Wish You Were Here

Playing chords without playing the whole chord

Start by listening to the song

• This is a step most people don’t do.• Even when they do it they don’t really listen.• Concentrate on the guitar part – not the vocals.• Basic Chords are G, Em, Am (or A7sus), C and

D.• The song is in the key of G.• For guitar I students just play the simple chords

as listed above.

Notice the pedal point in holding down the 1st 2 strings. Fingering for all the chords is to use your ring finger on the 2nd string and pinky on the 1st string. Other fingers are obvious once you do that.For Guitar 1 you can play the basic chords of G, Em and Am.

Other chords are all beginning chords. This song should be played in 1st position chords not up the neck.

Intro: Em G Em G Em Asus4 Em Asus4 G G C D Am G So, so you think you can tell, heaven from hell? Blue skies from pain? D C Am Can you tell a green field, from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? G C D Do you think you can tell? Did they get you to trade, your heroes for ghosts? Am G D Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change C Am G And did you exchange, a walk-on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage... SOLO: (like Intro) Em G Em G Em Asus4 Em Asus4 G G C D How I wish, how I wish you were here Am G D We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl, year after year C Am Running over the same old ground, what have we found - the same old fears? G Wish you were here

Start with the basic rhythm of the song. See next slide for the strum pattern.

Watch the strum. Make sure that you strum down on the beat

Same rhythm but now picking out individual notes. Do not have to be exact on this and in fact a little loose is good.

This will be for Guitar II students only!

Don’t worry about the strings you hit, just get the basic idea that you don’t play all of them at the same time.

A small bit of analysis shows that Beat one is the entire chord. Let it ring out and don’t stop any notes. It actually sounds throughout the measure. Notice how beats 1 and 3 are really strong! Then the rhythm pattern.

Here it is with the counting and patterns.

Guitar Intro just Em for the 1st measure and G for the 2nd measure.

Now just put it together

• Learn rhythm first

• Then chords

• Then intro

Introduction guitar melody

• For those who did Boom Boom this is very similar. Based off of the E blues scale with some added notes – From Dorian mode.

Here it is as a whole.Will break down line by line.Notice repeated figures.

120

First 4 measures. First 1.5 measures in 3rd position. Starts with a slide with the middle finger from the 3rd string 2nd fret to the 3rd string 4th fret.

At this point go to the 1st position.3rd measure 1st to 2nd fret is a slide but you could also hammer it as an alternative. Try both and see what rings your bell.

60

This is a group of double stop slides. I have some suggested fingering but you can do it a number of ways. I actually prefer to start it with the ½ barre ring finger doing the slide from the 3rd fret to the 5th fret and back again. But it is easier for most students with the index finger. The 1/1 indicate fingering on the highest string and then the next string.

Alternate version of 5-8

This could be a bit easier to play as far as fingering goes.It does present an issue of position though and you will have to look at the guitar to make this change. But it is easier in many ways.

Very similar to start. 2nd measure starts with a bend release – could also so a slide.3rd measure 3rd beat either a bend or a slide to start. Last measure again a bend or a slide to start. For classical guitar do a slide. Hard part of this is doing it in time.

Almost a repeat of last 4 measures.