strumstrum™ » Tabs

Guitar practice exercise: The Blues Scale

Brandon — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:20:58 +0000

An easy way to get better at playing guitar, or even just to warm up before playing, is with scales. A scale is just a series of notes differing in pitch. The blues scale is one of my favorite scales to warm up with. The Blues scale involves the following notes: C Eb F Gb G and Bb. If you don’t understand music notes yet, don’t worry. That’s a different article altogether.

Play the scale below starting with the first note (C), first finger, on the low E string, at the 8th fret on your guitar. Then play the fourth finger position on the low E string. Next, play the first finger position on the next string down (A). Then play the second finger position on the A string and so on.
Numbers indicate fingers: 1 = index, 2 = middle, 3 = ring, 4 = little
8th fret |--1--|-----|-----|--4--| - high E |--1--|-----|-----|--4--| - B |--1--|-----|--3--|--4--| - G |--1--|-----|--3--|-----| - D |--1--|--2--|--3--|-----| - A |--1--|-----|-----|--4--| - low E
Play the scale from low to high until you are comfortable with it. Then try playing backwards, from the fourth finger on the high E down. Combine the two and see how fast you can “surf” the scale. Good luck and practice hard!

Spider-man theme song guitar tab

Brandon — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:41:24 +0000

Spider-man is BA.

It’s a bird… it’s a plane… no wait, wrong super-hero reference. I’ve been playing this riff as a warm-up over the past couple of weeks. Its a fun little song that will make your geeky friends melt. Easy to play. Repeat riff several times with lyrics. Its Spider-man! My all-time favorite super-hero. I’ve included the original cartoon intro and lyrics along with the tab. Good luck and have fun!

Spiderman theme guitar tab

Tuning: standard 

E|----------|----------|----------------------|
B|----------|----------|----------------------|
G|-------14-|-12-------|-------14-14-12-------|
D|-12-15----|----15-12-|-12-15----------15-12-|
A|----------|----------|----------------------|
E|----------|----------|----------------------|

E|-------------------|------------------------|
B|-------15-13-------|------------------------|
G|-12-15-------15-12-|-------14-14-12---------|
D|-------------------|-12-15----------15-12---|
A|-------------------|------------------------|
E|-------------------|------------------------|

E|--------------------------|
B|--------------------------|
G|-19-18-12-12-10-12--------|
D|-------------------15-12--|
A|--------------------------|
E|--------------------------|

Spider-man Theme song (cartoon intro video)

And here are the lyrics:

Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out!
Here comes the Spiderman.

Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He’s got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread
Take a look overhead
Hey, there
There goes the Spiderman.

In the chill of night
At the scene of a crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time.

Spiderman, Spiderman
Friendly neighborhood Spiderman
Wealth and fame
He’s ingnored
Action is his reward.

To him, life is a great big bang up
Whenever there’s a hang up
You’ll find the Spider man.

The Decemberists – 16 Military Wives guitar tab

Brandon — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:11:34 +0000

Here is an indie guitar lick for ya.

Fun song, standard tuning.

The Decemberists – 16 Military Wives guitar tab

#--------------------------PLEASE NOTE-------------------------#
# This file is the author's own work and represents their
# interpretation of the song. You may only use this file for
# private study, scholarship, or research.
#--------------------------------------------------------------#

Artist: The Decemberists
 Album: Picaresque
  Song: 16 Military Wives

Main contributor: Andy Bouwman (marpocky@hotmail.com)

(Intro:)
E

E                G
Sixteen military wives
           A                               E
Thirty-two softly focused brightly colored eyes
                        G
Staring at the national ten
           A                                E
Thirty-two gently clutching wrinkled little hands
A                 B
Seventeen company men
             C#m              D            A
Out of which only twelve will make it back again
E                          G
Sergeant sends a letter to five
         A                                        E
Military wives as tears drip down from ten little eyes
B
Cheer them onto their rivals

      A       E
Cause America can
    A       E         B
And America can't say no
    A       E
And America does
   A       E         B
If America says it's so

It's so
        F#m             A
And the anchorperson on TV
     E
Goes la de da de da

