There is a special kind of masochism in loving a song called "Almost Lover" — a ballad that spends three minutes explaining, in exquisite detail, exactly how much someone almost mattered. A Fine Frenzy wrote the anthem for everyone who has ever texted "we should hang out sometime" and then never, ever followed up. Naturally, I decided to play the whole thing on one guitar. Alone. In a room. Very on brand.
This clip is a fingerstyle MelodyChords arrangement: the sung melody lives on top, the chords hold it up from underneath, and there is no band to hide behind. About ninety seconds of wistful, self-inflicted heartbreak, and yes, you can absolutely learn to do this yourself.
How this chord-melody actually works
A MelodyChords arrangement is a magic trick with a very boring secret: you assign jobs. Your thumb takes the bass notes and the harmony on the lower strings, while your fingers pick out the vocal melody on the top strings so it always sings above everything else. The whole art is keeping that melody note the loudest thing in the chord — dig in slightly with the finger playing the tune, and let the supporting notes stay polite and quiet underneath. Do that, and one guitar suddenly sounds like a singer, a chord player, and a bassist who all showed up on time.
The concrete takeaway: don't try to fret full six-string chords and then find the melody inside them. Do it backwards. Find the melody note first, then ask "what is the smallest, laziest chord shape that supports this note?" A ballad like "Almost Lover" leans on a simple, repeating progression, so once you know the melody sits on top, the harmony underneath is mostly a handful of familiar shapes you already own. If picking out melody-plus-chords is new to you, my MelodyChords / ChordMelody / Fingerstyle primer walks through the whole idea, and How do I figure out the Chords or a Melody helps you lift it off the record yourself.
Fair warning: play this one too many times and you will start sighing at strangers on the tram. Full tab is up for anyone who wants to suffer beautifully — grab it and the Guitar Pro file on my Patreon.