Finally! A new post!

*Updated 8-27-09 with newer versions of my Youtube videos.
I don't know the extent of what I will post here. I mean, I can't do anything near as good as IG and others did/are doing it and he decided not to do it anymore. I am posting a couple of clips of me mangling and screwing up a couple of songs. (yes I do plan on re-doing them sometime soon! I think!) Getting a good or semi-decent sound out my little Rick amp is difficult. I now have a Digitech Artist 200 pedal that helps. I also used my Boss Super Overdrive on the Def Leppard stuff. I love my Fender Super Reverb, but that monster is way too hard to move around and I have it in the garage and have to move the cars out and everything to play.
Well here they are. I will probably redo a few and do others too. I had a few (well more than a few) screwups but all in all they're ok. I think.

Foreigner-Cold As Ice-rhythm guitar-main verse/Solo

Here is the main rhythm guitar part (at least what can be played guitar-wise for the song) for Foreigner's Cold As Ice. I am playing it in the key of Eb minor. I am playing a Eb7sus4 to Ebmin, then going to Eb7sus4 transitioning to B, and then B6 to B. I am playing it slightly different from my earlier post, but not much more than having the Eb7sus4 being the transition to the B6 rather than just going from Eb7sus4 to Ebmin; B6 to B. Here is a link back to the older post I had for this song. Foreigner's Cold as Ice -main rhythm part and solo...
It's probably not the exact chords, but I think it sounds good enough.



Here is my version of the solo to this song. I always liked (and still do) Mick Jones' playing! He has great tone, and a great sense of melody! This has always been one of my favorite guitar solos! Hope you like my version. There's another guy who does a slowed down version of this solo Cold as Ice solo slowed down and it's much better than mine. If you like this version, let me know.




Related Tags: Foreigner Cold+As+Ice electric+guitar classic+rock solos Mick+Jones

Argent's Hold Your Head Up - main verse, chorus

First off, I think I need to say something about the music I have been describing here on this blog. When I am showing how I hear a riff or solo is being played, I am presupposing that you can read or understand chord charts and names, play barre chords, can play basic scales and simple solos. I think this blog would be one where an intermediate player could get something out of it. Maybe once in a while a "more than intermediate" player might be able to get something out of this site. At least, I hope I can offer something to these types of players. When I am going to describe a lick, riff or solo, I will probably be pretty familiar with it before I try laying out the tab or chord charts. I might check out some videos or some tab sites just to see about positioning, but basically, I will have an idea of how I hear the song being played.

One thing that I know about rock and roll guitar is that usually, the guitar riffs and solos are not quite as complicated as they seem. You probably won't have to stretch and twist your fingers to make an impossible-seeming chord for the riff in a typical rock song, or move over every inch of the fretboard to do that solo. Of course, there are the guitar players like Satriani, Malmsteen, and others players like them that I wouldn't even try to do here. Their solo runs are much too complicated for me to play or describe.

With the Argent song, Hold Your Head Up, Russ Ballard's guitar playing might sound a little complicated at first, but it's really not all that bad. This is a song that can be played a number of ways. First, you can play this song by plucking with your fingers-or with a pick. I like the way this song sounds when I use the fingerpicking style! You can use the open chords that were probably originally played on the song-(according to the videos of the band playing the song) or barre chords, or a variation of the two.

I have transcribed another way to play this song using a combination of barre and open chords that might make for less hand movement (but maybe a bit more stretching for the barre chords). This version may make the chord changes a little smoother as the changes are mostly in the 5th string root "A" barre chord shape, and its just a matter of moving your playing hand between 5th string root barre chords and some variants of those chords. For the chorus section of this song ("Hold your head up...oh! And hold your head up...oh!" part) which is noted also as version one and can be played with the other version one part.

In videos I have seen of the band playing this song "live," the version two chord patterns are used (as far as I can see). For this version, I go from an open D form-sus 4 to D, to the C-I hold this chord like the "bottom end" of the barre G chord, with my index barring the D and G notes at the 3rd fret and my ring holding the C at the 5th fret 4th string, and my pinky holding the E at the 5th fret, string. I just pull off with my pinky to get the Cmaj9 chord. After going back to the open Dsus4, D, Dsus4, I just slide my index on those same last 3 strings, taking my ring and pinky off the strings, while barring the last 3 strings, up to the 5th fret. That makes a smooth transition to the Cmaj9/C6 riff in this version.

I noticed after checking, that some of the chords between the two versions are a little different. Oh well-they are similar enough to sound good! To me, I like both versions, and I like to play both versions fingerstyle or with a pick-it gives a different flavor each way you play it. You may have another way to play this song. Variety is the spice of life. I think that it is great to know several ways of playing a particular song-variations of the chords, different positions, etc-and this song is an excellent way to go about discovering those different variations!

Related Tags: Argent Hold+Your+Head+Up classic+rock Russ+Ballard

Foreigner's Cold as Ice -main rhythm part and solo

This is one of my favorite rock songs. I just never have gotten tired of it. For me, some rock songs, especially the ones many could call "classic rock" I've just gotten tired of hearing. Not this one. It just has such a memorable verse and melody, Lou Gramm's great singing, and that great guitar solo! In this post I am going to transcribe to the best of my knowledge, the main verse section of this song (that memorable keyboard part) and the solo.






Now, I have seen this song tabbed different ways-in different keys, with or without solo. Not wanting to get int From what I hear on the mp3, this song is in the key of Eb minor. I have seen it tabbed/described as E minor or C minor, but to my ear, its Eb minor. You can use more open chords to play the song if you tune down to Eb (from the 6th string on up to the 1st string: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb) or you can just leave your guitar in standard tuning. For this description, I used standard tuning.

Here are the chord charts I made for the song's main, signature part-It is essentially just a pattern of these chords played together to get that signature Cold as Ice verse: Eb 7 sus4th/Eb minor, (oops-soory this is B6 not B13!) *B13 /B (click to enlarge)




(*these chords are probably not exactly the ones played on the keyboard as they might be Eb sus4th, instead of Eb 7th sus4th, and the (B6)B13 I am not so sure of but they still sound very close, and are easiest to play.)

The tricky part (at least for me) is getting your pinky to cooperate and move where you want it to as this is the finger that moves to form those chords in the verse. I show that I am keeping my 2nd finger on the 7th fret note (F#) so as to be ready when I play the Eb minor chord. You can do an easier version of this by making a Eb7 sus4 chord, and then taking off just your pinky to make a Ebmin7 chord. Also, you could go from the (B6)B13 chord, taking off your pinky again to to form a B7 chord-maybe not as nice-sounding as the "regular" B chord, but ok.

Here is the solo as I hear it. If you think it has any mistakes or flubs let me know. That last harmony guitar part I just ad libbed. Maybe you might have some different ideas about that part. (Click to enlarge)





some notes about the solo:
-those ascending two-note patterns are hammer ons and pull offs, but can be picked as I noted
-both those bends on the 16th fret- 6th string are a quick bend up, not really letting the bent note ring, before hitting the note on the 14th fret 6th string
-I noted that Mick sounds like he slid down the neck before doing the second ascending run, but its hard to tell exactly what is done at that point
-I use my first and second fingers on the ascending runs, just moving those fingers for each little two-note part till I get to the 11th fret -6th string and there I use my first and 4th finger (in a more natural pentatonic lick positioning) You can just as easily use your 3rd and fourth fingers to do that ascending run, then slide your 1st finger up to the 12th fret -5th string for that little two-note lick before the pentatonic lick

check it out-let me know how you like it!!
MG



Related Tags: Foreigner Cold+As+Ice guitar chords guitar+solos classic+rock