E                 G
Fifteen celebrity minds
              A                                 E
Leading their fifteen sordid wretched checkered lives
E                              G
Will they find the solution in time
            A                                 E
Using their fifteen pristine moderate liberal minds
A                B
Eighteen academy chairs
             C#m        D           A
Out of which only seven really even care
E                       G
Doling out a garland to five
          A                                 E
Celebrity minds, they're humbly taken by surprise
B
Cheer them onto their rivals

      A       E
Cause America can
    A       E         B
And America can't say no
    A       E
And America does
   A       E         B
If America says it's so

It's so
        F#m             A
And the anchorperson on TV
     E
Goes la de da de da de dade dade da

La de da de da de dade dade da

(Interlude:)
E G A E
E G A E

A                 B
Fourteen cannibal kings
          C#m               D                A
Wondering blithely what the dinner bell will bring
E                 G
Fifteen celebrity minds
            A                             E
Served on a leafy bed of sixteen military wives
B
Cheer them onto their rivals

      A       E
Cause America can
    A       E         B
And America can't say no
    A       E
And America does
   A       E         B
If America says it's so

It's so
        F#m             A
And the anchorperson on TV
     E
Goes la de da de da de dade dade da

La de da de da de dade dade da

La de da de da de dade dade

Da de da de da de dade dade

Da de da de da de dade dade da (Woo!)

(Outro:)
E G A E
E G A E
E G A E

Let’s legalize guitar tabs

Brandon — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:40:24 +0000

While the record industry continues to stamp out guitar and music tabs on the internet, the question arises: how can we cope? I sincerely hope that one day, transposers and musicians will be able to freely exchange music on the internet. In the meantime, we can pursue legal alternatives. Of course, everyone would love to be able to play a Hendrix riff on the guitar, and for that, there are sites that provide such tabulature. Fighting the record labels is a task that I would love to pursue – but frankly – do not have the resources required for such a venture.

So what are the legal options for exchanging guitar tabs? The answer is open source music. In other words, music that lies in the public domain. As long as a song is not copyrighted and the transposed tab is an organic product, the tab is free for anyone to use and learn from. Feel free to contact me if you have any open source tabs to contribute! I hope to provide some legal options for learning guitar.

Happy weekend everyone! Keep on rockin!

Jimi Hendrix “Voodo Chile” video

The problem with tabs

Brandon — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 23:58:20 +0000

If you hadn’t noticed, I haven’t posted any new guitar tabs in quite a while. Why is this? I don’t have a simple answer for you.

The complex answer is that tabulature is on the fence of legality. Don’t get me wrong, I see absolutely no problem with people sharing guitar tabs. The issue here is that the MPA believes that fan-made tabulature violates copyrights.

I disagree with them 100%. And keep in mind, the artists themselves aren’t even the ones upset.

Unfortunately, going to court is expensive. Really really, expensive. The truth is that the American justice system is setup so that those with the deepest pockets have the greatest advantage. There is no way that I could compete with the MPA monetarilly in court.

Hopefully, one day, the MPA will be overthrown and guitar tabs will be upheld under freedom of speech. Until then my friends… until then…

Guns n Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine solo tab

Brandon — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:21:43 +0000

Another day, another tab for you to tackle. Slash’s solo in Sweet Child O’ Mine is surely my favorite guitar solo of all time. Once you get it down, it makes a great daily finger warmup. Not to mention – you’ll be a bending pro in the end.

This guitar tab was interpreted by Ben Dameron. Enjoy!

Good Luck with it, it's really hard.


b(1.5)

b=bend

/=slide

h=hammer on

p=pull off

rb=rebend

x=mute with fretboard hand and hit it with picking hand

~=vibrato
e--17b--17--15-|-14h15p14------15-|-14h15p14------------14--|

b--------------|-----------17-----|-----------17-16--17-----|

g--------------|------------------|-------------------------|

d--------------|------------------|-------------------------|

a--------------|------------------|-------------------------|

e--------------|------------------|-------------------------|
e---------------------------|----------------------|-------------------|

b--15b---12-----------------|-------------------13-|-12h13p12/10---13b-|

g-----------14b--12-11h12p11-|----------11-12-14---|-------------------|

d---------------------------|--14--14--------------|-------------------|

a---------------------------|----------------------|-------------------|

e---------------------------|----------------------|-------------------|
e------------------|---------15b--15-----------|----------------|---------|

