Description
Today I'll be teaching you the folk/rock classic, "Tin Man" as made famous by the group, America. This song has some fun challenges; we'll learn a group of lovely Major and Minor seventh chords, but none of them use the traditional, first position shapes we would normally expect. You might find these new chords will inform your playing in other songs too!
Our other challenge is the very distinctive, syncopated 16th note groove. To execute it successfully it's very important to understand the concept of directionality and to be able to count as well as feel the rhythm. One of the defining features of groove playing is repetition, which requires both precision and relaxation. We'll be looking closely at how to accomplish both of these tasks as we proceed through our lessons today. Our rhythm guitar part sits front and center in the mix of the song, with the vocals and supporting instruments swirling around to create a beautifully textured composition.
"Tin Man" is in the key of G major, in 4/4 time and played at a tempo of approximately 86 BPM.
Lesson Info
