Ok, we got that opening lick out of the way, so it’s all easier from here on out.
After the opening lick, we’ll spend two measures to establish the rhythm before the vocals come in.
It’s a slow shuffle pattern in the key of A.
Dust In The Wind Part 7
Burning For You Part 4
Soul Man 6
All Right Now 1
Changes 1
Stairway To Heaven Part 3
Now, it’s time to put it together! Practice playing both parts together.
No Stairway?
This intro from Stairway To Heaven has been the butt of a few jokes over the years because it seemed that every time you went to the music shop someone would be hunched overplaying it.
Maybe you’ll remember the scene from the movie “Wayne’s World”:
Changing To The Interlude…
The tail end of the riff changes when leading into the interlude. It’s just a two-note walk (A and B note) into what will be a C in the next measure (not shown).
Talk Dirty To Me – Complete Solo
Life By The Drop- Stevie Ray Vaughan
“Life By The Drop” Song Facts
The song’s tempo is at about 98 beats per minute. It’s in standard 4/4 time and the rhythm uses a shuffle pattern. Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded the song using a 12 string acoustic guitar. If you don’t have a 12 string, that’s okay. It sounds great on a six-string acoustic, too. It’s one of those rare SRV songs in standard tuning.
In this lesson, we’ll be looking at the intro lick to the song which takes place in the measures 1 and 2.
Intro Lick
Wouldn’t you know it! The hardest part to play of Life By The Drop is the very first part. Stevie sets things up nicely with a tasteful two measure lick.
This lick seems straightforward but it is deceptively difficult. It’s not real fast, but that’s not the problem. It’s got a certain swing to it and accents that give it character.
The main thing to keep in mind when learning it is to maintain the steady triplet pattern. That’s what gives it that swing.
Dust In The Wind Part 9
Below is the tab for the full chorus, but we’ll be dealing primarily with measures 3 and 4 in this lesson:
