This lesson is all theory, but it’s theory that you’re going to have use for more often than any other theory item so far. It answers two questions: “What the … does F#m9-5 and E+ mean?”, and “I made up this great chord, but now I want to write it down before I forget it. But what do I call it?”

You could of course call it Gerald, or write down the fingering, but if you want a piano player to know what you mean you might as well give it the correct name.

What’s (in) a chord?

So far, we’ve treated a chord mainly as a way to place the fingers on the fretboard, with some consideration given to the most important tone, the fundamental tone or keynote.

But we should define it more precisely:

A chord is a selection of tones which are perceived as a unity and not just as several notes sounding at the same time.

This sounds almost obvious to someone who is used to the guitar, where the default is to think not of single tones but of groups of tones: chords, that is. In that sense, we’re more fortunate than the pianists, not to mention the poor violinists and flutenists (ha ha), who hardly ever get to play more than one tone at a time. This may also be seen as yet another explanation of why tones — even the keynote sometimes — can be left out of a chord: as long as we perceive them as a unit, that takes precedence over which tones we actually hear.

On the other hand, a guitarist may easily forget that the chords he (and since one of the comments has revealed that there is actually a woman following these lessons, I’ll deviate from my not-pc principle and add “/she”) is playing actually consist of single tones.

Let’s revisit the scale, which we presented in an earlier lesson, and do a quick recap of some major points.

   -----------------------------------------
   -----------------------------------0--1--
   -----------------------0--1--2--3--------
   --------0--1--2--3--4--------------------
   --3--4-----------------------------------
   -----------------------------------------
        c#    eb       f#    ab    bb
     c     d     e  f     g     a     b  c'
   prime  2nd  3rd  4th  5th   6th   7th octave

I’ve marked the three most important tones in red and shaded the least prominent ones: the accidentals, as they are called (these are the black keys on the piano, but since pianists tend to think they rule the universe, I’ve done the opposite of what they do) (ha ha).

You may recognize the four highlighed tones as the keynote/prime, the third, the fifth, and the octave, which is nothing more than a displaced prime, so to speak (meaning: it’s the same tone, only sounding higher).

These three notes are the core of a chord. Actually, it’s more than that: it’s virtually the definition of a chord. If you see “G”, that doesn’t just mean “g and some extra tones”, it means “g b d”, i.e. the first, third, and fifth note of a G major scale.

The difference between the major and minor third is what decides the most fundamental character of a chord: whether it is major or minor. C-e-g is a C major chord, c-e flat-g is C minor. Don’t confuse these two ways of using “major” and “minor”, though. E.g. the C minor chord contains two thirds: one minor (c–eb) and one major third (eb–g).

A note about note names: western music is based on a scale of seven steps. The note names (c, d, e, etc.) refer to these steps. In C major, all the steps have simple names. In a key like E flat major, some of the basic names are modified to indicate that they are lowered: e flat (or Eb), f, g, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb), but the alphabetic sequence is still the same. Thus, the fifth above D# is called A# (d-e-f-g-a), not Bb, and the major third above G# (should you ever need to play such a note) is B sharp (B#). If you object: “But that’s a C! Why use such a stupid name as B# when I already know a much simpler name?”, you’re not the first. I still recommend to do so: it preserves the integrity of the system.

Intervals: more than a peeing opportunity

The building blocks of chords are intervals. Whereas a chord is a group of tones perceived as a unity, an interval is simply the distance between two notes (or: two notes at a certain distance; the word can be used both about the distance in a more abstract sense and about the note pair).

A fundamental feature of our (i.e. the western) tonal system is that some intervals come in one flavour, others in two. There is only one fifth above any given tone:

C  ->  G
F# ->  C#
Eb ->  Bb etc.

But there are two thirds and two sixths, which are called “major” and “minor”:

Thirds: major and minor
=======================
C  ->   E         C  ->  Eb
F# ->   A#        F# ->  A, etc.

Sixths: major and minor
=======================
C  ->  A    and   C  ->  Ab
F# ->  D#   and   F# ->  D, etc.

The same goes for seconds and sevenths:  C–>D is a major second, C–>Db a minor second.

What, then, about an interval such as C-->G#? According to what I’ve said about note names, it must be a fifth, because “C” and “G” are scale steps a fifth apart?

Well, it is a fifth, but for fifths, fourths, octaves, and primes, any deviation from the pure form is considered such a violent intervention that it is not called a “major fifth”, but an “augmented fifth”: it is not a natural form — something has been done to it (cf. the kinds of augmentation that most spam folders are full of). Likewise, the interval C-->Gb is called a diminished fifth, not a minor fifth.

Another peculiarity about intervals is the notion of inversion. There is a special relationship between thirds and sixths, and between seconds and sevenths: the major version of one corresponds to the minor version of the other. E.g., C-->E is a major third, and E-->C is a minor sixth, etc.

This is a knowledge that may come in handy once it’s time to figure out exactly which tones to play if the chord chart says “F#m7-5”. We’ll return to this below.

The stack of thirds

The three notes of a simple chord, e.g. the C E G of C major, could then be seen as a stack of thirds. This stack can be built higher:

A   13th
G
F   11th
E
D   9th
C
Bb  7th
A
G   5th
F
E   3rd
D
C   prime

There is no point in going higher, since with the 15th, we are back at C again.

What’s in a (chord) name?

This full stack of thirds is the key to all the note names you will ever meet (at least those that follow the standard way of writing chords).

Rule #1 is that

a single number (e.g. 11) indicates the last member of the stack to be included, not just a single tone: C11 consists of the all the tones in the stack, up to the eleventh.

This might easily lead to some monstruous chords that one can perhaps play on a piano but which are more difficult on a guitar with only six strings. We therefore need Rule #2:

Feel free to leave out the fifth (it’s there anyway, as an overtone, remember?), and you may also leave out the third, since in a chord like C11, it’s not the major/minor character of the original chord that is the important thing, but the colouring that all the added notes give.

Rule #3 has to do with the seventh. In the table above, I’ve written Bb, although that note doesn’t belong in the C major scale — B does. So why is it Bb and not B? That’s just the way it is:

the seventh is always the minor seventh unless otherwise noted. For all other intervals, one uses the “proper” note as it appears in the scale (i.e. D, not D#, A, not Ab).

But what if you need, say, a d# or some other tone that doesn’t belong to the scale? Enter Rule #4:

If the chord includes tones that are not part of the basic scale, this is indicated with “+” or “-” (or “#” and “b”) before the step in question.

E.g. Dm7-5 does not mean Dm2 (7-5=2), or “Dm-with-everything-from-seven-to-five” but a Dm with the seventh added and the fifth diminished: d-f-ab-c (xx0111 on the guitar).

And finally rule #5:

If you don’t want the whole stack up to, say, the 11th, but just add an F to the chord, use “add” instead: Cadd11 = C E G F.

Since there are only seven different steps in the scale, the second is the same as the ninth, the fourth is the same as the eleventh etc. In chord names one will usually use the higher of these, except where the basic triad is altered;  e.g. C9 and not C2 (but Csus4 and Cm7-5).

This is because they will usually be considered as parts of the “stack”, which begins at 7. If you write or see something like Cadd2, this will be an indication that you specifically want that extra tone to be close to the bass, and not “just” to be a colourful element high up in the sound spectrum. Compare the two chords Cadd2 = x30010 and Cadd9 = x32030 to hear what I mean.

These are the main cases where the chord name relates directly to the stack of thirds. In addition, there are a number of special cases:

So how do I play it, then?

One thing is knowing which tones are in a chord, another is to make that into a chord shape on the guitar.

Any chord can be fingered in many different ways. “C” does not “mean” x32010 – that is just the simplest and usually most convenient way to finger it. To get from chord name to a chord, you have to know where the tones are positioned on the fretboard.

We’ll start with a table of how to find the intervals on the guitar. I’ve indicated the most common chord symbols in which you will encouther the intervals. Remember that 9=2, 11=4, and 13=6.

                        | symbol | Up  |  Down
----------------------------------------------
minor second/aug. prime |   -9   |  1  |  11
major second            | 9 or 2 |  2  |  10
minor third             |   +9   |  3  |   9
major third             |        |  4  |   8
fourth                  |  4/11  |  5  |   7
aug. fourth/dim. fifth  | +11/-5 |  6  |   6
fifth                   |        |  7  |   5
aug. fifth/minor sixth  | +5/-6  |  8  |   4
major sixth             |  6/13  |  9  |   3
minor seventh           |    7   | 10  |   2
major seventh           |  maj7  | 11  |   1
octave                  |        | 12  |

E.g. if you see a chord like F#9-5, you will need to go a ninth up from f#, which means two frets (i.e. find a tone which sounds like the tone two frets up but in a higher octave), and a diminished fifth, which means six frets up from f#.

A few comments on the table:

• +9 is given as the symbol for a minor third. As I wrote above, I’d have preferred this to be “-10” instead, but convention is against me here.
• Also, there is nothing indicated for the major third and the fifth, since these are the standard tones in a chord.

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|-
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|-
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|-  etc.
8 ||-9--|-e--|-f--|-f#-|-g-|-
3 ||-4--|-5--|-6--|-7--|-8-|-
E ||-F--|-F#-|-1--|-2--|-3-|-

I’ve added a column for frets down as well. This goes back to what I said above about inversion: a major sixth up is equivalent to a minor third down: from C, you will get to A in both cases. Theoretically speaking this is a little cheating, but it may come in handy in practice.

