Lesson
notes by Jeff Fiorentino
This lesson deals specifically with what I consider best practice
utilization of guitar hooks.. In
songwriting parts 1 through 4 thus far we've covered having vision for the
piece, band dynamic, adapting songs across different genres, and we've
talked about the definition of the word "good".. This time out we're
going to get into utilizing guitar hooks effectively.. Meaning, you've
come up with a catchy riff that you like, and maybe one you've been playing
for others and they like it too, so what is the best way to utilize it
within a song.
There are actually a dozen different ways to utilize a given hook riff.
This lesson's song example "EarthShaker"
is one way, but on the video lesson I'll give you a few more ways hooks can
be best utilized within a song.
Our song "EarthShaker" is rooted around its hook riff. Which by the
way is a riff that I wrote in 1998, and it's been used by me 100 different
ways over the past 14 years. It was the opening riff to a theater
production I did in 2001 with some friends, it's the intro jam to I think in
2004's "Rhythm
& Riffing" which is in the JFRocks Classics section of our store,
and it even began our early MailBag videos back in 2006, which can be found
in the
MailBag archives, for which there is a link to on the
main Jeff's MailBag page.
So while yes we're going to talk about how to best utilize a hook riff in a
song on this particular lesson, this lesson's track and its hook are also
great examples of re-use of materials. Assuming you didn't sell
exclusive rights to a given source at some point, you can bring back a riff
every 4 or 5 years as a whole new thing. LOL.
Anyway, enjoy the lesson, and of course BEFORE you load up the video
lesson or dive into the guitar tabs below, please listen to the song example
"EarthShaker"
a few times to get familiar with it.
Tech TIP:
If you have one of those silly browsers that when you click the music link
it plays the song in some stupid player within the browser, please right
click on the song links and select the "Save file as" or "Save link as" or
"Save target as" (depends on the
browser) and save the actual MP3 to
your hard drive. You'll get a much better sound that way. Or as
always if you like you can simply download the whole lesson complete with
music, jam tracks, and video from the main lesson page using the download
link.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EarthShaker
JFRocks Guitar TAB Transcription
Transcribed by:
Erica Reese
Lesson notes by: Jeff Fiorentino
Copyright © 2012 JFRocks
Song Intro
*This was the setup used
for the entire track except the solo which adds the Tube Screamer Overdrive.
See video lesson for additional setup and EQ suggestions.
Guitars when necessary are color coded,
Black Tabs for guitars 1 & 2, and Green Tabs
for guitar 3 where applicable.
Guitars 1 & 2 play - Guitar 2 enters after 1 go
around of the riff by guitar 1.
 Played
with thumb and index finger NOT a PICK..
E5
C
E5
C
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2_____2___2_2_____3_____3___3_3_3____2_____2___2_2_____3_____3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3---slide
up & away--__
Guitar 2
enters here and plays along with guitar 1.
E5
C
E5
C
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2_____2___2_2_____3_____3___3_3_3____2_____2___2_2_____3_____3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3---slide
up & away--__
E5
C
E5
C
E________________________________________________________________________________________
B________________________________________________________________________________________
G________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2~_____________________________
A__2_____2___2_2_____3_____3___3_3_3____2_____2___2_2_____3~*let
chord ring out____________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0____________________--random
hand slide--___
Main Song Kick in / Chorus riffing
This is the main theme riff from our intro but this time we use a pick.
One way to alter a riff is to play it differently in different parts of a
given song.. This can be done as we are by picking vs. finger style, or
you can even change the effects on a riff, i.e. add flange, or phase, wah, or
more chorus etc..
Guitars 1 & 2 play - Use a pick this time.
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3--random
hand slide--_
E____________________________________________________________________________________
B____________________________________________________________________________________
G____________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2~_________________________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3~*let
chord ring out________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_________________---random
hand slide--_
Verse #1
For our track here I went with some tension for the verse. This is
mostly because our chorus riff has no tension for the most part, it's a heavy
downbeat type thing.. The listener will be waiting for the chorus and a
great way to make your chorus more exciting is to have a lot of tension in the
verse or bridge that comes before it so that tension can be released into the
chorus, thus making the chorus more of an endorphin rush for the listener..
This is a tricky riff, see video lesson for help. It's about the little
things and the feel.. So watch the tabs closely for x's which are muted
accents..
