Would Guitar Lesson – Alice In Chains
In this video guitar lesson we will take an in depth look at the melancholic hard rock masterpiece "Would?" by Alice in Chains.
"Would?" was first released in 1992 on the soundtrack for the movie Singles. It was later included on the band's album Dirt from the same year.
In this Would guitar lesson I am going to break down every guitar part that guitarist Jerry Cantrell plays note-for-note.
First off, you need to tune down a half step to Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb in order to follow along with this lesson and the original recording.
The intro of the song includes the use of harmonics along with an open string and fretted note to create sort of a dreamy atmosphere.
From there we arrive at the main riff in it's higher octave form. This riff requires you to play some Hendrix inspired chordal hammer-ons, but don't worry, they are quite easy to perform.
That riff is then taken one octave lower but remains a relatively easy part to play. Just focus on your picking hand hitting only those two strings in the chord and timing the hammer-ons correctly and you will be fine.
We then launch into the chorus which is based around the simple B5 and G5 chords. It is amazing the effect that those two simple chords can have to create a killer chorus.
A little further through the lesson we arrive at the guitar solo. In this solo, Jerry Cantrell uses a trill, oblique bends and so on to complement the dark vibe of the song. It is a very effective solo and approachable by any upper beginner level player and up.
The song closes with a very powerful riff that requires a pretty good rhythmic feel to pull off. I suggest really paying attention to the palm muting that is being used here. That muting helps those notes pop out of the mix and create that power rhythmic groove underneath.
The song ends with another Hendrix trademark chord voicing played in a very dissonant and in your face style. A very unique song through and through.
So there you have it! I hope you guys enjoy this Would guitar lesson. This track is definitely one of the coolest from the era!
Carl...
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