Let’s say you want to find out how to play F#m7-5. There are two ways to go about this (well, there are three, actually: you can also look it up online or in a book, but that’s not as much fun as figuring it out yourself, right? Right!)

One is to start with the basic chord and make all the adjustments from there. F#m is played 244222. First we need to add the minor seventh (Rule #3). From the interval table above, we know that a minor seventh up from f# is the same as two frets or a whole tone down: an e. In practice, we have two “e”s within reach from a F#m chord: on the second string and on the fourth (Basic chord in red, seventh in blue):

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|-
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|-
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|-  etc.
d ||-d#-|-e--|-f--|-f#-|-g-|-
A ||-Bb-|-B--|-c--|-c#-|-d-|-
E ||-F--|-F#-|-G--|-G#-|-A-|-

In other words: the two options for F#m7 are 242222 and 244252 (or 242252, but that would give a little too much attention to that seventh: it’s only there to colour, not to take center stage).

Now the next note: the “-5”. Either you go to the table above, find the diminished fifth and see that it’s six frets above the key note.

Actually, as you can see, it’s six frets below too. The diminished fifth is special that way. One might imagine that this symmetry would make it particularly pleasant or something, but on the contrary: this interval (or to be more precise: the augmented fourth, which in modern tonality is exactly the same…) is the so called tritone, the “devil in music” (diabolus in musica).

You should find that the tone we’re after is a c, and this time there is really only one option: on the fifth string:

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|-
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|-
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|-  etc.
d ||-d#-|-e--|-f--|-f#-|-g-|-
A ||-Bb-|-B--|-c--|-c#-|-d-|-
E ||-F--|-F#-|-G--|-G#-|-A-|-

It seems like we could use the first of the F#m7 variants 242222, and go for a very simple chord: 232222. But if you play that and agree with me that it sounds like shit, look at the second string: with the barre chord, we get a c# there, against the plain c of the 5th string. That actually gives us no other option than to use the e’ on the second string (5th fret) to avoid that clash. The chord we end up with, then, is 234252.

It looks more intimidating than it actually is: it’s a barre chord where the other fingers fall quite easily and naturally in place. But is there an easier alternative?

We might instead try to mark out all the tones we may use, and then pick the ones that makes for the best chord shape.

As we now know, the tones we want are f#, a, c, and e. Here they are, including the open strings:

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|-
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|-
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|-  etc.
d ||-d#-|-e--|-f--|-f#-|-g-|-
A ||-Bb-|-B--|-c--|-c#-|-d-|-
E ||-F--|-F#-|-G--|-G#-|-A-|-

From this, it seems that we can actually get away with a much easier chord: we can use the open e’ on the first string, the open A on the fifth string, and the c, a, and e on the second to fourth strings. So far, that leaves us without the F# that defines the chord, but that’s ok, because very conveniently, there is one available on the sixth string, right where a bass string should be.

We then end up with 202210. If you use your thumb, this is considerably easier to play than the barre-with-lots-of-fingers version we found earlier.

You may recognize this as an Am chord with an added F# in the bass. Or you may look at it like a D7 with an added e, which is in fact a D9 chord. In other words: the same chord can be written F#m7-5, Am/f# (or to be absolutely correct: Am6/f#), or D9/e.
Why not just pick one and stick with that? Because the function the chord has, decides if it is a D-type, A-type or F#-type chord.

A third useful alternative is xx4555, which can easily be played with a half-barre.

Using one of these two methods, you should be able to figure out any chord
that is thrown at you.

Open strings

One last tip: There is always the chance that a complicated name is just a way of indicating the use of open strings. Take the chord Dadd4add9. It’s a D chord with an added 4th (g) and 9th (e). You may scratch your head for a while, until you realize that those two notes are the open first and third strings, and that if you play a regular C major chord (x32010) and move that shape two frets up (x54030) you have exactly what you’re looking for.

You may remember this chord from “Boots of Spanish Leather” in lesson 10. There we called it Em9, which is a much simpler name. So why the long name? Again, it’s the function that decides. The simple test is: could you substitute it with the plain chord?
“Boots…” is an interesting case, since Dylan has played it in two different ways: with the chord shapes x54030—D7—G, as in the album version, or x54030—C—G, in various live versions. In the first case, where the second chord is D7, it would be strange to replace “our” chord with a D, but in the second case, where it’s followed by a C, it makes perfect sense to regard it as a kind of D, since G, C, and D are the three main chords in G major. Ah — subtleties…

For losers, cheaters, six-string abusers

There may be times when you either can’t figure out exactly how to play Abm6-9, or — if you do figure it out — can’t play the result, or, if you’re at some singalong and you just got the chord book and the guitar placed in your hands because everybody knows that you’re such a good guitar player, you may simply not have the time to be bothered with chords like that — what do you do?

You cheat.

Here are three general hints to that end.

(1) All chords, basically, go back to the three fundamental chords in a key (in C: C, G and F). Most frequent are the variations of the dominant step (G in this example), where the various “strange” chord alterations function merely as different ways of creating and sustaining tension before the return to the key note. This means that you can usually simply chop off from the end until you get to something that is easier to play: Gb+, E7+9, Dm7-5, Cadd9 then become Gb, E (or E7), Dm(7), C).

This does not happen without loss: the extra stuff is there for a reason (e.g. E7+9, the quintessential blues chord, brings all those associations with it, which the plain chord doesn’t), but functionally the plain chord will usually do the job adequately.

(2) Chords can be replaced with their relatives. When I was nine, before I had the finger strength to play barre chords, I discovered that I could replace most F chords with Dm or Am – one of those would usually work. Now I know that the reason why it works is that they both share two out of three chord tones with F, which often is enough. I don’t recommend this method, however (unless you’re nine). It is cheating, and the only person you’re fooling, in the long run, is yourself.

(3) Some songs are consistently noted with chords like Ab, Eb, Bb etc. That is because they are played with those chords, as barre chords, and in those cases I’ve seen no reason to introduce a capo. The easiest way to avoid those barre chords, is to drop all the bs, and play E, B, A instead. This only works if all chords have a b attached to them, though. Other chords you’ll have to transpose based on the thorough knowledge of the outline of the fretboard that you’ll gain as you keep playing.

*

I intended to write something more about the circle of fifths and which chords belong together in families, but I think I’ll have to make space for that in a later post. Stay tuned.

Also, thanks to all of you who have commented, either here or in private. Much appreciated! If something is not clear, don’t hesitate to ask. I would also like to hear if someone has actually been able to follow the lessons from day one and through to today, with no former knowledge in the fine art of guitar playing. It doesn’t have to having been done one lesson a day, but on the whole: I’d like to hear from someone who a while ago hadn’t played a single tone but who can now, say, Travis-pick some simple song. Somehow, I doubt that it is possible, but I’m all for being surprised!

All the Lessons

[catlist name=Lessons numberposts=150 order=asc orderby=date excludeposts=419]

Today’s lesson will pick up from where the previous ended and take it further in two directions. And be warned: this lesson is probably the most advanced lesson in the whole series. As one commenter wrote, these songs are not easy to play.  They demonstrate some more advanced things you can do with fingerpicking once you have a grasp of the basic technique.

The techniques we have been using so far are mostly just a more elaborate way to play the chords in a tune, but in principle, they might as well be strummed. Where fingerpicking shines, however, is in the ability to pick out melodies and little riffs.

To this end, there are three techniques that come in handy, and one fundamental fact that is the precondition of it all. The precondition is the stable thumb bass that by now should have been etched so thoroughly into the physical memory of your right hand that you could play it in your sleep, without thinking. (This is not to say that the current lesson will be a waste of time for you if you haven’t het mastered it to perfection, only that that’s the foundation that the rest of the fingerpicking techniques rest upon.)

The other side of this coin is the freedom of the other fingers to do just about anything they wish to, but mostly on the off-beats, between the steady pulse of the thumb. This gives the Travis picking style its particular syncopated feel, as we said last time, but it also has a certain melodic potential, which we will discuss today.

The three techniques that build on this foundation are (1) the use of open strings and the fixed notes of the bass for melodic purposes, (2) the use of hammer-ons and pull-offs, and (3) the use of bass lines.

Open strings

Here is one of the most common patterns in the book (any book):

  E                      E
  :   .   .   .          :   .   .   .
|-0---------------|    |-----------------|
|-----------3-----|    |-----------3-----|
|-------0---------| or |-------0-------0-|
|-----2-------2---|    |-----2-------2---|
|-----------------|    |-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|    |-0-------0-------|

I have marked out the bass on the one hand in blue and the core of the treble fill-in in red: as long as those tones are there, the rest is more random. Frequently, the ring finger chimes in on the first beat together with the thumb to emphasise the first beat, as in the first example, and/or the index finger returns on the last beat, as in the second example, giving the characteristic “boom chaka chaka chaka” rhythm.

When played with a chord like E major, where the tones are fairly evenly distributed across the strings and the two bass strings reenforce each other — in this case by having the same tone an octave apart, in the case of G major, achieving almost the same effect with a fifth — the chordal character is emphasised, as well as the separation between bass and treble.