Guitars 1 & 2 play
E5
C5
E________________________________________________
B________________________________________________
G________________________________________________
D__9_________________________________________5~__
A__7_____________9________9_9^1/2>slow release_9~__
3~__
E____0x__7_7_8~_____0x_0x________________________
E5
F5/C
E___________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________
D__9_________________________________________3~_____
A__7_____________9________9_3^1/2>slow release_3~__
3~_____
E____0x__7_7_8~_____0x_0x___________________________
E5
F
E________________________________________________
B________________________________________________
G________________________________________________
D__9_____________________________________________
A__7_____________9________9_9^1/2>slow release_9~__8~~_
E____0x__7_7_8~_____0x_0x________________________
E5
C
E________________________________________________
B________________________________________________
G________________________________________________
D__9_____________________________________________
A__7_____________9________9_3^1/2>slow release_3~__3~~_
E____0x__7_7_8~_____0x_0x________________________
Bridge #1
The bridge again is all about tension and lead us back to the main theme riff.
There are actually 3 guitar parts here. See tabs below and the video
lesson of course for how they work together..
Guitars 1 & 2 play the riffing
below. Guitar 3
plays the
root power chords written above the tabs.
B5
E_____________________________________________
B___________________7___7___7_________________
G___________7_____9___9___9___7___7___________
D___4__4---9___9_________________9___9~--______
A___2_________________________________________
E_____________________________________________
C5
D5
E______________________________________________________________
B______________________________________________________________
G__________9____7____5____2____4____5__7---slide down & away---_________
D__5__5---10___9____7____4____5____7____9---slide
down & away---_________
A__3___________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________
Chorus
Back to our main theme riff..
Guitars 1 & 2 play
- Use a pick this time.
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3--random
hand slide--_
E___________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4~______________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3_3_3~*let
chord ring out_____
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0________________________
Solo Lead in
This is a tension build up that takes us into the solo, which is over a
modified power chord version of the verse, bridge, and then the chorus
riffing..
Bb5
B5
Bb5
E_____________________________________________
B_____________________________________________
G_____________________________________________
D__3_4_______________3________________________
A__1_2*let chord ring out______1*let
chord ring out___>into
the solo__
E_____________________________________________
SOLO
This solo is a mix of things, it's mostly George Lynch meets Randy Rhoads
inspired to be honest, but it was just made up on the spot so there's a mix of
elements at play here. I went with a high mid-range tone for the solo as
well so we had both some cut through and some separation from the guitar sound
of the main song itself.. This is another important trick to making your
leads stand out.. Change the tone. Add reverb, add more mid, add an
effect, do something to the guitar sound that separates it from the rest of the
song..
See video lesson for a great lesson on this solo and the scale in use etc.
What the solo is over is written above the lead tabs for you. It's
basically over the Verse, Bridge, and Chorus.. See video for more info on
that..
Done over solo lead in
E______________________
B______________________
G__<w.b into<3^1/2~~~______
D______________________
A______________________
E______________________
4 h(11) = Tap
harmonic tapping the 11th fret while holding down the 4th fret still.
Done over Verse part
E________________________0-12-0___________________________________________
B______________________________12_0__10_0__8_0__7_0__8_0_10^1*slow
steady bend___
G__4~~__4 h(11)~~________________________________________________________
D________________________________________________________________________
A________________________________________________________________________
E________________________________________________________________________
E_______________________________________________________14_15_17^1~~______
B____8^1_8^1
h(20)>release bend_8~___________________17___15_17___________________
G__x rake______________________17~a.h~~__2---17~___17_________________________
D_________________________________________________________________________
A_________________________________________________________________________
E_________________________________________________________________________
The actual tap sequence on the MP3 is much
more random than what's tabbed below. But for ease of reading it was
neatened up in the tabs..
See video lesson for tips on making this more random.
*Notes in parenthesis are
tapped.
B5
E______________________________________________________________________________
B______________________________________________________________________________
G______________________________________________________________________________
D______________________________________________________________________________
A__2-3-2-0__(5)-0-2-3_(5)-3-2-0__(5)-0-2-3_(5)-3-2-0__(5)-0-2-3_(5)-3-2-0__(5)-0-2-3_(5)-3-2-0__
E______________________________________________________________________________
E_________________________________________________________________________
B_________________________________________________________________________
G_________________________________________________________________________
D_________________________________________________________________________
A__(5)-0-2-3_(5)-3-2-0__(5)-0-2-3_(5)-3-2-0___(5)-0-2-3_(5)-3-2-0__(5)-0-2-3_(5)-0-2-3---5_
E_________________________________________________________________________
C5
D5
E_____________________________________________________________________________________________
B_____________________________________________________________________________________________
G_____________________________________________________________________________________________
D_____________________________________________________________________________________________
A__(7)-0-3-5_(7)-5-3-0-3-5__(7)-5-3-0-3-5__(7)-5-3-0-3-5__(7)-5-3-0-3-5___(9)-0-5-7_(9)-7-5-0-5-7_(9)-5~_5
h(9)~___
E_____________________________________________________________________________________________
The next part of the solo
isn't tapping. It requires a fast picking hand.
