Them Bones Guitar Lesson – Alice In Chains
In this Them Bones guitar lesson video series, I will show you in a very in-depth couple of videos, how to play this short but seriously explosive hit from Alice In Chains.
Guitarist Jerry Cantrell can really create some cool guitar riffs that have lots of odd-time signatures and chromatic lines. It under 3 minutes, not a single note is wasted in "Them Bones", from beginning to end it simply rips.
The tuning that Alice In Chains' employs in "Them Bones" is dropped "C#" tuning. Starting from the 6th string that will be C# G# C# F# A# D#. Or if you have a chromatic tuner that displays accidentals as flats instead of sharps you will tune to these notes Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb.
In the first video lesson I will show you how to play the 3 guitar riffs used throughout the entire song. The main opening riff uses a perfect 4th interval on top to and a little bit of dissonance after which you will rip into a heavily palm muted chromatic riff consisting entirety of power chords. The rhythm is very consistent which makes this a pretty easy riff to play.
The second and third riffs are also made up of mostly power chords and have a bit of a laid back feel even though the second riff (verse) has a very odd feel about it timing wise. However, it is the timing that makes the riff sound so cool.
When learning the third riff, make sure you pay close attention to the little guitar lick that Jerry Cantrell throws into it.
In the second lesson video, I will cover Jerry Cantrell's guitar solo note-for-note. This solo is absolutely perfect for this song and has a ton of cool melodies and licks.
Jerry Cantrell's solos are well known for being highly melodic, inventive and flashy in just the right moments and this solo is no exceptions.
I think this is a great solo for the intermediate level guitarist to learn. It has some exotic melodies and a couple of fast licks to challenge you, but nothing that is too hard to get under the fingers. Have fun!
Carl...
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