But what if we apply the exact same pattern to the beginning of “Boots of Spanish leather” from last time? This is how it has frequently been played in Dylan’s live shows during the 2000s:

  Em9
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-0---------------|
|-----------3-----|-----------3-----|
|-------0---------|-------0---------|
|-----4-------4---|-----4-------4---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|

  D7/f#             G       C/g
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :
|-----------------|-----------3-----|-----
|-1---------1-----|-0---------------|-----
0-------2---------|-------0---------|-----
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----
|-----------------|-----------------|-----
|-2-------2-------|-3-------3-------|-3---

The difference is huge. Here, the second bass string all of a sudden becomes a member of the treble group for a short while, and sets in motion a melody line which I have marked in red.

The interesting thing is that this happens almost automatically — it simply grows out of the picking pattern itself. I am convinced that a lot of tunes have been “composed” this way: the guitar player is just fooling around with some chords and some variations of the basic pattern, and out of the doodling comes a melody.

The true master of this style is Mississippi John Hurt. The following example is a little mean of me, because it take quite a lot of practice to get right, but it is a little gem, which by the way also illustrates a number of other features that are almost stylistic commonplaces in fingerpicking.

Spike Driver Blues

Hurt can be watched playing “Spike Driver Blues” in all its glory on this video:

While you’re at it, please do youself the favour of watching this clip with Elizabeth Cotten playing her trademark song “Freight Train”:

Not only does she play left-handed, with the guitar stringed normally, with the result that the bass strings are at the bottom, she also plays the whole damn thing with only two fingers. It twists my head watching it…

Anyway, back to John Hurt. Here is what he is playing. The details may differ, since this is tabbed from a different version, but the essentials are the same. Again, I’ve highlighted the melody in red. The asterisks are repetition signs; the whole song consists of those measures repeated over and over again.

  :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
|-------------------------|-----------------1-------|
|-------------------------|-------------3-----------|
|-------------------------|-----------------------0-|
|-------0-----------0-----|-------0-----------0-----|
|-------------2-----------|-------------------------|
|-3-----------------------|-3-----------3-----------|

    :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
||--3-----------1-----------|-3---------3-------------|
||*-------------------------|-------------------0-----|
||--------------------------|-----------------3-------|
||--------0-----------0-----|-------0-----------0-----|
||*-------------------------|-------------------------|
||--3-----------3-----------|-3-----------3-----------|

  :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|-----------0-------0-----|
|-0-----------------------|-----------------3-------|
|-------2-----------2-----|-------2-----------0-----|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-3-----------3-----------|-3-----------3-----------|

  :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
|-------------------------|-----1-------1-----0---1-|
|-------------------------|-----------0-----3-------|
|-0---------------0-----0-|-------------------------|
|-------0-----------0-----|-------0-----------0-----|
|-------------2-----------|-------------------------|
|-3-----------------------|-3-----------3-----------|

  :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
|-------------------------|-----3-------3-----0---3-|
|-------------------------|-----------0-----3-------|
|-----0-----0-----0-----0-|-------------------------|
|-------0-----------0-----|-------0-----------0-----|
|-------------2-----------|-------------------------|
|-3-----------------------|-3-----------3-----------|

  :     .     .     .       :     .     .     .
|-------------------------|-----------3-------0-------||
|-------------------------|-----------------3--------*||
|-----------0-----0-----0-|---------------------------||
|-------0-----------0-----|-------0-----------0-------||
|-------------2-----------|--------------------------*||
|-3-----------------------|-3-----------3-------------||

There are several things worth mentioning about this song.

• The whole song is basically a G chord (fingered with the long, ring, and little fingers), with small variations.
• The melody of the song is basically what is highlighted in red, although he sings it in the floating, talk-like blues style which is almost impossible to imitate unless you thoroughly know the idiom. Besides, it is even more difficult to sing freely and at the same time keep the fixed instrumental.
• The three licks at the end of lines three to five are the main contents of the song, both as it is sung and as it is played. They all consist of the same kind of playing around (with) open strings that I’ve been alluding to.
• Notice the bass pattern: where nothing much happens (the first measure of each line), all three bass strings are involved, but in the measures where the melody is played out, the bass pattern is simplified to just two strings. This may be because it is easier to play it that way, but also because enough is going on, musically, anyway, so that extra variation is not really necessary.
• In some of the “filler” measures, the index finger fills in the off-beats. This is not necessary, it’s just filler, to keep the motion going.
• Finally, the part that really stand out in all this are the two measures in line three, where the bass tone on the second and fourth beat changes from d to e.

When I say that it is mean of me to present this song, it is because the melody does not just come out of the picking pattern: there is a whole lot to do, especially in the third measure from the end, where the little finger has to jump quite quickly from the first to the second string. The typical thing to do in this style would be to mask that move by shifting one of the notes a half-beat to either side, and let some other finger play something else in the meantime, thereby giving the melody a chance to blend more fully in with the picking pattern. Here, the little finger has to leave a note which might in principle still be sounding for a while longer, in order to get to its new position. Shame on you, Mississippi John, for making something so seemingly simple so difficult to play! (but damn, is it nice when it works!)

Julia

A version of the technique of using open strings is to simply use the notes that are in the chord. John Lennon’s “Julia” is a great example of this. Again, it is slightly mean to use this song as an example, because it is not quite easy to play it. Or rather: there is one chord in it that ruins it all, and sadly that chord is used a lot. But the rest is very simple, and it is a good illustration.

You can find a full tab of it here.

The difficult chord is F9 (131213), which moves on to Fm7 (131114). I find it almost impossible to play that and get clear tones all the way; it is one of the hardest chords to play, and you need to apply quite a lot of force. Luckily, the capo is a saver here. Lennon plays it capoed at the second fret. The capo has one great side-effect that I haven’t mentioned yet: it lowers the string, which makes it easier to press down.

Most of the chord changes can be done very smoothly, by just moving one or two fingers at the time. C is played x32013, alternating with 3x2013: the ring finger moves between the fifth and the sixth strings. It may take a while to getting used to, but it is a very useful technique to master.

From C, move the ring finger from the fifth to the third string (2nd fret), and you have Am7 (002213).

Then, move the index finger from the second to the fifth string and let go of the ring finger, and you get Em (022003).

And finally: long finger from fourth to sixth string to get to G 320003 (Lennon plays it with the ring finger on the second string: 320033 — do whatever you like).

The rest is mostly a matter of barre technique and finger stamina: finger the chords, let the right hand pick the same pattern throughout, and you have one of the greatest Lennon songs in your repertory! If you want more of the same, “Dear Prudence” is a possible choice.

Hammer-ons and pull-offs

Once you have the basic distribution of thumb strokes on the beats, other fingers off-beat worked into your fingers, the next step is to break down that distribution again, but this time using the left hand. The right hand picking pattern should be a fixed grid, but the left hand can play melodies too, and it is not bound by the grid.

Let’s start softly. Play this, using the standard pattern:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------0-----|---0-------0-----|
|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|

Then, without changing anything in what the right hand plays, hammer on the long finger on the second stroke on the d string, and continue with another hammer-on to the third fret, like this:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------0-----|---0-------0-----|
|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|
|-----0-------0h2-|-----2h3-----3---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|

The important thing is to let the hammer-on’ed tone come in at exactly the same time as the index finger tone. I’m not talking mathematical precision here, but musical: they should belong to the same rhythmic event.

I know that I found it quite difficult to play that with some kind of fluency. I kept thinking or feeling, Hey, that spot is taken, by someone over there on the other hand”. Again, the secret is to be so automatized in the right hand that that takes care of itself. Be biblical: “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”

What you have just played is the “G–G6–G7 figure” that Dylan used all the time in his acoustic days, this time fingerpicking style. A song which uses that figure is “Percy’s Song”

Percy’s Song

For the record: it’s not because I think it’s a very successful song; in fact, it’s folksy topical song-writing at its worst. I don’t know where one would get 99 years behind bars for a traffic accident, and I resent the idea of a personal plea to the judge as a way to alter a sentence. But it’s a beautiful tune Dylan has nicked, and — what’s important here — it presents some nice guitar finesses, so let’s have a closer look at it.

If you have been a good student and practiced you pickin’ patterns, the song really shouldn’t present any problems at all. The basic pattern is played straightforwardly in the intro:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|---------------0-|---------------0-|
|-----1-----------|-----1-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-3---------------|-3---------------|
|---------3-------|---------3-------|

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1---------1-|-----------------|
|-----------0-----|-----------------|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-3---------------|-3---------------|
|---------3-------|---------3-------|
                             Bad . . .

We recognize the alternating thumb pattern for the C chord, where the ring finger switches between the fifth and sixth strings; we recognize the right-hand pattern, which is the same as in Boots of Spanish Leather; and we may note the room for variation: in the third measure, the last note is played on the second string instead of the first. In other words: as long as the thumb is rock solid, do as you please. (Well, in this case, the basic rhythm — ba pa ba-da ba-da in layman’s terms — is essential too, but which notes are played at “ba” or “da” is of less importance.)