b--13--12-12--12b--|--12---------------7b(1/2)-|--7-------------|---------|

g------------------|------14-------------------|-----9--8b(1/2)-|-8/11-9b-|

d------------------|---------------------------|----------------|---------|

a------------------|---------------------------|----------------|---------|

e------------------|---------------------------|----------------|---------|
Wah-Wah is turned on at this point
e---------------------------11------11-12/14-11-12-14/15-12-14-15-14p12-|

b------8p7----7-10/12-13p12----12-13------------------------------------|

g--8-9-----9------------------------------------------------------------|

d-----------------------------------------------------------------------|

a-----------------------------------------------------------------------|

e-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
e-----14----12h14p12---12-------|-----------------------|---------------|

b--15----16----------15--15bp12-|--15b--15b--15b15p12---|-17b-17b--17b--|

g-------------------------------|---------------------14|----------17b--|

d-------------------------------|-----------------------|---------------|

a-------------------------------|-----------------------|---------------|

e-------------------------------|-----------------------|---------------|
e-------------------------------|-------------12------------------------|

b--17b---17b--17b-----17b-17p15-|-17---15b--------15-12-----------------|

g-------------------------------|------------------------14b-14p12-14---|

d-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|

a-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|

e-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
e----------------|--------------------------------------15-----15-----15-|

b----------------|----------------------15----------15--15-----15-----15-|

g--12-14---12-14-|-14b--12-14-12-14-14b---14-14b-12-14b----14b----14b----|

d----------------|-------------------------------------------------------|

a----------------|-------------------------------------------------------|

e----------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
e-------------------------------|----------------------------------------|

b-------------------------------|----------------------------------------|

g--14b-14-rb14p12----14p12---x-x|-12b(1/2)--------------12h14p12---------|

d-----------------14-------14x-x|-----------14p12-14-xx----------14------|

a-------------------------------|--------------------xx------------------|

e-------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
e--------------------------------------|----------------------------------

b--------------------------------------|-------------------------12-12----

g--12b(1/2)----------------12h14p12----|-12-12-------14-14p12-14----------

d-----------14p12-13-14-xx----------14-|-------14p12----------------------

a-----------------------xx-------------|----------------------------------

e--------------------------------------|----------------------------------
e--------------------|-12-12-------15-15p12--15--14-------12h15p12-----|

b--------15-15p12----|-------15p12------------------15--15---------15b-|

g--14p12----------14-|-------------------------------------------------|

d--------------------|-------------------------------------------------|

a--------------------|-------------------------------------------------|

e--------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
e------12-----------12----------12-----------12-------|

b--15b----15p12-------15p12-15b----15p12--------15p12-|

g---------------14-----------------------14b----------|

d-----------------------------------------------------|

a-----------------------------------------------------|

e-----------------------------------------------------|
e-----12--------12---------12----------12-----15-15b(2)--15~-12h15p12--12|

b--15b--15p12-----15p12-15b--15p12---12--15p12-----------------------15--|

g------------14b------------------14b------------------------------------|

d------------------------------------------------------------------------|

a------------------------------------------------------------------------|

e------------------------------------------------------------------------|

e-----12------------------------------------------------------|| b--15b--15p12-14b-14rb-12-14b--15-----------------------------|| g---------------------------------14b-14rb12--14p12-------12/-|| d-------------------------------------------14------14--------|| a-------------------------------------------------------------|| e-------------------------------------------------------------||

That’s it.

Cream – Sunshine of Your Love tab

Brandon — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:36:59 +0000

Cream, Eric Clapton’s original, punky acid-group is one of the most underappreciated bands of all time. Here’s a new guitar tab for ya, “Sunshine of Your Love.”

