4 - song analysis - Crosby, Stills, Nash - Guinevere

I'd like to take a moment and share with you one of my favorite songs to play.

It's by the band Crosby, Stills and Nash and taken from there S/t LP. As you will see in the following passages this song makes use of many open chords and and the alternative tuning EBDGAD.

Brilliantly written the dissonant nature of this tuning makes this song very unique sounding and simple to play. You will have to have some experience with finger picking. Or this can be the song you learn to finger pick with.

There are many sites that offer tabs for this song, personally I'm not a big fan of Tab inscriptions. I mean, they are invaluable sometimes, but most of the time they are completely wrong in places that have problems to do with timing or even listening.

For anyone starting out on the guitar here's a quick how to read tab:





D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------

The scale represents the 6 strings of the guitar. The letters represent the tuning. Standard tuning is EADGBE. It should be read from top to bottom with the highest line representing the little E string. The corresponding numbers represents the fret hands finger position. With the number 0 meaning Open string. If there is more than one note to be played at the same time then the numbers are written on top of each other. That's enough of that, for help with alternate tunings I recommend this tuner. http://www.chordbook.com/guitartuner.php

Hopping right into it. A tab can be found here:

http://www.fretplay.com/tabs/c/crosby_stills_nash_and_young/guinnevere-tab.shtml

Now I'm going to go through the song with you.

Intro. 4/4 ex. 1
-0-----------0-----------0-----|
------0-----------0-----------0-|
----------0-----------0---------|
--------------4-----------6-----|
--------------------------------|
--0-----------------------------|

The important part of how to play this passage is understanding how the finger picking pattern works. Most people will explain to you about PIMA:
Pulgar = Thumb
Indice = Index finger
Medio = Middle Finger
Anular = Ring Finger

Which is probably the proper way to explain this, but it's easier for me to explain if I use this.
T= Thumb
I= Index finger
M= Middle Finger
R= Ring Finger
P= Pinky

The first note of the passage is the 2 outer most strings played at the same time. You can achieve this by using T for the lower E, and any finger for the high D. I personally use my T and R on my right hand so that i can easily walk the next couple of notes with my M and I finger respectively. When it gets to the "4" on the 4th D string I play the lowest note with my T and the open D with my R followed by M and I finger for the 2 following open strings. Slide the left hand up to the "6" on the 4th D string and again repeat the pattern with lowest note T and the open D with R this time ending on M.

Now take a second and try to understand that this passage is a continuous loop. Take some time to practice looping that passage paying close attention to the notes I highlighted.

Intro (continued)
ex. 2

--0-----------0-----------0-----|-0-----------0-----------------|
------5-----------5-----------5-|-----7-----------5-------5-----|
----------6-----------6---------|---------6-----------6-------6-|
--------------7-----------7-----|-------------7-----------7-----|
--0-----------------------------|-0-----------------------------|
--------------------------------|-------------------------------|

So the pattern stays the same, but the fretting hand changes. The first note would use T and R , second and third would use M and I respectively. It follows the same pattern as the previous example, with a fingering change with the left hand, and on the second sequence the it changes slightly as indicated with the light blue notes. As you follow the tab, play along to the song there are many subtleties that you can't achieve with only 1 guitar.

My final example is the Verse loop.

--0-----------0-----------0-----|
------0-----------0-----------0-|
----------0-----------0---------|
--------------------------0 h 2-|
------------ h2-----------------|
--0-----------------------------|

This is super simple, but a little tricky at first the "h" stands for hammer which is an essential technique for all guitarists. The idea is to move the finger (of your fretting hand) down sharply onto the neck so that the note is heard but not picked. The note you will pick is going to be the Open string. So to practice this hit the open string once with your T and with your fretting hand "hammer"the "2" on the 5th string B. With your fretting hand this only requires one finger it's comfortable for me to use my M finger. Now to get the second hammer all you do is move up one string to the 4th string D.

I'll continue this when I get back from lunch.