The chord changes to F in the first line, but the right-hand pattern remains the same:

  C
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|---------------0-|-----------------|
|-----1-----------|-----1-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-3---------------|-3---------------|
|---------3-------|---------3-------|
  news,       bad   news    come to
   F                 C
   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1-----------|-----1-----------|
|-----------2---0-|-----------0-----|
|-----3-------3---|-----2-------2---|
|-----------------|-3---------------|
|-1-------1-------|---------3-------|
  me      where I   sleep

Notice how the chord changes are treated differently: In the transition from C to F, I’ve left out the last half-beat, so that there is time to change chords. Going from F back to C again, on the other hand, I’ve indicated that the C comes in one half-beat too early, so as to fit in with the picking pattern.

This is one of the places where the thumb-F shines, as opposed to the barre-F: it is easier to lift one finger off the board — in this case the long finger — than to move the whole hand, as would have been the case with the barre shape. Thumb-F also makes all the fingers available for hammer-ons, which is a great thing to take advantage of.

I could have left out that last note in the F measure as well, but if I highlight some notes again, it will become clear what it’s doing there:

  C
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|---------------0-|-----------------|
|-----1-----------|-----1-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-3---------------|-3---------------|
|---------3-------|---------3-------|
  news,       bad   news    come to
   F                 C
   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1-----------|-----1-----------|
|-----------2---0-|-----------0-----|
|-----3-------3---|-----2-------2---|
|-----------------|-3---------------|
|-1-------1-------|---------3-------|
  me      where I   sleep

The highlighted notes are in fact a rudimentary outline of the melody of the song.

Then follows the G-G6-G7 turn, twice:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------0-----|---0-------0-----|
|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|
|-----0-------0h2-|-----2h3-----3---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|
  Turn,             turn,   turn a-

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------0-----|---0-------0-----|
|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|
|-----0-------0h2-|-----2h3-----3---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|
gain                              sayin’

The next line is vanilla C–F again; the below is just a suggestion — play any pattern you like:

  C
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|---------------0-|-----------------|
|-----1-----------|-----1-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-3---------------|-3---------------|
|---------3-------|---------3-------|
  one of      your  friends is in 

   F                 F
   :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1----------1|-----1-----------|
|-----------2-----|-----------2-----|
|-----3-------3---|-----3-------3---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-1-------1-------|-1-------1-------|
  trou  -    ble    deep

For the end of the verses, Dylan does something nasty, which is part of the reason — apart from the hammer-ons — that I’ve included this example here.

The next chord is a Dm. As you may have noticed, I don’t care much for the D chords in standard tuning.

Dylan starts off “correctly”, with the fourth string as the bass note. That also means that you will have to shift all the fingers one string down: temporarily, the index finger plays on the second string, the long finger on the first, and the ring finger is unemployed.

But where to go next? Dylan does the illegal thing: he plays the next note on the sixth string. This is an E, a note which definitely doesn’t have any business in a D minor chord. And not only does he play it — he stays on it for the full next measure as well, for as long as the Dm lasts:

  Dm      /e        /e      /e
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----1---------1-|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----3---------1-|
|-----2-----2-----|-----2-----2-----|
|-0-----------0---|-------------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|---------0-------|-0-------0-------|
          Turn, turn,       to the   

  F                 G
  :   .   .   .     :   .
|-----------------|-----3---
|-----1-----------|---------
|-----------2---0-|---------
|-----3-------3---|-----0---
|-----------------|---------
|-1-------1-------|-3-------
  rain    and the wind

Now, why does he do this? This is not the place for extended dylanology, but it seems clear to me that this is not just a way to grab more strings in a cramped chords, but a way to create lines. Look at what happens in the bass further on: the E in Dm is followed by an F, rightfully belonging in the F chord, and the G, which is the goal of this passage. In other words: with a simple transgression of a fundamental rule of harmony, Dylan binds the passage together. “To live outside the law, you must be honest,” indeed. Who said Dylan is a bad musician?

These last measures also contain the other reason why I wanted to include this example. Again, let me colorize the tab:

  Dm      /e        /e      /e
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----1---------1-|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----3---------1-|
|-----2-----2-----|-----2-----2-----|
|-0-----------0---|-------------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|---------0-------|-0-------0-------|
          Turn, turn,       to the   

  F                 G
  :   .   .   .     :   .
|-----------------|-----3---
|-----1-----------|---------
|-----------2---0-|---------
|-----3-------3---|-----0---
|-----------------|---------
|-1-------1-------|-3-------
  rain    and the wind

Again, what we are playing is an outline of the melody, picked out just by choosing the right strings from among the available ones. The right-hand picking pattern remains exactly the same.

Barbara Allen and Seven Curses

Just to mention a couple of song that belong in this category before we close down: “Barbara Allen”, a true gem which can be found on the so-called Gaslight Tape from the end of 1962. It is played in dropped D tuning, which is perfect for fingerpicking. It uses a straightforward picking pattern, but between the sung lines, there is this little, hypnotic figure:

  D                     Dsus4         D
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|---------------0-|h2-----3-------2-|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------2-----|---2-------2-----|-----------2-----| repeat
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---| ad lib
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|

Almost exactly the same figure is used on “Seven Curses”, another gem, from the Carnegie Hall Concert in Oct 1963 when Dylan was at the height, not only as a folksy solo artist, but also as a fingerpicker. It can be found on the Bootleg Series 1–3:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|---------------0-|h2-----3p2-----0-|h2------------(2)|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|---2-------2-----|----------(2)----|
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|

  :   .   .   .
|-----------------|
|-----------------|
|-----------------|
|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|

Notice the bass: a steady alternation between strings 6 and 4, with no attempts to participate in whatever action the other strings have going, just steady as a bass drum, going boom-boom-boom-boom.

I refer you to the tabs at Dylanchords for the rest [Barbara Allen] [Seven Curses].

Suze

A Dylan-based lesson on fingerpicking wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Suze: the strange tune that is all that remains from what in the liner notes to Bootleg Series 1–3 is presented as Dylan’s desire to make an album of instrumentals.

You can find the song here.

The only thing I intend to say about it is that it uses the techniques that we have talked about earlier: most notably the chords coming in “too early”; the hammer-ons in the F major and D7 chords (which means you have to use the thumb F), and other than that: just one of the standard picking patterns throughout.

Bass runs: Blackbird

I admit it: I made up this headline just to find a place to put Blackbird. Not that I think that there has to be justice in the world so that when Lennon has been credited (rightfully!) with a Beatles song, I have to let Paul have one too, but it is a great specimen of fingerpicking as well as a great song, so what can I do…?

Luckily, there is an excellent tab of this song here, written by Todd Anagnostis.

You will recognize the thumb pattern — don’t let it fool you that the second and fourth beats are on the third and not the fourth string: you should by no means play those notes with the index finger. For this song, the thumb controls the four lowest strings, so you can probably let the ring finger rest. (Symbolical, perhaps, since Paul is an eminent bass player, although his style is too saccharine for my diabetic tastes, and his eyes tell me: “Don’t ever trust this person”.)

Now, all I have to do is to sit back and let you do the rest of the work. Ah, I need a drink now…

All the Lessons

[catlist name=Lessons numberposts=150 order=asc orderby=date excludeposts=419]

So far, we’ve been playing as if you only had one finger on the right hand (or two, like Bruce Langhorne). If plain strumming — whether with a plectrum or one of the fingers — is guitar playing’s equivalent to the pathetic one-button Mac mouse, fingerpicking is more like an advanced gaming mouse, or the vim editor, where the whole keyboard is available as “buttons”.

Sure enough — you may get along fine with one button most of the time, but if God had intended us to strum, he wouldn’t have given us five fingers, now, would he? Anyway: we have them — it’s stupid not to be able to use them.

A note on fingers and nails

Before we start for real, a few words on hands and nails. First: nails or not?

Guitarists have been quarreling about this since the early nineteenth century. I’m biased. I’ve been playing with nails since I was ten, and if I break one, it’s only marginally better than breaking the finger. In fact, that’s not just a very bad exaggeration: during my school days, when various activities which I have luckily put behind me since then, such as being outdoors, playing football, running around and falling, climbing in trees, etc. — all those things that make nails break — I developed a fairly good technique for playing without whichever finger had a broken nail at the moment.

That is to say: playing with nails has its disadvantages. Broken nails is one, but there are others: you’ll have to keep up a certain level of nail care, you may be blessed with stiff nails which break easier or soft nails which don’t do much good anyway, etc.

The advantage is sound: with a nail, you will get a both stronger and more distinct tone. That’s just about the only advantage there is, but it is substantial.

It’s up to you. Give it a try, and decide for yourself what you prefer. Should you go the nail way, here are some points to remember:

Nail care

No matter what you do with the right hand, you should keep the nails on the left hand short, otherwise they will interfere with your playing. Not too short, though: they are not just attack weapons but protect your fingertips too, and if you keep them too short, you’ll open yourself to all kinds of infections. Besides, a little nail is good for support also when you play.

As for the right hand, you will have to groom them. Even the smallest irregularity will develop into a broken nail before you know it, and what’s more, it will affect your sound.

The nail should be like an extension of the finger: you don’t play with the nail, you play with the fingertip; the nail just gives the tone that little extra crisp attack at the end.

To that end, you’ll need some tools: a nail file and some sandpaper.

The file is for shaping, and that only. You want a gentle curve on the thumb side of the nail. That’s where you will touch the string — not centrally, but diagonally (“caressing” is a more appropriate word than “striking” for what the finger should do to the string). Most importantly: no sharp edges, but a smooth round curve.

