Here’s a great SRV riff. It’s a challenge to play it up to speed at first, so I’ve included an audio sample of it somewhat slower than the recorded version. You may need to start off even slower. There’s nothing wrong with that, just take your time. Like I said, it’s pretty hard. The main riff is played as an intro to the song and after each transition after the verse and chorus.
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was recorded by Redding twice in 1967, including once just days before his death in a plane crash.
Sitting-On-The-Dock-Of-The-Bay
Barre chords are used in the original recording.
You could play a more basic version that only uses open chords. You can still provide some of the “walk”.
Take the chord/lyric sheet and instead of using barre chords, just use the open chord form of the chords listed:
G B7
Sittin' in the mornin' sun
C A
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' comes
G B7
Watching the ships roll in
C A
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
Here we go, just using open chords:
But, what about that cool walk from the C chord down to the A chord as found in the original transcription?
We can even add an additional walk from the G chord up to the B chord:
This interlude is easier to play than the main riff that we’ve already learned. There are two variations. In the first, the basic chord progression is C, D, Fmaj7, Am, C, G, D:
In the variation, in the last 2 measures, the chord progression is slightly altered with the G being replaced by D and it ends on Fmaj7:
Here’s a look at how you might want to fingerpick it:
