Heartbreak Hotel

Description

After the first ensemble hits the song goes to the IV (A7) chord. The first time, the guitar lays out, but for the rest of the song the guitar plays this great little blues riff in A.

Now to me this is a great song to start with if you want to get in to country guitar or chicken picking. The way that I play this part is I do a hybrid between pick and fingers. I hold the pick between my thumb and index finger leaving three fingers free to pluck the strings.

I simply start out with picking the A string with the pick, and you want to let this note ring through the whole phrase. Then I pick the G note with my ring finger, the same finger for the open E, and for the C# I use my middle finger.

Then back to G and the ring finger, then middle finger for C# and then for the last note (A) you can either pluck it again with the pick or hit it with your middle finger.

I like the pick because then I have kind of assigned one finger and the pick to one string each - except for the first bass note of course - but I just find this way simpler. Try this way out and then try it with just fingers or whatever other way you want, the important thing is that it sounds the way that you like yourself.