The sandpaper is for polishing. If you’re thinking that this is beginning to sound a little too girlish, think again. A smooth surface does wonders for your tone, and your nails will last longer without breaking. Highly recommended.

The sandpaper should be of the micro-grits type. In Europe, sizes P800–1200 are fine; in the US the corresponding grit sizes (a word I didn’t know existed until today) are called 400–600.

If this still doesn’t make sense, use your girl-/boyfriend as a test case: if you wouldn’t caress her with it, then it’s too coarse…

Hand position

I’ve mentioned before, concerning left-hand playing, that some of the techniques and practices that are taught in classical guitar playing don’t make much sense in the chord-based/strumming-based repertory that we’re dealing with here. But for the right hand, there is actually quite a lot that applies, i.e. that will give you a better technique if you take them into account.

One is the position of the hand.

• The fingers should attack the strings diagonally,
• the wrist should be the part that is farthest away from the guitar,
• and when you look down at the hand, the thumb should form an “X” against the other fingers, i.e. the three other fingers, not the thumb, should play into the palm of the hand.

These are not unbreakable rules, but they will give your hand a greater mobility, and there are no disadvantages that I know of.

update: Coming to think of it, there is one case where this doesn’t apply: palm muting. In some styles, the palm of the right hand should mute the bass strings, and then, obviously, the wrist can’t be too far from the bridge …

First steps

Let’s get to work. The first step is to mimic what we have already been doing with thumb or plectrum: separating the bass strings from the treble strings. I’ve emphasised how important this is in a previous post, but I’ll repeat it: all strings are not created equal: emphasise the bass strings on the strong beats and fill in with the trebles in between.

It so happens that the hand is perfectly fitted to this distribution. As a rule of thumb — a metaphor which was never more fitting than here — the three bass strings are the domain of the thumb, whereas the index, long and ring fingers take care of one string each (the little finger is virtually never used).

The first pattern we might try out is the simplest possible. It may not very interesting in the long run, but it may be a good way to let the fingers get used to their new roles.

You can use any chord, of course. For these examples, I’ll use E.

  E
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-           ring finger  
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-           middle finger
|-----1-------1---|-----1-------1---|- etc       index finger 
|-----------------|-----------------|-        \               
|-----------------|-----------------|-        |- thumb        
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|-        /               

You should recognize the general pattern from lesson 8: thumb/bass on the strong beats, treble/other fingers in between. The only real difference is that now that the fingers have separate areas of dominion, you don’t have to move the hand around so much, and your aim will be more precise.

That is: with practice it will be more precise. It does require more practice to move four fingers to the right spots than to throw away a shot in that general direction with a plectrum. So start with the simple pattern above and rehearse it until you’re in charge of your fingers and not the other way around.

A note about redundancy

If you think: “hey, that’s not an E — there is only one left-hand finger in use there, and I seem to remember that E uses three fingers: 022100”, that’s only part right. It is an E major chord, we just happen not to use two of the strings at the moment.

If you then think: “Great! Then I can save some energy, as you’ve been telling me to all the time — there’s nothing like being lazy and a good student at the same time,” again you’re only part right. Yes, you should be lazy, but in this case, lazy means fingering the whole E major chord.

That is so for two reasons. One is mental: even though there are cases — lots of cases, in fact — where you will not use the full chord, it will be much easier to just stick to the main chord shape instead of constantly having to think “Now, which strings am I playing? Which fingers can I leave out?” At a more advanced stage, you can start thinking like that (you may have to start thinking like that), but for now, let an E be an E and play it 022100.

The other reason is even more important: true enough, in the example above, you are only using the index finger, but it shouldn’t remain that way. You will need those other strings eventually, for variation and — not to mention — for security: if you accidentally strike a wrong string, you might as well get a correct note out of it (i.e. a note which belongs in the chord).

This may seem like a trivial matter to make a fuss about, but I still find it worth pointing out, especially since this is a text-only course where you will be playing from tabs. In some of the more advanced tabs (e.g. Suze (The Cough Song), there are certain details that look difficult if you don’t move the fingers in place until they are explicitly written out in the tab, whereas if you change the chords all at once, it will fall in place naturally.

Some more basic patterns

Even with the simple patterns, there is ample opportunity for variation. First,
you should vary the bass string.

  E
  :   .   .   .            :   .   .   .     
|-----0-------0---|      |-----0-------0---|-
|-----0-------0---|      |-----0-------0---|-
|-----1-------1---| and/ |-----1-------1---|- etc
|---------2-------|  or  |-----------------|-
|-----------------|      |---------2-------|-
|-0---------------|      |-0---------------|-

In patterns like this — actually, in all fingerpicking patterns — it is a good idea to keep in mind where the proper keynote is. Make a habit of thinking “E major: 6th string”; “C major: 5th string”, “A major: 5th string”, etc., and play that string on all the strong beats, as in these two examples, until you can do it without thinking. When you know what you’re doing, you are free to deviate from the norm, but until then: it’s a good habit to emphasise the correct string.

The next step is to vary the other fingers as well.

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|---------0-------|---------0-------|
|---------0-------|---------0-------|
|-----1-------1---|-----1-------1---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-2---------------|
|-0---------------|-----------------|


  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-------------0---|-------------0---|
|---------0-------|---------0-------|
|-----1-----------|-----1-----------|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-2---------------|
|-0---------------|-----------------|

And a couple in triple time:

  :   .   .   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   .   .    
|---------0-------0-------|---------0-------0-------|
|---------0-------0-------|---------0-------0-------|
|-----1-------1-------1---|-----1-------1-------1---|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-0-----------------------|-0-----------------------|


  :       .       .         :       .       .        
|-------------0-----------|-------------0-----------|
|---------0-------0-------|---------0-------0-------|
|-----1---------------1---|-----1---------------1---|
|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------------------------|-2-----------------------|
|-0-----------------------|-------------------------|

The Holy Grail of Fingerpicking: Travis style

But hey — let’s not make any mistake about it: you’re here — we’re all here — in order to be able to play “Don’t Think Twice” or John Lennon’s “Julia”, right?

(“Julia”, by the way, is one of two songs, ever, that have had the “girlfriend” effect in my case. At that time, I was too young and shy to take advantage of it, even though I fully understood the potential. The other case was “Tomorrow Night” off Dylan’s Good As I Been To You, but alas: I was soon to be divorced, but she wasn’t… In other words: in the end, your ability to impress girls depends more on you than on your guitar skills. My apologies for leading you on with the title of this series.)

Right.

The style that is used on the two mentioned songs and millions of others, frequently goes by the name of “Travis picking”, named after Merle Travis. For this true art of fingerpicking, there is one alfa and omega: a rock steady thumb. Everything else is just embellishment.

We’ll stick with our E major chord. Now play:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------| 
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|

etc, all with the thumb. Don’t you dare using the index finger for the fourth-string notes: the only thing that is important in fingerpicking is that you are able to keep that movement with your thumb, no matter what happens: if the roof falls down, if your future girlfriend suddenly leans over and kisses you, if the index finger plays some other tones — don’t break the thumb rhythm.

The next step is to vary the thumb strokes:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------| 
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|---------2-------|---------2-------|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|

When you say that’s easy enough, let’s add the other fingers:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----| 
|-------1-------1-|-------1-------1-|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|

You can add them one at the time if you wish, or in any order you wish, and in principle on any beat, but the main rule is that the beats are the thumb’s domain — the other fingers play between the beats, as in the example above.

Remember to keep the fingers at the right strings (for now; later on you should free yourself from that too, and be able to play the patterns on any strings): all the “1”s above are played with the index finger, the second-string notes with the long finger, etc., but all the time, the thumb does its 9–5 job on the bass strings.

Some further variations:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----| 
|-------1-------1-|-------1-------1-|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-----------|-----0-----------| 
|-----------1-----|-----------1---1-|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|

And with some variation in the bass as well:

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----| 
|-------1-------1-|-------1-------1-|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|---------2-------|---------2-------|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|

  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-----------|-----0-----------| 
|-----------1-----|-----------1---1-|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|---------2-------|---------2-------|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|

There is a good video demonstrating this playing style at this page.

The patterns are too many to list, but the ones I have written out above are the most common: with these under your belt, you have almost all that’s required to play everything from “Don’t Think Twice” to “Dear Prudence”, from “Suzanne” to Pink Floyd’s “Hey You”.

All it takes is some practice.

Boots of Spanish Leather

To prove that I’m not lying, here’s a look at “Boots of Spanish Leather”.