Sunshine Of Your Love – Cream
Transcribed by Mike Bremford
Solo Transcribed by Garry Hall

Section 1.
E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G+--7---7---5---7-------------------------------------------------------------- D+--------------------7------6------5-----------0---3-------0------------------ A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 2. D D C D Either Or E+--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+ B+--7---7---5---7-----------------------------+-----6~~~~~~~--+---------------+ G+--X---X---X---X-----------------------------+-7-----------7-+-0---3~~~~~~~0-+ D+--7---7---5---7-----7------6------5---------+---------------+---------------+ A+--5---5---3---5-----------------------------+---------------+---------------+ E+--------------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+ Section 3. G5 G5 F5 G5 E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G+--12--12--10--12------------------------------------------------------------- D+--12--12--10--12----12-----11------10-----------8~~~~~~---------------------- A+--10--10--8---10----------------------------10---------10-------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 4. Section 5. A5 C5 G5 A5 E+-------------------------------------------+--------------------------------- B+-------------------------------------------+--------------------------------- G+-------------------------------------------+--------------------------------- D+--7----7--7--------------10----------5-----+-7---7-7---7-7---7--------------- A+--7----7--7--------------10----------5-----+-7---7-7---7-7---7-...----------- E+--5----5--5---------------8----------3-----+-5---5-5---5-5---5--------------- (Sec. 1 x 2) VERSE: (Sec. 2) Its getting near dawn, when lights close their tired eyes. I'll soon be (Sec. 3) with you, my love, to give you my dawn surprise. I'll be with you darling, (Sec. 2 x2) soon. I'll be with you when the stars start falling. CHORUS: (Sec 4.) (Sec. 5) I've been waiting so long to be where I'm going, in the sunshine of your love. Verse 2 lyrics: I'm with you my love, the light shining through on you. Yes, I'm with you my love, Its the morning and just we two. I'll stay with you darling now, I'll stay with till my seas are dried up. SOLO: D E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+---------------------------------13------------------------------------------ G+-12/(14)--12/(14)----12--12/(14)-----12/(14)--12/(14)--12-12/(14)------------ D+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+--------------------9/(11)------------------9/(11)\(9)/(11)\(9)/(11)\(9)----- G+-9/(12)\(9)p7--9p7--9/(11)--7~~---------7h9-9/(11)\(9)/(11)\(9)/(11)\(9)----- D+------------------------------------7h9-------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G+-7h9h7~~~-------10/(12)--11/(13)--12/(14)--10/(12)--10/(12)---10-7-9/(10)---- D+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- D E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G+---7-9/(10)------7h9--9/(10)----7h9/(11)--10/(12)--9/(11)--7h9--7h9p7~~~----- D+-9-----------7h9--------------9---------------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+--/10-10--------------------------------------------------------------------- G+--/10----12-10-11----10/(11)----------10-/-(11)~~~~~------------------------- D+------------------12---------12p10h12---------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A5 (Chorus) E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+-------------------------------------13----------------------------13-------- G+--10/(11)----10---12====>(14)~~~~~~~~---12/(13)\12p10~~--12-12/(14)---12-10-- D+----------12----------------------------------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+-------------10-------------------------------------------------------------- B+----------10----------------------------------------------------------------- G+--12/(14)======>(14)\12--10----10/(.5)--------------------------------------- D+----------------------------10-----------12--------(8)-/10--10---(8)-/10--10- A+--------------------------------------------12-----(10)/12--12---(10)/12--12- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+------------------------------10--------------------------------------------- B+-----------------13p10h13--13----13--------------------------------13p10----- G+--10-12-12/(14)---------------------(13)\(12)p10--12p10-12/(14)~~~----------- D+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+--------------------13------------------------------------------------------- B+-15/(17)---13h15----13--15p13---------------------------------------13-13---- G+-------------------------------(19)\12--10/(.5)-------12-10-12/(14)---------- D+------------------------------------------------12p10------------------------ A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
E+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B+-13-------------------------------------------------------------------------- G+----(14)\(12)--10/(.5)---12p10-----10h12------------------------------------- D+-------------------------------12-------------------------------------------- A+----------------------------------------------------------------------------- E+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The solo was transcribed by a friend, and seems to be almost exact. The distortion Clapton used was due more to speakers that weren’t up to it than any distortion effects. Use the Neck pickup with the tone all the way back.

3 more guitar tabs up

Brandon — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:35:17 +0000

Just a heads up that I’ve posted three new guitar tabs. The songs are as follows:

- Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”
- Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” guitar solo
- Tenacious D’s “Kickapoo” (by special request)

You can check these and other tabs out in the forums. Enjoy!

Two new tabs up

Brandon — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:57:52 +0000

Looks like strumstrum is finally starting to roll. We already have our first two tabs up – Santeria and Layla. I figured that since we’ve already posted videos for both of those songs, we might as well put some tabs for them online.

Enjoy!