Stairway To Heaven Part 1

Take your time when learning this part. We want each note to ring out clearly.

We have four different chord formations here. Each formation lasts for half a measure or, in other words, 2 beats. We want each chord to ring out, so let each note that you pick ring out with the other notes in the chord formation.

For the first chord formation, place your 1st finger on the 5th fret and barre the D, G, B, and high E strings, then use your 3rd finger to fret the 7th fret of the D. Hold your 1st finger there as you’ll use it for the next 2 chord formations.

On the 3rd beat of the first measure, you’ll use your 3rd finger on the 7th fret of the high E string and your 2nd finger on the 6th fret of the D string. Yep, your 1st finger should still be barred across the D, G, B, and high E strings at the 5th fret.

In the 2nd measure, we have our 1st finger still barred across the 5th fret. The only other thing to do here is to fret the 8th fret of the high E string with our 4th finger (pinky). Make sure you have a strong barre here so that the chord rings together cleanly when fingerpicked.

In the 2nd half of the 2nd measure, we’ll shift our barre down from the 5th fret to the 2nd fret. Use the 3rd finger to fret the 4th fret of your D string and your 2nd finger to fret the 3rd fret of the B string.

How To Get It To Sound Good…

Obviously, the short answer is “a lot of practice”, but if you develop bad habits you’ll be practicing it wrong.

A few key points:

  • Let it ring throughout. Each chord change will break the cycle but each individual chord formation should have all notes ringing together.0
  • Make sure you have quick clean changes from chord formation to chord formation. Pay special attention to the switch from the 5th fret barre to the 2nd fret that’s found in the 2nd measure.
  • Don’t overplay it. Don’t attack the strings, just be easy. Play it softly. It’s a ballad for goodness sakes.0

Life By The Drop- Part 4

Chorus

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.

Stairway To Heaven Part 2

In this lesson, we’ll learn the 2nd half of the intro riff that we started in our previous lesson.

If you had trouble with the previous lesson, rest assured, the two measures from this half are actually easier than the previous 2 measures. That’s good news, right?

In the first measure. we’ll be forming a Fmaj7 chord. Use your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the D, 2nd finger for the 2nd fret of the G, and 1st finger for the 1st fret of the B string. The high E will be picked open. This chord formation lasts the entire measure, too. The picking pattern is slightly different, too.

Life By The Drop- Part 5

Final Chorus

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

18 And Life- Skid Row

Skid Row was one of the last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early ’90s. They were also arguably the last of such bands to have any originality. Their self-titled release used standard metal riffs and simple lyrics, but they broke away from the pop-metal that was going on with thrashy guitars and variances of ’80s metal formats. Their personal differences broke them apart in 1996, and Sebastian Bach went to work on acting, with little success.

Verse Riff

The first three measures really don’t show much difference. The first measure has a hammer-on in it. A hammer-on is when you go from a lower note to a higher note, striking only the first note. Notice that at the top of the measures, chords are shown. The first three measures show the C#m chord and the B chord. All notes should be left ringing.