The chord shapes that are used in this song are:

  G           C/g               G                 
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0---------1-|-----1---------0-|-----0---------0-|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----0-------2---|-----2-------0---|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|

                                      Em9             
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-----------|-----0-----------|-----3-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----4-------4---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|-0-------0-------|
                            Oh, I'm   sailing   away

                    D7/f#       G                 C/g     
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----3-----------|-----1-----------|-----0---------1-|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----4-------4---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------2---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------0-------|-2-------2-------|-3-------3-------|
              my    own     true      love                                   

              G                 Em9              
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1---------0-|-----0-----------|-----3-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----2-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----4-------4---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|-0-------0-------|
                                I'm a-sailing     a-   

  D7/f#       G                 C/g               G        
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1-----------|-----0---------1-|-----1---------0-|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0-------2-------|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|
 way      in  the   morning                            
 
                    Em                        
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-----------|-----0---------0-|-----0-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-0-------0-------|-0-------0-------|
           Is there something I   can send you from a-

  C/g         G                 C/g               G       
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1---------0-|-----0---------1-|-----1---------0-|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----2-------0---|-----0-------2---|-----2-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|
 cross   the   sea                                    

                    Em9               D7/f#       C/g           
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .    
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-----------|-----3-----------|-----1---------0-|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----0-------0---|-----4-------0---|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-0-------0-------|-2-------2-------|
          From the place that         I'll      be     

              G                             D7/f#   G
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1---------0-|-----0---------0-|-------1-------0-|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|---0-------0-----|
|-----2-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|
  landing

                 
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-----------|-----0-----------|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|
                               No, there's...

In principle, the whole song uses the same pattern:

  
:   .   .   .    
|----------------|    ring finger
|----0---------0-|    middle finger
|----------0-----|    index finger
|----0-------0---| \
|----------------| |- thumb  
|3-------3-------| /

Once you have the pattern in the fingers, the only thing that may present some difficulty here is some of the chord changes. Not that they are difficult, but they don’t happen where/when you’d expect them if you’re used to square four-by-four music.

One of most prominent characteristics of the Travis picking style is the syncopation that almost automatically comes out of it: the thumb marks the rhythm, but it’s the other fingers that are heard, and they fall off the beat, most of the time.

That syncopation is the origin of the style-specific trait of starting the measures a little too early. Look at the very first measures in the tab of “Boots”.

  G       C/g               G                 
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .   
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0---------1-|-----1---------0-|-----0---------0-|
|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|-----------0-----|
|-----0-------2---|-----2-------0---|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|

The way I have written it here, it looks as if the C chord enters in the middle of the first measure. But that’s not really the way it is perceived. A simpler, strummed version of the same would rather look like this:

  G                 C/g               G                 
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .     :   .   
|-----3-----3-3-3-|-----3-----3-3-3-|-----3---
|-----0-----0-0-0-|-----1-----1-1-1-|-----0---
|-----0-----0-0-0-|-----0-----0-0-0-|-----0---
|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----0---
|-----------------|-----------------|---------
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------|-3-------

But the Travis-picked version almost requires the more syncopated feel. One might say that the only place this is difficult, is on the paper: where to write down the chord changes. In the tab above, I’ve tried to write them in where they actually take place, not where they musically belong.

All the Lessons

[catlist name=Lessons numberposts=150 order=asc orderby=date excludeposts=419]

If less is more, is “lesson” the opposite of “moron”, or is it even more stupid?

More Chords

Forget all about which hand is most artisty — today it’s all about chords.

So far, we’ve covered most of the “simple” chords. Here are the ones that are left:

o   oo     o o oo     o oooo
======     ======     ======
|||1||     |||1||     ||||||
------     ------     ------
|23|||     |2||||     |2||||
------     ------     ------
||||||     ||||||     ||||||
------     ------     ------
  E          E7         Em7    

  ooo      x   0      x    o
======     ======     ======
|||||1     ||1|||     ||||1|
------     ------     ------
|2||||     |2|3|4     ||2|||
------     ------     ------
3|||||     ||||||     |3|4||
------     ------     ------
  G7         B7         C7        

x o        x o        x o
======     ======     ======
|||||1     ||||11     ||||1|
------     ------     ------
|||2||     |||2||     |||2|3
------     ------     ------
||||3|     ||||||     ||||||
------     ------     ------
  Dm         Dm7        D7

With these chords under your belt, plus the ones we’ve already covered, you should be able to play a large amount of the songs you will find on dylanchords or any other chordsite. The exceptions are songs with barre chords and songs with chords with long and complicated names, which will the topics of later lessons.

For now, just a few remarks on the most common chords.

• G7: Note the similarity between G7 and C: the pattern is the same, only with the chord “spread out” on all six strings. Take advantage of this wen you play these chords and keep the movement as simple as possible.
• E is the quintessential blues chord. Most of John Lee Hooker’s songs and a good share of the blues songs you will hear in pub bands are in this key. Its companion chords are A and B7. With those three chords, you can pick more or less any blues song and play it, and that is the first assignment today: pick any blues song and play it.
• B7 is one of those four-finger chords, which may seem difficult to get in place all at the same time. It should work as a block of fingers, as I’ve talked about before — not as four separate fingers. This could be trained in the usual way: play E – B7 – E – B7 for two minutes, and chances are that you will come out with a fairly automatized B7. Again: the long finger is in the same place in the two chords. Use that as a stabilizing element.
  It is possible to cheat with B7 and play it x21200 instead, which — if you come from E — is just a matter of switching strings for the index and ring fingers. The “wrong” tone you will be playing is the high e’, and since you will most likely play B7 only in songs in E major, that is either completely wrong — if the “point” of the song is maximum contrast between the two — or completely ok. You decide — it’s your ears.
  In the more advanced direction, it is also possible to get a finger at the second fret of the sixth string as well, somehow: 221202. This would either be a half-barre with the longfinger, covering both the fifth and the sixth strings, or a thumb coming up from behind to the sixth string. I will come back to both these solutions later. For now, you’re probably better off cheating (I do that, most of the time…).
• Dm is one of those spread-out chords, which may give some problems until you get used to stretching out your hand.
• C: The common C major chord can be played in four different ways:

             x  o o
             ======
             ||||1|
             ------
             ||2|||
             ------
             |3||||     
  
     o o     x  o        x o
  ======     ======     ======
  ||||1|     ||||1|     ||||1|
  ------     ------     ------
  ||2|||     ||2|||     ||2|||
  ------     ------     ------
  34||||     |3|||4     3||||4      
  
         variants of C

  The shape at the top is the one we have used so far. It is the easiest one, at least insofar as it only uses three fingers, but I recommend learning the other three as well.
  The first (332010) is my everyday C. It has two great advantages: (1) it makes the sixth string less obtrusive, so you can actually play the chord with the full six strings; and (2) it works perfectly together with the version of G major with long, ring and little fingers that I recommended back in lesson 3: the ring finger is already in place (“already in place” is a thing to look for, especially when it’s the ring finger, the least mobile of the fingers), the long finger is almost there, and it’s a relatively small matter to slip the little finger down to the first string.
  Apropos — in the version in the middle (x32013) the little finger is already in place on the first string, and all you need to do to get to G is slip the little and ring fingers up to the fifth and sixth strings and let go of the index finger. The little finger on the first string gives this chord shape a very distinct sound: one high tone is ringing way above the next one. This makes it a nice variant, but it can also be too much sometimes. Use it with care.
  The last variant is a special chord, to be used in one specific context:

    ooo       x o         ooo
  ======     ======     ======
  ||||||     ||||1|     ||||||
  ------     ------     ------
  |2|||| ->  ||2||| ->  |2||||
  ------     ------     ------
  3||||4     3||||4     3||||4  
  
    G          C/g        G

  Here, two fingers are “already in place”, and slipping the long finger one string down and adding the index finger is easy enough. This is one of the cases where you are supposed to touch a neighbouring string: the fifth string should not sound, and muting it is the job of the ring finger. It happens almost automatically.
  The “C character” of the C major chord suffers here, since the bass tone is G and the fifth string should not be sounding. It is, in other words, a variant chord to G almost as much as a proper C chord.

• G: I’ve said it before, but for the sake of completeness: try to learn to play G with the “bad” fingers — you will not regret it.

Overtones and sound quality

A few more words about the E major chord:

E is the biggest, fattest chord in the book. Since E is the tone of the deepest string, it follows that E is the deepest sounding chord you can play in standard tuning. But that’s not the only reason; there are things about the way the chord is constructed which emphasise this grandness.

Try this: Play the open 6th string. Then place your finger over the twelfth fret (and when I say “over” I mean that literally: directly over the metal band and not “in the box” where you will usually place your fingers), and touch the string lightly but without pressing down on the string. Then strike the string again. You should hear the same tone as the open string, only an octave higher, and with a somewhat flute-like sound (at least that’s what those people thought it sounded like who called this kind of tones “flageolets”, which means “little flutes”).

Do the same thing again, this time touching the string over the seventh fret, then over the fifth fret. The fifth-fret tone should be the same tone again, another octave higher. This should be the same tone as the open first string. The seventh-fret tone, on the other hand, is not an e, but a b, which should sound the same as the open second string.

What you have just played, are the first three overtones or harmonics of the tone E. When you strike a string, you are setting the string in vibration. But it’s not just the whole string that is vibrating. The two halves of the string are also vibrating, independently of what’s happening with the full string. So are the three thirds of the string, etc.

The divisions which produce the overtones (from wikipedia).

What you are doing when you touch the string at the twelfth fret, is partly to stop the full vibration of the string, partly to emphasise the vibrations of the two halves of the string. The twelfth fret is the exact middle of the string, corresponding to the point marked “1/2” in the image to the right.

Similarly, the seventh fret marks one third of the string (“1/3” in the figure), and the fifth fret one fourth, etc. There are similar points at the fourth fret, near the third fret, etc. In principle, the series does not end, but it is difficult to isolate the higher overtones in practice.

