This is short lesson for one of my favorite Led Zeppelin Songs…Tangerine. Parts of the song are kind of busy, but I think it's easier to play then it sounds. This is how I play it, may not be exactly like the original, but it sounds good, it's how I learned it, and above all else, it's fun to play!
So, I'll go ahead and start:
Standard tuning, open chords
Intro and Verses:
Chords: Am, Am sus4, Am sus2, G, D, Dsus2, Dsus4 and C
For this part you start out with an Am, then Amsus4, Am, Amsus2. The only difference between all of these chords is the B string (second from bottom).
Each Am chord looks like this:
Am Amsus4 Amsus2
E-0---------0-----------0---
B-1---------3-----------0---
G-2---------2-----------2---
D-2---------2-----------2---
A-0---------0-----------0---
E---------------------------
From the Am chords, you then go to a G and a D. That's the first part.
In terms of strumming, here's how it goes:
D U D U D U D D U D U U D
E-0---0---0---0---3-------3---2---|-2-----2------2---2---2-2-----|
B-1---3---1---0---0-------0---3---|-3-----3---3--3---3---3-3-----|
G-2---2---2---2---0-------0---2---|-2-----2------2---2---2-2-----|
D-2---2---2---2---0-------0---0---|-0-----0------0---0---0-0-----|
A-0---0---0---0---2-------2---0---|------------------------------|
E-----------------3-------3-------|------------------------------|
Measuring a summer's day
Thinking how it used to be
(first verse is on top, second verse is under it)
When you first play the G chord, there is a pause, and let it ring before you pick up the G and then switch to the D.
Second part of the intro/verses:
Once you finish with the D chords on the above part, you go back into the Am chords, G chord and play about ½ way through the D's. The difference between the first and second part is ending, second part has a C, Am, G, D, Dsus2 and Dsus4. It goes like this:
D U D U D U D D U U D D U
E-0---0---0---0---3-------3---2---|-2----2---0---0-------0---0---|
B-1---3---1---0---0-------0---3---|-3----3---1---1-------1---1---|
G-2---2---2---2---0-------0---2---|-2----2---0---0-------0---0---|
D-2---2---2---2---0-------0---0---|-0----0-------2-------2-------|
A-0---0---0---0---2-------2---0---|--------------3-------3-------|
E-----------------3-------3-------|------------------------------|
I only finds it slips away to grey,
does she still remember times like there
Picking part D U D U D U D D U D
E-----------------------0-----0-|-0---3-3---2-2----2---2-2-|
B-----------------------1-----1-|-1---0-0---3-3----3---3-3-|
G-------0-------0-------2-----2-|-2---0-0---2-2----2---2-2-|
D---2-2-------0---------2-----2-|-2---0-0---0-0----0---0-0-|
A-3-------3-2-----2-0---0-----0-|-0---2-2----------0---0-0-|
E-------------------------------|-----3-3------------------|
The hours, they bring me pain
To think of us again
U D U D
E-3-2-0-2-----|
B-3-3-3-3-----|
G-2-2-2-2-----|
D-0-0-0-0-----|
A-------------|
E-------------|
And I do
That's the end of the intro/verse part. Right after the picking of the C chord, there really isn't much pause before you play the Am. There is a pause right after the downstroke of the Am though, and then you go into the up/down strumming of the Am, the G and the D. On the D chords at the end, you have a slight pause right after the first downstroke of the D, and then it's pretty much straight through from there. This is a cool sounding arrangement.
When you play into the chorus from the verse, you have a C and D chord in between. Once you finish the D chords above, play an up and down stroke on the C, and then an up and down stroke on the D.
On the second verse, where the lyric is “And I doâ€, what I do it pause and ring the last D chord, sing the “And I doâ€, and then go into the C chord, the D chord and then the chorus.
Chorus:
Once you've played the up and down strokes on the C and D, you go into the chorus. The chorus is relatively easy and it's all strumming. Chords are G, D, C, D, in that order.
Strumming is like this (C and D chords included)
C D G D C D back to G D C D
UD UD D/DUD D D/DUD D D/DUD D D/DUD D
G D C D
Tangerine, Tangerine,
G D C D
Living reflection from a dream
G D C D
I was her love, she was my queen
G D C D
And now a thousand years between
On the very last line of the chorus, instead of playing the downstroke on the D chord and then going back to the G, you play DUD on the D chord, pause and let it ring. From there you can go back to the verse.
Enjoy!!
I've been playing this song for years, and also think it's a great song. 8)
I gave your tab a quick run-through. Looks pretty good from what I see, although in the 3rd bar, the "picking part" you tabbed seems a bit busy. I've always done it like this: picking part Am
E--------------------------0-----|
B-------1---------1--------1-----|
G-----0--------0-----------2-----|
D---2-------0--------------2-----|
A-3-------2---------0------0-----|
E--------------------------------|
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
I've always done that picking part like so:
picking part Am
E--------------------------0-----|
B--------------------------1-----|
G-----0-0------0-0-------2-----|
D---2-------0-------------2-----|
A-3-------2--------0-----0------|
E---------------------------------|
It's that way in both GP files I have and the book. Not saying that's absolutely correct though......you all know how these tabs things work. One mistake in a book and it's repeated hundreds of times everywhere. :?
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
I think all three sound pretty good, to be honest, might just be a matter of what is easier to play individually. Or, you could always play the different ways as you change between the intro and the verses, I do that quite regularly if I learn different ways to play things.
