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Baby, NYC (Verse)
🕑 Added 2020-06-25 20:07:59 +0000 UTCThis one is a chonker. The chonky TABs are attached as a PDF and Guitar Pro files. We also did the intro to this one a few weeks back - check that out as well if you'd like to learn a good chonk of this entire song!
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Pro Tips:
There's 2 main ideas at play here.
The first is power chords, which are typically straight ahead. all you need to do is move the same shape around. However, on some of them, I slide my 1st finger back an extra fret, and you have a 3 fret gap between the low note and high note. This creates a slash chord - more on that in the theory section below.
The second is palm muting in between the chords. This is a pretty common 70s/80s riffing trick. In between every chord, you palm mute an open string somewhere. This has the effect of creating a driving feel. I want you to close your eyes and imagine you're cruising down the highway on a motorbike while practicing this technique. The palm muting is also the key to the chonkiness of the riff.
Theory Talk:
So, most of the chords played here are power chords, which are only the root and the 5th of a chord. So the guitar part doesn't contain the complete picture of what's happening theoretically. To figure out the chords, we need to listen to the synths which double the power chord shots. They give us the following chord progression:
Eminor - Dmajor - Amajor - Amajor/C# - Dmajor - Bmajor/D# - Eminor
We're inside of an E minor scale here. The Eminor is the i chord, the Dmajor is the bVII chord, and the Amajor is the IV chord (this major IV chord gives us a sweet dorian flavour). The Bmajor/D# is the V chord - the final tension before we resolve back up to Eminor (i chord)
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Have fun chonkin', and post any comments or questions below!
Comments
NYC is missing TWRP very much 🥺
KazultheDragon
You weren't kidding. Those are some thicc notes.
This is one heckin' chonker of a lesson! and also a good reminder for myself that I need to brush up on some music theory. Thanks for the explanation of slash chords!
Krissy
Came for that 80s sound, left with an epiphany about how slash chords work. Never know what each day will bring. XD
Shiro
Is that the technical term for it, chonky? ;) I love this sound! The whole song just paints such a vivid picture of NYC at night for me ♥ Thanks for the lesson, red guy--have a great weekend, and stay safe and rad!