They are there, however, and they are heard. The combination of overtones — which ones are more and which less loud — is one of the most important factors that determine how an instrument sounds. A violin has a different distribution of overtones than a guitar, and that’s why we can hear the difference between them. (The other main elements are the attack — how the tone starts — and the sustain — how it ends. If one cuts off the attack, it can be surprisingly difficult to recognize an instrument sound.)

But even one and the same instrument can have different sounds. If you strike a string close to the bridge, it sounds much sharper than if you strike it closer to the sound hole: you are in fact emphasising the higher overtones, whereas closer to the sound hole, you’re giving more punch to the lower ones, which gives a darker, mellower sound.

We can now go back to the E major chord, and summarize what we know: when we strike the deepest string, we also hear — among the overtones of that tone — three tones that are also part of the full chord, on different strings: the fourth, second and first strings are identical to the first, second and third overtones, respectively. The tone on the fifth string (B) does not correspond directly to any of the overtones, but it is at least the same tone as the second string, an octave lower, and will feel very much at home in the chord.

In other words: most of the tones in the E major chord are there already in the deepest-sounding tone. The rest of the strings reinforce the basic sound. Hence the full, rich sound of the chord as a whole.

The third

That leaves one string: the third. The tone of the third string is g# (g sharp), which is the third of the E major chord — the tone which decides if the chord is major or minor. Its position right in the middle of the chord is ideal: it does not draw too much attention to itself (as may be the case with D major, where the third (f#) is played on the first string), nor does it blur the chord (as may be the case if the third is placed closer to the bass).

The third is the unruly pubescent teenager in the family of chords: it certainly has character, and the chord would be a whole less interesting without it, but somehow, it is always either too big or too small.

This is not just metaphorically speaking: it is too big or too small. Or put differently: a third on the guitar will always be out of tune. This has to do with properties of the tonal system, which it will take to long to give the details about, but to make it brief: the fourth overtone (the one on the fourth fret) is two octaves and a third above the tone of the open string. This tone or one equal to it will sound in tune with the fundamental tone. The problem is that this tone can not be produced in a system which is based on a division of the octave into twelve equal (or rather: proportionally equidistant) tones, which is how the guitar is constructed, with twelve equal frets on an octave. This is also how modern pianos are tuned. The benefit of this system — which Johann Sebastian Bach demonstrated with his Well-Tempered Klavier — is that one can play equally well in any possible key. The cost is that every interval except the octave is slightly out of tune. With some intervals, it is hardly noticeable, but with the third, the difference between the pure and the tempered version is considerable.

You can test this by playing the fourth fret flageolet on the sixth string and comparing it with the tone on the fourth fret of the first string (g sharp). If the two strings are perfectly in tune, you should be able to hear the difference between the two tones clearly: the pure third, on the sixth string, is consideably smaller than the one you play on the first string.

This is yet another reason why the third in a chord should be treated with caution — just like with a teenager. In the middle, surrounded by caring and loving octaves and fifths — as it is in E major — it blends in more easily, but if it is allowed to ring all by itself on the top (as in D major), it can be jarring at worst (and interesting at best…).

*

My plan was to say something more about the blues today, but on second thought, I think I will leave it to the lesson on licks and riffs — after all, that’s mainly what the blues is all about.

All the Lessons

[catlist name=Lessons numberposts=150 order=asc orderby=date excludeposts=419]

It’s been said about guitar playing that the left hand is the craftsman, but the right hand is the artist. I first read that when I was a kid, struggling with some classical guitar etudes or whatever, and I thought it was a great quote — only whoever said it must have gotten the hands mixed up. Surely, the left hand must be the artist?

But no: even though most of the rehearsal time — at least as a classical guitarist — is spent on figuring out fingerings and practicing transitions between chords, that’s “just” craftsmanship. It’s the right hand that makes the music. Rhythm, as we discussed yesterday, is of course the main right-hand task. But also the sound quality in general — do you strike hard or soft, close to the bridge or to the sound hole, upwards or downwards, with thumb or fingernails, or with a plectrum? All these things that determine what kind of sound you make.

But also in the areas of melody and harmony, the right hand has a huge task. This is of course a shared area between the two hands, but the ability to pick out a melody or a certain harmonic progression is first and foremost a right-hand technique. This is going to be the main topic today.

All Strings are Not Created Equal

In the beginning — as far as I remember it — one is probably mostly concerned with placing the left-hand fingers in the right spot and trying to disregard the pain in the fingertips. The right hand does a rather crude job, mostly striking all the strings every time, or — perhaps — trying to avoid hitting the wrong strings.

The first step towards releasing the artistic potential of the right hand, is to realise that All Strings Are Not Created Equal. The guitar can do a pretty good job at filling in for the members of a full band: The three high strings — roughly speaking — provide harmony and play the part of the organ or the backup singers; the low ones are bass strings and do what the bass guitar does (and the right hand in general — with some help from the left hand — is the drum kit; the only instrument that is missing, is the solo guitar, which the guitar cannot mimick, unless you are very advanced, like Richard Thompson, e.g.).

In order to bring out these different roles — and this is something you should strive towards — you need to be able to treat the strings separately.This means: to be able to

• strike only the bass strings or only the treble strings; and/or
• strike a single string at the time.

Compare these two examples:

  v   v   v     v   v ^ v     v
  G                           C
  :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .
|-3---3---3---|-3---3-3-3---|-0---
|-0---0---0---|-0---0-0-0---|-1---
|-0---0---0---|-0---0-0-0---|-0---  etc.
|-0---0---0---|-0---0-0-0---|-2---
|-2---2---2---|-2---2-2-2---|-3---
|-3---3---3---|-3---3-3-3---|-----

and

  :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .
|-----3---3---|-----3-3-3---|-0---
|-----0---0---|-----0-0-0---|-1---
|-----0---0---|-----0-0-0---|-0---  etc.
|-0-----------|-0-----------|-2---
|-2-----------|-2-----------|-3---
|-3-----------|-------------|-----

The exact strings are not important, but the general idea is: what you’re doing here is both adding some air (so that the music can breathe), and providing lines. Already in this little example, you are playing a bass line and bringing out more clearly at least a fragment of two other melody lines.

The most obvious line is the bass line:

  :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .
|-------------|-------------|-----
|-------------|-------------|-----
|-------------|-------------|-----
|-------------|-------------|-----
|-------------|-2-----------|-3---
|-3-----------|-------------|-----

But also on the two upper strings there are melody lines that stand out more clearly, now that they are allowed to sound alone, without the mass of strings on their back.

This is the kind of lines that you should try your best to bring out in your playing. The good thing is that it will happen more or less automatically if you make a habit of varying your stroke. As a rule of thumb, the bass strings belong to the accented beats (the first beat in triple time, as in the example above; the first and third in 4/4), the treble strings to the unaccented.

(I realize I haven’t said anything about time signatures and such yet. I will add a section about that to the Day 4 lesson.)

Slash chords

Also, in a good chord file, the bass line will be written out for you. This is done with slash chords.

A slash chord indicates, in addition to the chord itself, the bass tone to be played. This is added to the chord symbol, separated with a slash. E.g. “G/b”, which means: G major, with b as the bass string.

In an ordinary chord symbol, such as “G”, it is implied that the bass note — the deepest sounding note — is also g. So although the G chord contains all three bass strings, the one that plays g is the most important one. This happens to be the sixth string —

(I realize I haven’t presented you with the whole scale and the positions of the tones on the fretboard yet. I’ve just added a section about that to the Day 4 lesson, which you may want to revisit.)

— so in the case of G, there isn’t much of a problem there: strike all the chords, and the lowest note will automatically be the bass note. Gee, it’s a great chord… But remember our hate chord, D? One of the reasons it’s such a despicable chord is that there are two strings — a third of your whole resource base — that you’re not supposed to use. In shorthand: xx0232.

Time to modify that statement a little. The sixth string is an E, which is definitely not part of a D chord, so that string is forever out of the picture — it will sound bad if you even touch it while playing a D chord. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

But the fifth string is different. It’s an A, and the tone A is actually part of the D major chord. It’s there already: the tone on the third string should be an a.

So why is it forbidden, “x”ed out in the shorthand? Because it is not the proper bass string. The fundament of a chord should be its proper bass tone, and so there is nothing else to do than to leave out two of the swetest strings you have. Shit happens.

But slash chords can change that. There are circumstances where you want the bass tone to be something other than the chord’s proper bass tone. You could for example play an alternating bass pattern:

  D       D/a       D       D/a
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-----3-------3---|-----3-------3---|
|-----2-------2---|-----2-------2---|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|---------0-------|---------0-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|

or, as in the earlier examples, bring out a certain bass line. The example that we started with could be written:

G    G/b    C

This is sometimes abbreviated to

G    /b    C

I will usually use the latter form if the chord itself is not really that important — what counts is the bass tone, as part of a bass line.

Both these forms of notation are confusing to some, but as you can see, it’s simple enough: the slash part of the chord is extra information that you can use to bring out a certain effect. Since it’s “extra information”, you are free to leave it out.

Blowin’ in the Wind Revisited

If you have been with me from the start and have played “Blowin’ in the Wind” in the version from Day 2, you may have noticed that even though it sounds more or less as the album version (at least it should), it’s still not quite the same. And if you’ve checked some tab site’s version, you may have seen that it’s not written in D at all.

