I Wish (Stevie Wonder) | Guitar Lesson with Backing Tracks + TAB

Learn how to play I Wish using electric guitar, TAB, play-along loops, and Backing Tracks. Try my solo acoustic guitar arrangement as well!

I Wish | TAB

Using the backing tracks above, work on all sections using the TAB below (the TAB is also recorded as individual loops further down this lesson.

Here’s the intro bass line. I’ve added a small 16th note figure — a keyboard addition — while the bass plays straight 8th notes throughout.

Here’s another version of the bass line. This time we add more extra notes — practise it with the loop!

Let’s move on to the verse. Here’s a more understated way to play it.

Now let’s look at an over-the-top version — this time we play the melody and then answer it!

Perhaps the best way forward is to practise both approaches, then find a balance between them while staying attentive to what the rest of the band is playing.

Here’s the bridge section:

And this is the chorus. I like how the Ab7 chord becomes a dominant here, whereas in the verse it was just a triad.

This is the breakdown section — sometimes it delights singers, sometimes not…

Finally, here’s the outro:

Once you feel confident playing the TAB – practise using the backing tracks above, Need help with playing the TAB? Here they all are recorded for you as well.

I Wish | Acoustic Arrangement

To go even further, lets transpose the whole song up a semitone — and then get that acoustic guitar out!

Here’s a performance of it in the keys of Em/E I recorded many years ago when Spytunes first started.

I Wish Acoustic | TAB (Em and E)

Here’s the TAB for my solo acoustic guitar arrangement of I Wish by Stevie Wonder.

In an ideal world, you’d learn how to play this classic both on electric guitar (with the band) and as a solo acoustic arrangement. Doing so will not only deepen your knowledge of the guitar, but also your understanding of music as a whole.