
Song practice guide
How to Practice First Day of My Life
Bright Eyes' 'First Day of My Life' is one of the most-played indie-folk love songs of the 2000s. The simple chord progression, the gentle melody, and the conversational lyric have made it a cornerstone of indie-folk repertoire and a wedding standard for the millennial generation.
Song Details
- Key
- E
- Tempo
- 110 BPM
- Time
- 4/4
- Style
- boom-chuck
Structure
This song is still under copyright, so we publish its form rather than its chord chart. Add it to your library and you can enter or attach your own chart, and Repertoire will schedule it either way.
What to Focus On
Simple chord changes (typically G-D-Em-C). Steady acoustic strumming. Singing the gentle melody with restraint.
Practice Tips
- 1
Four chords, no excuses. Master the changes and the rest is feel.
- 2
Conor Oberst's vocal is conversational and slightly cracked. That's the model.
- 3
The lyric is intimate. Don't oversing it.
Why This Song
It's the great indie-folk love song of the 2000s, and a millennial wedding standard.
Practice First Day of My Life Daily
Repertoire uses spaced repetition to keep your songs sharp. Add this song to your collection and the system schedules your practice automatically.
No credit card required • Free tier: 3 collections · 15 songs each
Related guides
Make sure you're hitting the notes
Find your voice type and pick the right key
A siren across your whole range before you sing this, no account
How many songs can you actually start cold?
What decays first, and why you find out on stage
Tabs vs spaced-repetition repertoire