That’s because Dylan plays it with a capo, all the way up at the seventh fret, and because he uses a lot of slash chords. The capo position means that he plays with chords shapes from the G major family but the sounds that come out of it are in D major.

If you followed the day 1 instructions and bought a capo, this is the time to put it on. If not, either run down there and get one right now, or play it without a capo, in which case it will not sound exactly as on the record (but it probably never will — no offense — so it may not matter that much …):

G        C     /b     D/a      G
How many roads must a man walk down
G          C    /b    G
Before you call him a man?
         G        C    /b     D/a        G
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
G          C      /b     D
Before she sleeps in the sand?
         G        C     /b       D/a          G
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
  G            C  /b   G
Before they're forever banned?
    C   /b     D/a        G              C
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
    C   /b    D/a            G
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

You already have all the tools you need to play this, but since I’m a nice guy, I’ll summarize:

• /b means “play the bass tone b (regardless of the chord you’re otherwise playing). In this case, this means the second fret of the fifth string: -2----.
• D/a is a D chord with A (the open fifth string) replacing d as the bass string.

If you use the default bass string for the rest of the chords, and otherwise try to apply the variation between bass and treble strings, you may end up with something like this:

  G                 C       /b
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----3---3-3-3-3-|-----0-------0---|
|-----0---0-0-0-0-|-----1-------1---|
|-----0---0-0-0-0-|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------2-------|
|-3---------------|-----------------|

  D/a               G
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----2-2-2---2---|-----3-3-3---3---|
|-----3-3-3---3---|-----0-0-0---0---|
|-----2-2-2---2---|-----0-0-0---0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-0---------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3---------------|

  G                 C       /b
  :   .   .   .     :   .   .   .
|-----3---3-3-3-3-|-----0-------0---|
|-----0---0-0-0-0-|-----1-------1---|
|-----0---0-0-0-0-|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------2-------|
|-3---------------|-----------------|

  G
  :   .   .   .
|-----3-3-3---3---|
|-----0-0-0---0---|
|-----0-0-0---0---|
|-----------------|
|-----------------|
|-3---------------|

The exact strings you play in the treble section is not important — should you strike some bass chords, that’s just fine — and the rhythms I’ve written in are just the ones I happened to play this one time. The important thing is the bass notes and the variation. With this in mind (and in hand) you should be able to play the rest of the song, which is just variations on the same patterns as above.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Ready for another old gem.

     G             Em
Come gather 'round people
    C        G
Wherever you roam
      G            Em
And admit that the waters
 C              D
Around you have grown
      G            Em
And accept it that soon
          C               G
You'll be drenched to the bone.
        G       Am           D
If your time to you Is worth savin'
         D            D/c
Then you better start swimmin'
          G/b         D/a
Or you'll sink like a stone
        G     C          D   G . .
For the times they are a-changin'.

Some initial comments:

Em is a new chord. It’s quite simple: 022000.

In this song, Dylan plays G with the shape 320033 instead of 320003. It’s a subtle difference, which you are free to disregard, but it’s like that for a reason (and this is in fact yet another example of Dylan’s mastery in achieving effects with a minimum of effort): The tone on the second string in the regular chord is b, which is the tone that defines the chord as a major chord. By replacing that with the d’ on the third fret, the chord is almost released from that whole field of tension, and takes on a solemn character, a little like a tolling bell — quite befitting the theme of the song. All that, with just one finger…

As I said: you are not required to use the 320033 shape. It does involve all four fingers, and that may be too much to keep track of at this point. Although … some people actually find it easier to play than the standard 320003, because the two pathetic little weaklings, the ring and little fingers, can support each other. Try it, and go with what suits you best.

The ending is the greatness of this song (which incidentally was the first Dylan song I heard, although not with Dylan himself. I’ve written an emotional account of this first meeting in the introduction to The Uneven Heart.). Again, it’s the use of slash chords and bass lines that makes the difference.

The “better start swimmin’” lines could go something like this:

  D             D/c           G/b           D/a
  :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .
|-----2---2---|-----0-0-0---|-----0---0---|-----2---2---|
|-----3---3---|-----3-3-3---|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|
|-----2---2---|-----2-2-2---|-----0---0---|-----2---2---|
|-0-----------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-3-----------|-2-----------|-0-----------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
  Better start swimming or y’ll sink like a stone

But here, you may have several objections:

• “Hey! That thing in the second measure — that’s not a D chord!”
• “Hey! That thing in the third measure — that’s not a G chord!”
• “You said I could leave out the slash thing, but if I do, the second measure doesn’t sound right!”

And you’re right. But if you would just calm down a little, bridle your righteous anger over lying bastards who pose as guitar teachers etc., I’ll explain.

[ten seconds’ break to calm down]

There. Ok.

It all has to do with what is important and what is not. That section of the song could be seen as basically just a descending bass line over a sustained note: the single note that the melody has at this point, which incidentally is what you have on the third fret of the second string. So, stripped down to the essentials, the passage could be played:

  D             D/c           G/b           D/a
  :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-0-----------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-3-----------|-2-----------|-0-----------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
  Better start swimming or y’ll sink like a stone

and nothing inalienable has been lost, really. Hence, we may consider the rest as ornament, filler. This is not to say that the filler is unneccessary, only that it can be dealt with somewhat freely, if other considerations are of greater weight.

Such as: ease of playing. If you were to play the D/c chord without cheating making it easy for yourself, you would have to use the little finger on the second string and the third finger for the c on the fifth string. That is playable, but here it is unneccessary. Much easier to move the stronger longfinger from the first to the fifth string:

xx0        x
======     ======
||||||     ||||||
------     ------
|||1|2     |||1||
------ ->  ------
||||3|     |2||3|
------     ------
||||||     ||||||

Note that I haven’t banned any of the open strings other than the sixth in the chord diagram; the fourth string has a d which can’t be all wrong, since it’s the keynote of the chord; and the first string — well, it’s filler. It’s a “wrong” tone, but in this case, hey, it doesn’t matter.

It can actually be defended not just out of laziness economizing, but as an element in an interesting melodic line. With the open e string in the second measure, what you’re playing is:

  D             D/c           G/b           D/a
  :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .     :   .   .
|-2-----------|-0-----------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-3-----------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
  Better start swimming or y’ll sink like a stone

Which works well as a a countermelody to the otherwise static melody line, and which is also parallel to the bass line.

Much of the same could be said about your second objection. Again: the important thing is the -2--3- skeleton — the rest is filler.

Note that you use the version with the third fret on the second string here, no matter what you do elsewhere in the song. This has to do both with flexibility (not being limited to one chord shape only) and economy (why use the other shape, when that finger is already in place?). It may not be something you need to hear right at the moment, if you think that just learning the basic chord shapes is more that enough, but the great thing about the guitar is that you can play the same chords in many different ways, depending on what is important at a particular spot.

So, in the third measure, we define x20030 as a legitimate replacement for 320003.

This gives the following transition between D/c and G/b:

  x          x
  ======     ======
  ||||||     ||||||
  ------     ------
  |||1||     |1||||
  ------ ->  ------
  |2||3|     ||||3|
  ------     ------
  ||||||     ||||||

The third objection is actually valid, and it exemplifies the problem of pinning down a set of chords/sounds to a common symbol — the chord sign. I’ll come back to this later when we take a look at “Boots of Spanish Leather”, but for now: why should I call the second chord D/c?

First of all: it’s a bit cheating. The c is the seventh tone in the D major scale, and hence the proper name for the chord is D7/c. When I don’t write it like that, it’s not just out of laziness, but because even though all the tones of a D7 chord are in there, it doesn’t feel or work like a seventh chord — it feels like a static D chord with a descending bass line under it.

For that matter, I could also have called the third chord D/b, and that wouldn’t have been all wrong either, although the tone d is the only tone in there that actually belongs to the D chord.

To test this statement, try to play that whole line with just a D chord all the way through (disregard the bass line for now), and say if that doesn’t actually sound quite right.

The lesson to be learned from this is that a chord name is not just a way to tell you which fingers to put where — it’s not just a name for a certain finger configuration: it’s also a way to classify according to function. This may go so far that a chord could be called a variant of, say, G, without even containing a g note.

This is also why, if you leave out the slash part of the chord names above, the second chord will sound wrong. We have defined the descending bass as one of the important elements in that line, and chosen the chord names accordingly. If we leave out the important part, we may have to find a way to put it back again.

One way could be to play the second chord as a C. That would give us the /c in the bass, and it would actually also account for the open first string, which we’ve allowed as “filler”, but which really doesn’t belong in the D chord. It does belong in the C chord.

A C there would also go well with the chord that follows: G. Even though C is not the dominant of G but the other way around, there is still enough of a bond between the two chords, that C G is a perfectly acceptable progression. (In popular music, that is. In fact, if we add the D to which we’re coming, we have the “Try with a little help from my friends” part of the Beatles song. In classical music, that progression is not permitted.)

When I name the chords as I do, it’s by choice: I choose to consider the passage as basically a drawn-out “D-with-variations”. The G/b is partly a concession to chord shapes — it is actually closer to a G chord than to a D chord — and partly as a way of acknowledging that there is a certain preparatory character to that third chord, which sets it apart from the other “D” chords in that line.

There. Calmer now?

Now, ’nuff talking. Back to rehearsal.

All the Lessons

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