Swedish electronic pop duo The Knife deftly revive the 80s synth-pop era in their critically acclaimed cut Heartbeats, which was notably covered by José González for his 2003 album Veneer. González’ re-imagining of this beautiful track shows just how powerful a solo guitar and vocal can be. The song is in the key of D major, and the guitar part features a constant 16th-note figure based in an altered tuning (D AD F# B E).To play the piece, first ensure your picking hand is stable, relaxed and in position to fingerpick any of the guitar’s six strings. Use your thumb for any downbeats and eighth notes, and let your first and second fingers play any notes in between. It’s a standard fingerstyle technique – and if you can synchronise your picking with the 16th-note rhythms, your timing should fall into place. It’s all laid out in Rockschool’s tab.