Practice it slow at first then work it up to speed.
E5 *done over chorus part
E__15-12____15-12___15-12____15-12___15-12____15-12___15-12____15-12_______
B_______12______12______12______12______12______12______12______12_____
G______________________________________________________________________
D______________________________________________________________________
A______________________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________________
E__15-12____15-12___15-12____15-12___15-12____15-12___15-12____15-12_______
B_______13______13______13______13______13______13______13______13_____
G______________________________________________________________________
D______________________________________________________________________
A______________________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________________
E__19-15____19-15___19-15____19-15____19-15___19-15____19-15___19-15_______
B_______17______17______17______17______ 17______17______17______17_____
G______________________________________________________________________
D______________________________________________________________________
A______________________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________________
E__20-15____20-15___20-15____20-15____20-15___20-15____20-15___20-15_______
B_______17______17______17______17______ 17______17______17______17_____
G______________________________________________________________________
D______________________________________________________________________
A______________________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________________
E___________________________________________________________________
B__ 8^1 slow bend~__8^1
h(20)>slow release of bend while harmonic is sounding>>8~~_---random
slide up->---__
G_x rake______________________________________________________________
D___________________________________________________________________
A___________________________________________________________________
E___________________________________________________________________
E____________________________________14_15_17_17__17^1~___17^1~~w.b~___
B______________________________15_17___________________________________
G__17~~a.h scream~~___5----17_16_17_________________________________________
D______________________________________________________________________
A______________________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________________
E__10^1~>slow release of bend>10__8-10-8___8____________________
B____________________________ 10__10^1~~~~w.b~~______
G____________________________________________________
D____________________________________________________
A____________________________________________________
E____________________________________________________
Verse #2 and
Bridge #2 are pretty much the same as the first go around of them..
See interlude and final chorus tabs below.
Interlude
The interlude is a way of restarting a song. I use them a lot in hard rock
because it's a resting point for the audience and it breaks the song up.
Our interlude here is similar to our song intro.
Lead in out of Bridge #2
E_______________________
B_______________________
G_______________________
D_______________________
A__0-2-0<trill_____________
E____________0>w.b dive>>____
Guitars 1 & 2 play - Guitar 2
enters after 1 go around of the riff by guitar 1.
Played
with thumb and index finger NOT a PICK..
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2_____2___2_2_____3_____3___3_3_3____2_____2___2_2_____3_____3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3---slide
up & away--__
Guitar 2
enters here and plays along with guitar 1.
E________________________________________________________________________________________
B________________________________________________________________________________________
G________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2~_____________________________
A__2_____2___2_2_____3_____3___3_3_3____2_____2___2_2_____3~*let
chord ring out____________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0____________________--random
hand slide--___
Outro Chorus
The outro chorus has some tension attached to it at the end via a guitar 3 vocal
melody riff.. Basically this song ending is a doubled chorus with the
guitar 3 tension riff. See tabs below and video lesson..
Guitars 1 & 2 play
- Use a pick this time.
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3--random
hand slide--_
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3--random
hand slide--_
*Guitar 3 enters here!!
- Guitars 1 & 2 continue riffing as tabbed below in Black. See
Guitar 3 tabs in Green below the rest of guitar 1 & 2's part.
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4_5_4__2-4-2-0_______________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3_3_3_______________________
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_________________3--random
hand slide--_
E_____________________________________________________________________________________
B_____________________________________________________________________________________
G_____________________________________________________________________________________
D__2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2____2___2_4___4_2_____2___2_4___5_4_2_____________
A__2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3____2___2_2___2_2_____3___3_3___3_3_3*dead
stop /song end__
E____0_____0_____0_____0_____0____________0_____0_____0_____0_____0___________________
*Guitar 3 tabs
E_____________________________________________
B_____________________________________________
G__9~____9_9---11~___11_11--7~___7_7---9~______
D_____________________________________________
A__7~____7_7--- 9~____9__9-- 5~___5_5---7~______
E_____________________________________________
E____________________________________________________________
B____________________________________________________________
G__9~____9_9---11~___11_11--12~___12_12---7~___7--9____________
D____________________________________________________________
A__7~____7_7--- 9~____9__9-- 10~___10_10---5~___5--7*dead
stop /song end__
E_____________________________________________________________
End
|
Click
here to tune up