All Along The Watchtower- Jimi Hendrix

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Bob Dylan reportedly refused to play his song “All Along The Watchtower” anymore at concerts after hearing Hendrix’s soaring version. “It’s his song now” said Dylan.

Hendrix really brings out the big guns for the multiple solos featured in the song. Here’s a detailed look at the first solo.

Notes

  • A pickup is a note or sequence of notes which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase
  • The first solo has three pickup notes beginning in the fifth measure
  • A musical rest means the instrument is at rest- in other words, don’t play!
  • The lead guitar rests for the first four measures of the song

Lesson Resources

The following downloads are for Lead Workshop students only:

MP3 Jam Track

Solo 1 Tab/Music

Come Together – The Beatles

“Come Together” was released as a single in 1969 alongside “Something” it was also released on the album Abbey Road as the first track. This is the opening riff of the song, and for most is instantly recognizable. This riff is pretty easy and should be a good start for beginners.


Life By The Drop- Part 4

Chorus

The chorus really just feels like an extension of the verse. It’s 6 measures long and contains 3 lines of lyrics.

[Chorus]
You’re living our dreams, oh you on top
My mind is aching, oh Lord it won’t stop
That’s how it happens living life by the drop

The first two lines follow a F#m, D, E chord progression over two measures. The F# is over the first measure and the D and E chords are found in the 2nd measure each getting two beats each.

The last line, “That’s how it happens, living life by the drop”, is sung over the F#m, D, and E chords again, but it’s switched up a little bit. The F#m only gets two beats followed by 2 measures of the D chord and finally a full measure of E, but this last measure is in 2/4 time!

At the end of the chorus, we’ll go back to two measures of the shuffle pattern to set up the next verse.

Stairway To Heaven Part 3

Now, it’s time to put it together! Practice playing both parts together.

No Stairway?

This intro from Stairway To Heaven has been the butt of a few jokes over the years because it seemed that every time you went to the music shop someone would be hunched overplaying it.

Maybe you’ll remember the scene from the movie “Wayne’s World”:

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Changing To The Interlude…

The tail end of the riff changes when leading into the interlude. It’s just a two-note walk (A and B note) into what will be a C in the next measure (not shown).