House of the Rising Sun – A minor
(Traditional – lyrics vary)
Demo Song – Chords & Listening
How to use this demo song
(Adult / General demo)
This demo song shows how a Path, chord shapes, and melody can come together.
Start by playing the chords on their own, just as you learned them in the Path.
Go slowly, and focus on moving comfortably between shapes rather than playing the song perfectly.
If it helps, you can click the gear icon to slow the speed of the audio clips.
Once the chords feel familiar, try playing them with your left hand.
You can use the alternative fingering shown on the chord pages to make this easier.
This leaves your right hand free to explore the melody when you’re ready.
When you’re comfortable, try adding the melody with your right hand while the left hand plays the chords.
Keep it simple at first — even a few notes of the melody are enough to hear how everything fits together.
Don’t worry if this feels slow or uneven at the start.
If you know the song well, you may also like to sing along as you play.
You’ll hear the harmony briefly return to A minor and C before the final E7 — this is part of the song’s natural shape.
The full chord sequence is shown below, so you can follow it at your own pace.
There’s no single “correct” way to play this song.
Some players will start with chords, others with melody, and many will move between the two.
Fingertips is designed to support all of these approaches.
Lyrics with Inline Chords (Demo Version)
There [Am]is a [C]house in [D]New Orle[F]ans they [Am]call the [C]Rising [E7]Sun
It's [Am]been the [C]ruin of [D]many a poor [F]boy, and [Am]God, I [E7]know I'm [Am]one [E7]
My [Am]mother [C]was a [D]tailor,[F] she [Am]sewed my [C]new blue [E7]jeans
My [Am]father [C]was a [D]gamblin' [F]man, [Am]down in [E7]New Orle[Am]ans [E7]
Oh [Am]mother [C]tell your [D]children[F] not to [Am]do what [C]I have [E7]done
Spend your [Am]lives in [C]sin and [D]misery[F] in the [Am]House of the [E7]Rising [Am]Sun
How This Fits with Fingertips
This song page shows the same chord journey you explored in the Demo Path, now heard as a complete musical phrase.
In the full Fingertips system, you’ll find other songs — each looking at different chord types — explored in exactly this way:
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Chords introduced step by step
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Listening first, then playing
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Clear colour changes
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Familiar musical language
The goal is always to help you recognise and feel how chords work, rather than memorising theory.
What You Can Do Next
You can now:
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Return to Step 1 and play through the Demo Path again
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Move between the Steps to compare how each chord sounds
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Continue on to explore the full Fingertips Paths and Songs
When you’re ready to go further, Fingertips builds on this same approach with a wide range of chord types, progressions, and real musical examples.
If you’d like a more gently guided introduction, you may also wish to explore our Kids demo Path.
Although it’s designed with younger learners in mind, the methods are exactly the same, and many adult beginners find it helpful too.