Blog
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The Beatles – Hey Jude (Tab)
Technically, I shouldn’t be posting this on White Album week. But it was recorded during the White Album sessions and it is one of the best (possibly the best) Beatles song. If you’re dying for a White Album song have a go at the Blackbird tab.
I’ve kept the arrangement as simple as possible. It has such a strong (and well known) melody it doesn’t need much to back it up. I’m not following any strict pattern for the fingerpicking. For the most part the thumb plays the lowest string in the bar then letting the fingers fall on a string each from there.
In the repeat of the chorus I play a slight variation on the, “And don’t you knowwwwww…” in bars 15 and 16.
After all that I switch to strumming and the occasional finger flick for the boisterous sh-outro. I bash out a couple of adornments in this section. You don’t need to do anything complicated with these so long as you use the appropriate amount of gusto. Both mine are just based on the C7 chord.
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Midnight, the Stars and You (from The Shining) (Tab)
For Halloween, a song from the greatest horror film ever made. It’s so densely packed with detail, unforgettable images and jarring juxtapositions. Which has spawned an entire industry of fan theories from the undeniable to the entirely ridiculous to the disturbing and plausible (and if that theory is true it recontextualizes this song in an entirely alarming way).
Midnight, the Stars and You was originally perfromed by Al Bowlly and Ray Noble and released in 1934. Making it out of time for the 1921 photo. The song also cropped up in Snowpiercer and was recently unexpectedly covered by Deerhoof.
The tune gives plenty of room for some jazzy noodling. For the first half of the arrangement I use those gaps to play around with the chords. In bars 7-8 and 11-12 I add in chromatic descending notes. And in bars 19-20 I throw in diminished and augmented chords.
In the second half of the verse I throw in a couple of licks in bars 23 and 27-28. In those licks I’m using the F Mixolydian scale. Which sounds fancy but is just an F major scale with a flatted 7th (i.e. an Eb instead of an E). I picked that up from the Eb used so effectively in the descending run at the end of the original version.
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Buy it on iTunes
More Halloween tabs
More movie theme tabs
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Suicide is Painless (MASH Theme) (Tab)
This song has quite a story behind it. When working on the MASH movie Robert Altman attempted to come up with, “the stupidest song ever written,” for the funeral scene. But failed to come up with something suitably idiotic. But told the movie’s composer Johnny Mandel, “All is not lost. I’ve got a 15-year-old kid who’s a total idiot.”
So his son poured his heart into a dark poem about how suicide is the answer to a life full of pain. To which his dad presumably chortled, slapped him on the back and said, “This trash is absolutely perfect, you tiny moron.”
But the joke is on Robert Altman. His son made far more money from the song than Altman did for directing the movie thanks to it being used in the TV show and being covered by acts as diverse as Bill Evans and the Manic Street Preachers.
I’ve kept my arrangement pretty straightforward. There are lots of familiar chord shapes and it’s one finger per string picking all the way through. The only tricky part is the big leaps up the neck in bar 18. Also, watch out for the bar of 2/4 on D7 chord in bar 13. That D7 chord lasts for a bar longer in the original version but it feels a bit over the top to me so I cut it short (as the Manics did in their version).
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ABBA – Mamma Mia (Group Tab)
I decided to write up this song after it cropped up in my post on augmented chords. And it quickly became obvious it would have to be a group arrangement. It’s impressively constructed. For most arrangements I can remove a few bits without losing too much. But all the parts here seem essential to the song.
Vocal Part
Nothing too challenging in the vocal part (top left of the video). I’m using fingerpicking but you could easily use a pick for the same arrangement. And a pick would help this part stand out if you’re playing in a group.
Piano Part
This is the most challenging part (top right of the video) and uses both fingerpicking and strumming. You fingerpick in the quieter sections and switch to strumming in the loud bits. Tip: if all four strings are played at once it’s strummed, if it’s three or less it’s picked.
Guitar/Strings Part
My favourite part to play (bottom left of the video). As well as the great lick in the intro, it gives you a chance to rock out on the big chords in bridge section. To fill out the sound, I’ve used different inversions of the chords.
