Here is a cool riff from Tull that has quite a bit of technique that all guitarists need to know. The ribbon-like symbol in the first and second measure is known as “vibrato.” This is when you rapidly shake the string being played with your fret hand. There are also a few slides, which are performed by sliding your fret hand on the strings while playing at the same time.
Musical Break (in the new key)
Outro
The final chorus delivers a one-two punch as we throw in a couple of guitar licks in between the vocal delivery.
F#m (add lick here) Livin' the dream! F#m (add lick here) My mind stoped achin'!The song finishes with the refrain:
F#m D7 E A That's how it's happened, livin' Life by the drop F#m D7 E A That's how it's happened, livin' Life by the drop
The chorus really just feels like an extension of the verse. It’s 6 measures long and contains 3 lines of lyrics.
[Chorus]
You’re living our dreams, oh you on top
My mind is aching, oh Lord it won’t stop
That’s how it happens living life by the drop
The first two lines follow a F#m, D, E chord progression over two measures. The F# is over the first measure and the D and E chords are found in the 2nd measure each getting two beats each.
The last line, “That’s how it happens, living life by the drop”, is sung over the F#m, D, and E chords again, but it’s switched up a little bit. The F#m only gets two beats followed by 2 measures of the D chord and finally a full measure of E, but this last measure is in 2/4 time!
At the end of the chorus, we’ll go back to two measures of the shuffle pattern to set up the next verse.
You should have no trouble playing this riff at all. For the most part, the two guitars play the same thing, except for the bend at the end of the measure. This riff is set to a standard 90 bpm (beats per minute).
