isn’t any guitar playing, so we’ve arranged the funky bassline for you – have fun!
Fly Away for Ukulele
by: Joona Hasan, Music Education Designer for Ukulele
In the melody exercise (level 5) you’ll be playing the main vocal melody in addition to the main riff at the beginning of the song. There’s quite a bit of syncopation and a few fast passages, but luckily there are also a lot of rests!
In the chords exercise (level 5) you’ll be playing alongside the rockin’ and riffin’ rhythm guitars and the funky bass! The four-chord-progression is the same throughout the song, so after the first bars, you can safely concentrate on getting “into the pocket” and landing those syncopated rhythms.
Fly Away for Bass
by: Antti Halmetoja, Bass content specialist
In the basic bassline exercise (level 3) you’ll groove along with this great funky rock song. Focus on nailing your timing.
The full bassline exercise (level 8) is the originally recorded bassline. This one’s all about GROOVE! There are only two different patterns, but they are super fun to play. The chorus is played using slapping on low slide notes and popping for the high notes, but it also sounds great with normal plucking.
Fly Away for Singing
by: Sonja Patrikainen, Music Education Designer for Singing
This song has a very speech-like melody. Pay attention to the effortlessness also in the Chorus parts, even though the phrases are longer.