BS-107 • Blowin In The Wind - Bob Dylan

[justinguitar]

Lesson Link:

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BS-107-BlowinInTheWind-BobDylan.php

Q's

[tomasnoctis]

Hi all,

Quick question: I feel like my fingers are just too fat to make the A chord-shape without buzzing.  Should I try out the mini-barre early or is there something I'm missing?  Thanks.

[jacksroadhouse]

It's normal for beginners to have fat fingers (I did, too). They seem to shrink later on Of course it's possible that your fingers are too big for your specific guitar (string spacing/width of fingerboard), but with the A chord that's not vey likely. Things like that can e.g. show with a B7 chord.

Do you have your fingers all in a row when you play the A chord? If so, watch Justin's video on the A chord, he suggests a different fingering which is much better whenever you "run out of space", and more practical anyway imho.

The mini-barre is not a real replacement for the "proper" A chord grip, because you usually mute the low E string. In a typical open chord progression, that can make the A chord stand out, and also make arpgeggiating and other things more difficult. In the beginning, I'd stick with the regular A chord. The mini-barre is a good addition for your toolbox, but later on and for different uses.

[jacksroadhouse]

Got it, you're using a capo. Well, it does get a bit crowded higher up the neck, and at some point you may have to use the mini barre. My fingers aren't exactly small, but I can play the A shape on the 7th fret just fine. A handy little trick (in case you're not doing that anyway): if you keep the "handle" of the capo on top of the neck (= on the side of the low E string), then it doesn't interfere with your hand and you get more flexibility in terms of hand position and angle.

[Chantal]

Hi Jean,

Finding the bass note for a chord isn't difficult. It's the thickest string in the chord. So, the thick E string in an E chord, the A string (second thickest string) for an A chord, the D string for a D chord.

[Jotapi]

Hi Chantal,

Thank you very much!

I remember that Justin described an other technic in this video: he played the A note with the A chord, the B note with the A chord, the D note with the D chord, the C sharp note with the D chord, the B (5th string) with the E chord, the E note (6th string) with the E chord, the B note with the A chord and the E note with the A chord, using the capo, and it sounded great.
However, I tried this succession of notes without the capo, A, B, D, C sharp, B, E, B, E, and it did not sound the same, so, I would like to ask if you know how I can find the good notes to play in this same style without the capo?

Jean

[Chantal]

I'm not quite sure. I have the video downloaded but it's on my laptop which has been on the brink of dying but I'll try to fire it up and see if I can figure out what he did. I do know that sometimes je embellishes songs by adding sus2 and/or sus4 chords or by picking individual notes in addition to playing a chord.

There are thories on which notes you can use and he's made lessons on it too, but like Justin always says: use your ears. If it sounds good, it is good. Even if theory says it shouldn't.

[misterg]

I tried this succession of notes without the capo, A, B, D, C sharp, B, E, B, E, and it did not sound the same, so, I would like to ask if you know how I can find the good notes to play in this same style without the capo?

For the benefit of others, I'll repeat the warning that Justin gives before going into this:

"This is not something you want to get into as a beginner, AT ALL. Save this for much later"

Also

"This is easier to play using different chords [...] you might want to lose the capo and play it using different chord grips. This is definitely going out of the scope of material [beginners] should be working on"

"If you're a stage 1 guitar player, just stick with keeping it real simple. Trying these [..] harder things might just get you frustrated and make you feel less happy with your playing. Really what you want to do is learn these things gradually [...chord changes...strumming patterns...]. Trying things that are too hard too soon [...] is not a good idea. Try and stick with the programme if you can."


I have tried to tab out what Justin explains at the end of the video - I don't think the sequence of notes you have is correct - I think it is A E D C# B E A E - Justin calls the notes up until the C#, and his "D" sounds like a "B", but the note is a D as far as I can tell (2nd fret on 4th string). It's confusing, because he's playing with a capo, but calling the notes for open position (no capo) and I haven't got a capo handy to check it.

This should work in open position (or relative to a capo, but the note names will obviously need to be transposed):

Code: [Select]

Chord: A               D               E               A
Count: 1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4   1   2   3   4   1 (etc....)

e----------0-------0-------2-------2-------0-------0-------0-------0------
B----------2-------2-------3-------3-------0-------0-------2-------2------
G----------2-------2-------2-------2-------1-------1-------2-------2------
D----------2---2---2---0---0-------0-------2-------2-------2-------2--0h2-
A------0---0-------0-------x---4---x---2---2-------2---0---0-------0------
E----------x-------x-------x-------x-------0---0---0-------x---0---x------

Bass
Note   A       E       D       C#      B       E       A        E     (E) 

The C# is played by reaching over with your pinky finger while holding the D chord.

Hope this helps, and I spit in Bob Dylan's eye for being so mean to people trying to spread his music!

Andy

[Jotapi]

Hi Andy

Thank a lot!
What you wrote is exactly what Justin said.

The chords sequence was:

-three times : A D E A A D E with two strummings (down, down) for each chord except for the final E (four strummings);
-two times: D E A D with two strummings for each chord;
-one time: E A D E A with two strummings for each chord except for the final A (two strummings and a stronger last strumming).

Justin also said that four strummings for each chord can be used (down, down, down, down) and the first and the third strummings can be lighter; note that the final E is now strummed eight times. He also said that the base note of the chords can be played first.

I hope that it will help people who wanted to see the video.

Yours sincerely,

Jean

[botzona]

Hi.
i just finished stage 1 and the remaining are the songs to play.

Is pick is a must ?
How do i strum with my fingers?
in this song do i strum up too?,how do i know when to strum and which direction?
how generally is it recommended to learn to play the first song, its really hard for me to get used to the rythm
and to the chord changes(although i do 40 changes in a minute)

thank!

[Chantal]

After Stage 1, you are only supposed to play songs with a downstrum on the beat. So, nu upstrums, bass picks or any of that yet. I would use a pick, but try a thin pick because it's a bit easier to use now.

Start by playing it a s slowly as you need to. This song has 2 chords in most of the bars, so you play:

AADD EEAA
AADD AAAA
AADD EEAA
AADD EEEE
AADD EEAA
DDEE AADD
DDEE AAAA

DDEE AADD DDEE AAAA

Each of these letters represent one down strum. The first bunch is the verse, the last line is the link. Do this over and over until you can play it smoothly, then you can try to play it a bit faster. If you don't know the song, listen to it a bit first so you have an idea about how it should sound.

Later in the course, you can try to come back and play it with a strumming pattern (any pattern, really). But not right now. You just finished stage 1, so only 4 down strums per bar, OK? Good luck.

[Jotapi]

Hi,

I think that the pick is suitable on acoustic guitar for this kind of song.
For the strumming, please, watch the video at the link http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-107-PicksHolding.php
In this song, all the strums are down.
The video of this song is no more available. Dylan should be "rewarded" for this.
May be you should hear the original song on youtube to get an idea about the rhythm and chords changes. Nevertheless, you should begin with a slow rhythm to master the pick and the chords changes. Justin gives this advice in various lessons.

Regards,

Jean

[botzona]

thank u for detailed answer.

what does that space means?-
AADD EEAA

between D and E i stop playing for a beat or what?,and between each chord there is one beat?

[Chantal]

The space means you go to the next bar, but you keep playing No pause.

[botzona]

im sorry, i didnt quite understood you.