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Open Chords

Pale Blue Eyes by The Velvet Underground, Part 2

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Check out this live performance from the VU reunion in 1993. Can clearly see Lou playing it in G but, frustratingly, there’s not a single shot of Sterling Morisson.

 
In this lesson I’m looking at Sterling Morisson’s lead guitar parts and solo from this Velvet’s classic from 1969. (For Part 1, looking at Lou Reed’s easy to play rhythm part, click here.)Nothing too challenging technically here,  just some memorable, beautiful playing. I’ve written it all out for you below. I haven’t gone to the trouble of writing out all the verses and choruses since, bar the odd minor variation, they’re all the same. Download the music/tab here.

Pale Blue Eyes by The Velvet Underground, Part 1

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In this lesson we’re looking at a wonderful song from possibly my favourite Velvets album, their 3rd self-titled record from 1969. Part 1 focusses on Lou Reed’s rhythm guitar part. In Part 2, I’ll be checking out Sterling Morrisons lead guitar parts and the solo. This is great song to learn if you’re a beginner since both the strumming and the chords are nice and simple, but really it’s just a great song to learn full stop. I’ve written out a chord/lyric chart for the song below. Download the chart here. Remember you’ll need to tune your guitar down if you want to play along with the recording.

Getting the sound

The rhythm guitar sound on this song is a little bit puzzling. It almost sounds like an organ rather than a guitar at times. I’m pretty sure it is a guitar since you can hear the strumming and occasional open strings if you listen carefully, but the tone’s certainly unusual. It could well be that Doug Yule is playing along on an organ too, and the two sounds are blended together.

I’m not sure what either Lou or Sterling would have used on this song gear-wise. For the video, I just went for a warm, full kind of sound. I’m using my Vox Virage guitar, which is strung with flat-wounds. Amp is a 1980s Fender Super Champ. And a bit of mild drive comes from a Wampler Tumnus pedal.

Gimme Danger by Iggy & The Stooges

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I’ve had a few requests for this one, and I’m very happy to be returning to The Stooges with this look at possibly my favourite track on the Raw Power album. 

 

I’ve written out some basic music/tab for all the main sections of the song below. With music like this it’s impossible and probably a bit pointless try and to transcribe everything note-for-note. So use my tab as a guide and, once you’ve got the basic idea, feel free to do things your own way. Want a high-quality PDF? Get it here.

Chinese Rocks by The Heartbreakers/Johnny Thunders

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This one is an absolute punk classic and, from a guitar point of view, it’s pretty easy to play. I’ve written out the music for the main parts of the song below. Rather than  do a note-for-note transcription of both guitar parts (which would have taken me ages to write out, and would probably be a bit unnecessary) I’ve written out the main parts of the song and a few of the added lead licks and fills. If you want to get nerdy, I suggest listening closely to the original recording: you should be able to figure out any of the other little variations which I didn’t go into in the video. If you’re a beginner I recommend getting the basic riffs and chords together first. Once, you’re comfortable with that you can try adding in a few of those extra flourishes.