You already know C, Am, F and G. You've played I–vi–IV–V more times than you can count, and it still sounds like four chords in a row rather than a piece of music.
Sea Change is one six-bar progression played three ways. The chords are C, Am, F and G — the I, vi, IV and V of C major — laid out as C – Am – C – Am – F – G with a repeat into a held C. None of the three adds a chord you don't already own. Each changes exactly one small thing, and one small thing is enough to make it a piece of music. The week climbs the strings as it goes: the open-chord region first, then the A-D-G set, then the G-B-e set. Threads 1 and 2 are flatpicked; Thread 3 is a single-note line. There's no fingerstyle anywhere.
Thread 1 — Sea Change — Rhythm (One Hammer-On, Every Bar). Start here: one hammer-on in every bar, climbing the strings as the chords change, turns the progression into a moving accompaniment and holds up everything that follows.
Thread 2 — Sea Change — Triads (One Finger Moves). The same six bars become palm-muted three-string triads, every voicing chosen because it sits nearest the hand already holding it — the hardest of the three to play cleanly.
Thread 3 — Sea Change — Lead (One Phrase, Three Answers). The melody the other two were holding up — one six-note phrase stated three times note-for-note, with only its answer ever changing, and the easiest of the three to play.
The same four chords each time, one small move, three different pieces of music on top of them. Work straight through, or take the part that fits your week.
