[ksdb]

This would be a great song to learn all the parts and play on guitar yourself. Kerry Livgren, who wrote the song, said that this started out as an acoustic guitar exercise and his wife told him to make a song out of it. The rest was history, of course.

I think the main chords in the intro are Am and C - fingerpick those chords but move the note on the G string, open, third fret, second fret (G, Bb and A notes) by alternating your fingering of the chords. I'm pretty sure you can find the TAB for this online. Also, try substituting the violin solo with an electric guitar solo. It should be fairly easy to mimic and it doesn't have to be exact.

After that, you can keep your other electric guitar part and you're done. Go forth and conquer! :icon_peac

 

[KC_ArtRocker]

I think the main chords in the intro are Am and C - fingerpick those chords but move the note on the G string, open, third fret, second fret (G, Bb and A notes) by alternating your fingering of the chords. ...:icon_peac

Pretty close. Actually, I think it is the open string, the first fret (not the second) and the third fret on the G string. This one is fairly easy to play on the fretting hand, however can be trying on the finger-picking hand, unless you are accustomed to playing finger style alot (which I am not). The interesting thing about this chord progression and the accompanying melody is that there are two chords that are fretted, but three notes in the melody that constantly cycle. Kind of hard to explain what I am trying to point out, but basically, it is a little more interesting than a chord/2-note or 4-note progression.

Did that make even the remotest bit of sense to anyone? :drunk:

 

[ksdb]

Pretty close. Actually, I think it is the open string, the first fret (not the second) and the third fret on the G string. This one is fairly easy to play on the fretting hand, however can be trying on the finger-picking hand, unless you are accustomed to playing finger style alot (which I am not). The interesting thing about this chord progression and the accompanying melody is that there are two chords that are fretted, but three notes in the melody that constantly cycle. Kind of hard to explain what I am trying to point out, but basically, it is a little more interesting than a chord/2-note or 4-note progression.

Did that make even the remotest bit of sense to anyone? :drunk:

Good catch, the moving part is on the second string through the B, C and D notes (open, first and third frets).

:scratch: I was trying to remember this in my head without having a guitar in front of me. The tab would illustrate this much more clearly, of course, but this song should be playable for most advanced beginner to intermediate-level players. Even strummed, without the fingerpicking, you could come up with a nice approximation of the piece. Anytime possible, learn the backing parts of the song and DIY.

 

[Scott Parnell]

Thanks to everyone so far that has listened. I truly appreciate all the kind words.

 

[Scott Parnell]

Ksdb, I wasthinking about giving the acoustic guitar work a try, but somehow for the life of me,, I'm not that good at fingerpicking,, and the picking for this tune is called travis picking ,, I think it's what they call it. someday, i'll get the nerve up to give it a whirl. recently, i tried it and I couldnt catch on to the finger picking parts too well. Guess if i stuck to it,, i eventually might get it down.

 

[Sling Shot]

How did I miss this!!! COOL Scott very cool!

 

[Scott Parnell]

Thankyou bro! glad you liked it! i figure you would bro. I like your lead guiitar for vocals as well sling shot.

 

[ksdb]

Ksdb, I wasthinking about giving the acoustic guitar work a try, but somehow for the life of me,, I'm not that good at fingerpicking,, and the picking for this tune is called travis picking ,, I think it's what they call it. someday, i'll get the nerve up to give it a whirl. recently, i tried it and I couldnt catch on to the finger picking parts too well. Guess if i stuck to it,, i eventually might get it down.

You may be right about the name of the style of fingerpicking. I'm not very formally trained or oriented, so my style of fingerpicking is very bastardized and unorthodox, but close enough to make the song recognizable. A person might actually be able to play this with only a guitar pick and still make it sound a little bit like the record.

Nevertheless, I would really encourage you to find the tab for the song and see what you can do. If it doesn't work out the first time you try it, go back another day and try again. Eventually you'll get the basics on it. It might take a few different tries, but you might be surprised at what you learn and how the new knowledge can be applied to your everyday playing. Best of luck with it.

 

[Scott Parnell]

ty man i will try it for sure then ty for the input too:thumb: