Pride & Joy Confusion?

Well it seems like you are starting to catch the feel for it, etc. but the walking bass is not ....walking lol. It seems like you are just switching between two bass notes. Do you have a tab? The articulation between the walking bass and upstrokes on the open Em chord isn't too bad, but thats the trickiest part and you are doing well if you have just started this song and have never played this sort of deal before. I'm not sure if you are doing it this way, but make sure that you fret hand mute. Thats the way SRV did it and I think its probably the easiest in the long run, even though it will feel very awkward at first.

Things also kind of get reversed as you progress, like your placing too much emphasis on the upstrokes or something. Also, you don't play the Em > A6 quick change at the end of every second bass note change, just at the end of every second measure. Listen to the recording and you'll see what I mean.

I have the song book and there isn't an Em A6 change...it just uses open E and there is a quick A in there.....

As for the walking bassline I thought it was "walking"...I used the baseline from LittleBorther's Vaughn Bros. Lesson. I know I can hear the bass line walk but everyone else has to as well.

Thanks for the imput

Well, the open string lick that ends every other measure after you get into the shuffle proper is:

Em (xxx000) - A6 (xxx222) - E5 (022xxx) - E (xxx100)

Its really quick, but thats what he's doing from 0:15-16 on your video. Its played like this in the transcription I have:

E-----0----2-----------I----0---0-----------------------
B-----0----2-----------I----0---0------------------------
G-----0----2-----------I----1---0-----------------------
D----------------2------I---------------------------------
A----------------2------I----------------------2---etc.---
E----------------0------I---------------3h4---------------

Start it on an upstroke and use the strictly "up-down" motion like in the rest of the song. I don't even really play the E5>E part of it, I just hit the upstroke again going back into the walking bass lick, but thats how its done on the record and on the video. In the article accompanying the tab, they said its helpful to play the A6 with the third finger, the E5 with the middle and the E with the index. It helps it to flow a bit better after you get it under your fingers.

Hope this helped.

Matt

Well, the open string lick that ends every other measure after you get into the shuffle proper is:

Em (xxx000) - A6 (xxx222) - E5 (022xxx) - E (xxx100)

Its really quick, but thats what he's doing from 0:15-16 on your video. Its played like this in the transcription I have:

E-----0----2-----------I----0---0-----------------------
B-----0----2-----------I----0---0------------------------
G-----0----2-----------I----1---0-----------------------
D----------------2------I---------------------------------
A----------------2------I----------------------2---etc.---
E----------------0------I---------------3h4---------------

Start it on an upstroke and use the strictly "up-down" motion like in the rest of the song. I don't even really play the E5>E part of it, I just hit the upstroke again going back into the walking bass lick, but thats how its done on the record and on the video. In the article accompanying the tab, they said its helpful to play the A6 with the third finger, the E5 with the middle and the E with the index. It helps it to flow a bit better after you get it under your fingers.

Hope this helped.

Matt

Thanks matt but I am combining the video with the song book I have...I have tried to play it as SIMPLY as possible...There is NO WAY I can play it like SRV after only 6 months of playing guitar! The song book is ALL open strings except for the A chord and the bass line (that I got from LB's video.).

I've got a clip of SRV playing this for MTV unplugged, IIRC he uses open strings only for the intro shuffle. Regardless, seems a smart move to focuss on the basics before bending out of shape doing it as the electric original.

Yeah its best to start it off simple. After a while, try the whole thing; you might suprise yourself.

"Tell me" is a good SRV tune to learn, because the shuffle is easier. There's no open-string up strokes. You should give that one a shot, too, its a great tune

Please let me know if Iam at least getting close with this. I know my tempo is a bit fast on the shuffle but I think I got the walking baseline better than before..I did leave out the A still since my main focus is the shuffle. I can actually do it OK without the rest of the intro included but I am determined to do this with the intro...

Prode & Joy - Take Two

Thanks for the help!

That was a lot better in terms of the walking bass, but be sure to really nail the upstroke as well. There's some stuff ringing in the background, too; thats where the palm muting and fret hand muting comes in. Don't be discouraged, this stuff is hard to get the hang of. remember to nail the bass, but emphasize the upstrokes more; you want a real juicy strutting feel to it. Make sure you keep your pick level and perpendicular to the strings, thats a big one.

Just remember that its all about the groove. when you play this concentrate on nailing the time(mentronome is essential). If you get the rhythm and stay loose, your hands will follow. I'm by no means an expert, but for the longest time I played with a sole focus on speed, only to start soloing and have everything fall apart because I had no rhythm!! I'm still working on it, but I can't say how much focusing on the beat has helped. Who cares if you miss a bass note now and then (SRV only plays them on the into anyway); thats what the bass is for!. I'm not saying to slack off, but concentrate on keeping the groove. That end run he does on 0:23-0:30 on the CD, for example, was 10 times easier for me to get when I focused on the rhythm versus the notes.

Not sure if you have or access to Comcast Cable. At one point one of the guitar lessons was this tune. They seemed to do a pretty good of breaking it down. It's been a while since I saw it but it did help in seeing someone play it (rewind, play again) vs. reading a tab.

Good luck.

first off all i'm no advanced guitar player but that song is easy. I guess its the area i live. thats all guitar players start with is SRV (so we end with Steve Vai or something where as alot of guitarist end with SRV or find him in the middle). I live on the MS Gulfcoast and everyone I know that is who they start learning how to play so we know alot of his stuff and its easy for us.

as far as that palm mute, yes its an upstroke with a palm mute DIRECTLY after. its real easy actually do the upstroke then do a down stroke but instead of strumming the strings just let ur hand hit them (theres ther mute).

go to google. or if u have limewire and look for SRV Pride and Joy Unplugged on MTV. he plays a twleve string but he picks the hell out of it. and it shows his hands alot it can help u see what u need to be doing as well.

Want a challengin song of us a few of my friends can't play (well correclty or that good) Texas Flood, Scuttle Buttin, Rude Mood/Hideaway....(hideaway is easy but not the way he does it) try those out they're fun. Medium songs....Lenny, Little Wing, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Telephone Song, Look At Little Sister, The Sky is crying. Those are the ones I can actually play.

Well here is take 3 on Pride & Joy. I think it's a little better than the first 2 I did. I improved a bit at the end with the "upstroke shuffle" since I don't know all the licks SRV does in the song yet (well I know one but I play it TERRIBLY!!)

As usual feedback is appreciated...THANKS!

Pride & Joy (Take 3)

Yup, you're starting to get it, although you're still having problems overall. As far as what Leear said, skill level doesn't have anything to do with geographical location; maybe he started this stuff earlier due to where he's from, but that doesn't make it any easier or harder to play! He's right that its easy to play after you get the hang of it; once you get the concept of the shuffle and the rhythm of the style down, other songs will be much easier to play. But getting there can be a big challenge, just like anything else.

Your timing is still off on many parts, especially the beginning open string lick. The shuffle is still not quite there in terms of rhythm. My advice would be to go here

http://www.power-tab.net/

It's a tablature program (like Guitar Pro) which allows you to play back a score via midi. You can download other tabs via the internet and set the tempo to as slow as you like. Hearing the music and seeing it on the screen is great, since it will help you follow along exactly. I think it will help you get a handle on things. If P&J is still too hard to play, try a different song to help you get the feel for the shuffle style, then come back to it.

Ultimate-Guitar.com has lots of good regular tabs and powertabs, and I think they have a near-perfect power tab of P&J. Most are accurate, but nothing is guaranteed. Also, with all the hoopla about score and tablature copyrights going on lately, you might have trouble downloading the program or tabs, but its worth a shot. I believe the PowerTab community is making headway on okay-ing their stuff with the corporate jerks who are causing all the ruckus.

Anyway, hope this helped. If you can't download the program, PM and I'll hook you up. :wink:

Yup, you're starting to get it, although you're still having problems overall. As far as what Leear said, skill level doesn't have anything to do with geographical location; maybe he started this stuff earlier due to where he's from, but that doesn't make it any easier or harder to play! He's right that its easy to play after you get the hang of it; once you get the concept of the shuffle and the rhythm of the style down, other songs will be much easier to play. But getting there can be a big challenge, just like anything else.

Your timing is still off on many parts, especially the beginning open string lick. The shuffle is still not quite there in terms of rhythm. My advice would be to go here

http://www.power-tab.net/

It's a tablature program (like Guitar Pro) which allows you to play back a score via midi. You can download other tabs via the internet and set the tempo to as slow as you like. Hearing the music and seeing it on the screen is great, since it will help you follow along exactly. I think it will help you get a handle on things. If P&J is still too hard to play, try a different song to help you get the feel for the shuffle style, then come back to it.

Ultimate-Guitar.com has lots of good regular tabs and powertabs, and I think they have a near-perfect power tab of P&J. Most are accurate, but nothing is guaranteed. Also, with all the hoopla about score and tablature copyrights going on lately, you might have trouble downloading the program or tabs, but its worth a shot. I believe the PowerTab community is making headway on okay-ing their stuff with the corporate jerks who are causing all the ruckus.

Anyway, hope this helped. If you can't download the program, PM and I'll hook you up. :wink:

Matt...I appreciate the help and no offense, you may want to re-read the enire post. I have Hal Leonard's version and it is probably the "easiest" version on this song. Plus it comes with the backing track as well as the lead track. I matched the lead track with SRV and it is very close. While my timing is still off a bit, it's not that far from the track. Plus it will be YEARS before I can play the song EXACTLY like SRV so as I mentioned I am taking acreative licsense and improvising a bit to make it my own. Not ideal I know but it's the best I can do at the momment with only 6 months experience.

I also posted that I am leaving many things out to simplify everything. I also alrady know (and have) both Guitar Pro and Powertab.

Thanks for your input Matt. I know my reply doesn't sound appreciative but I DO appreciate the comments.

Mike, that's MUCH improved!

Couple things I noticed: 1) your timing seemed to change from the intro to the main verse (I think you sped up), and 2) the bending part between the intro and verse was slightly off - you seem to be doing bend/release on both, but I think only the second one is bend/release, while the first is just a 1/2 bend.

Otherwise it's sounding great.

Hope that's helpful.

I know you were taking the easy road, but its hard to distinguish how "easy" it was suppoosed to be. I've seen songs where they occasionally changes the rhythm or length of notes to simplify things. I guess you're doing fine then, but its hard to really tell since all I (and most people here) have to go on is the original track. But if you are matching it like you say, then you are doing something right.

Thanks slejhamer and Matt...

My timing IS the big issue. I am having problems playing the shuffle at anything but HIGH speed. It seems to be the only way for me to get the rhythm. This has been my most challenging venture yet...

As for the bend...I thought it sounded wrong but for the life of me I can't figure out the tab for this. I wish I could reproduce it here but I don't think I can...I may try with GuitarPro...

Thanks again guys!

Mike