Marimba Part
This part (bottom right of the video) starts and ends harmonizing the opening guitar riff. Between that it’s based on the marimba part in the song. Playing the piano riff an octave higher in the bridge and partially following the vocals in the chorus. There’s a lot of empty space in this part. So if you’re playing as part of a group this part could join in with the chords in the bridge section.
Bass Part
I’m playing this part on guitar because my place is too small to contain a bass. But you can play this part exactly as written on bass.
Percussion Part
Just to add some percussive sounds I’m playing a uke with all the strings muted. At the start of the verse I use this strumming pattern:
d u D U d u D U
That part drops out for chorus and follows the rhythm of the strummed chords for the big chords in the bridge.
Backing Track
For those – like me – who have no friends, here’s a backing track you can play the melody along with.
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Rodgers and Hammerstein – You’ll Never Walk Alone (Tab)
This Rodgers and Hammerstein was originally from the musical Carousel. But I know it exclusively from the Gerry and the Pacemakers version that lead to it becoming the anthem of Liverpool FC (narrowly beating out the Anfield Rap). The already emotionally powerful song was given extra weight by the role in played in commemorating those who died in the Hillsborough disaster.
For this arrangement I’ve threaded the melody together with fingerpicked, arpeggiated chords. With this style of playing it’s really easy for the melody notes to get lost amongst the backing notes. So it’s really important to more forcefully pluck the melody notes (indicated with arrowheads above them in this tab) so it doesn’t end up just sounding like picking practice.
I recommend using one finger per string picking all the way through this one.
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Rebecca Sugar – Time Adventure (Tabs and Chords)
The picking starts out very simple. It’s sedately played and uses thumb and two finger picking. Things get a little more complicated for bars 15-22 where I switch to using one finger per string picking (with a quick return to in bars 27 and 28).
The picking gets much more involved in the second chorus. But the chords are the same so you can play them the same as the first chorus. Or mix and match to come up with your own version.
Links
Pre-order the final episode soundtrack
More TV theme tabs
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Aretha Franklin – A Natural Woman (Tab)
Continuing my Aretha tribute with this outstanding song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King (who seems to be the world’s biggest Aretha fan). She delivers this song so simply and powerfully. She doesn’t rely on the pointless vocal runs that ruin many later versions (although some are absolutely terrible for different reasons).
In that spirit, I’ve kept the arrangement as simple as I could. The verses and bridge are played with one finger per string picking building up to strumming in the chorus and middle sections.
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George Gershwin – Summertime (Tab)
Having spent my summer break measuring cotton and watching tench pole-vaulting, I thought this song from Porgy and Bess best summed up my experience.
I’ve done a few jazz tabs in the past (like Take Five and La Vie en Rose) but this is the first time I’ve used a jazz approach and used the tune as a springboard for soloing. In this arrangement I play the melody straight for the first verse. Then semi-improvise around the tune for the next two verses. Each with a different scale.
In the second verse I’m use the G blues scale.
There’s an exception in bar 23 (and later in bar 39). That little turnaround lick is adapted from the Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald version of the tune.
I get more adventurous in the third verse and mostly use the G harmonic minor scale. I had fun playing around with the scale. The wide gap between the Eb and Gb notes give it an unsettling feel.
I also borrow an F (A-string, 8th fret) from the G melodic minor scale in bar 37.
I highly recommend you play around with the scales and phrasing in this piece to come up with your own version.
Links
Buy the Ella Fitzgerald version
More jazz tabs
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Amy Winehouse – Rehab (Tab)
I considered posting this song back when Amy Winehouse died but it seemed like exceptionally bad taste at the time. But it’s far too great a song to ignore for long and I’m not going to hold her questionable uke skills against her.
To keep the tab a manageable length I’ve notated straight repeats for the second verse. But there are a couple of differences between the verses. So I’ve added those at the end of the tab.
I’m using my thumb, index finger and middle finger for all the picking. But I’m am switching which strings those cover. As a general rule, if there’s no g-string in the bar my thumb is on C, index on E and middle on A. If there is some g-string, my thumb will be on g, index on C and middle on E.
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