Many songs that I play on my acoustic have multiple guitar parts. Guitar 1 will play the basic rhythm to the song while guitar 2 adds the fills. I'm having trouble coming up with strumming patterns that will accommodate one person playing the song on an acoustic. These are not extremely difficult songs either. Four or five chords at most. The example below is a song from the Black Crowes called Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye. Slow tune. It's got 2 guitar parts. The rhythm guitar is shown in example. Chris Robinson plays many fills in between the F#m and the A.
What do you do in cases like this? Just play broad strokes? Different arrangements?
F#m
With my winter time
A
My idols and stage fright
F#m
In another night
A
Where the lights are loud and bright
E D
One dream from waking up saved
E B
Too shy to hold in the rage
F#m
I know no luxury
A
Of knowing what your eyes read
F#m
I know one million ways
A
To always pick the wrong thing to say
E D
A love that you never gave
E B
Always one time zone away
D
It's not out of spite
A
I just know what's right
A
So that's why
(walk up) D (walk up) A
Bad luck blue eyes ….....…….goodbye
(walk up) D (walk up) A
Bad luck blue eyes ……....….goodbye
(walk up) D (walk up) A
Bad luck blue eyes ……....….goodbye
(walk up) D (walk up) A
Bad luck blue eyes ……....….goodbye
Teamwork- A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
You do whatever you want and are capable of doing. The "lead instrument" in this tune is the voice, and that's what counts more than the detail of the guitar, which for the most part can (if you choose) take a supporting role. A good arranger has an ear for the essentials of a tune, and incorporating these into a new interpretation. For example: If the original tune has a compelling signature riff, lift that and arrange it among the chords. Also consider using triads and intervals between runs of single notes and double stops. Even if sticking to straight chording, there is much to done with inversions, voicings, altered chords and rhythmic treatments. Big world out there -- be creative within your limitations.
-=tension & release=-
Also be smart in where you play what. If you're singing the song, then you're going to have to put the fancier stuff in where you're not singing. But you probably already figured that out! :wink:
For instance, if you're not singing between the F#m and the A, there's no end of fills that you can come up with using the F#m pentatonic scale (which, conveniently, is the relative minor of A major) in this form:E - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 - 5 - - - -
B - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 - 5 - - - - - - - -
G - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 - 4 - - - - - - - - - - - -
D - - - - - - - - - 2 - 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A - - - - - 2 - 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
E - 2 - 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Another thing that might make this easier is to transpose the song into the key of G and play it with a capo on the second fret (thus putting it back into the key of A). Main reason for this is that the main chords are now G and Em and you'd be looking at playing the Em pentatonic, which gives you all sorts of open strings to play along with the fills:E - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 - 3 - - - -
B - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 - 3 - - - - - - - -
G - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - -
D - - - - - - - - - 0 - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A - - - - - 0 - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
E - 0 - 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
All those open strings pave the way for tons of hammer-ons and pull-offs. Lots of fun!
And Greg mentions, the cool thing is that as you learn more and get more confident about what you can do, then you'll be able to play more complicated and interesting fills. But don't forget that simple, elegant fills can be just as breathtaking (sometimes even moreso) than putting in sixty notes per hearbeat.
Hope this helps. And good luck!
Peace
WOW. Yes it absolutely helps. And yes, I agree about the fills. I'm not looking to put 60 notes inside of 2 beats. The song would not sound correct. Although I know what you mean. Its so easy to want to run like the wind when you're playing fills. (BTW, the fills come in after the A chord.)
Normally, I just strum the chords on this one and sing. But as Greg mentions, its the fills that are the voice of this song in particular. I'm going to give your suggestion a try and use a capo. Can't wait to get home now and try it!!!
Teamwork- A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
Cool! The Em pentatonic (if using a capo) will work for fills with either chord (G or Em) as will the F#m pentatonic if playing if playing it straight will work for both the A and the F#m chord.
A lot of the fun of arranging comes from putting together different parts of multiple-guitar arrangements. That's how you make a song your own. So even if you decide to play a cover at an open mike, for example, you're hopefully doing your own arrangement of it and it will be new to the people you're playing for.
Looking forward to hearing how it's all going.
Peace
