How could I have forgotten the cowbell? Welcome to Blue Oyster Cult's
"Don't Fear The Reaper". Most excellent and classic rock riff of all time to start
off my classic riff series. So, uh, let's get close-up and check out how to play
that riff. Okay the first chord we've got here is an "A" chord. It's only a partial
"A" chord. We don't need the whole thing. We're using our second finger here on the
4th string, second fret and the third finger directly underneath it on the
second fret of the third string. We're gonna start off by playing the open 5th
string. Then the 4th string. Then the 3rd string and then we lift our fingers off
and play the open "G" string. Just the open "G" string on that last note.
But we lift all of our fingers up to help us get to our new chord which is the "G"
chord. Again we don't have to play like a whole "G" chord like some of you might
have learned like this or whatever. But we're just using the 2nd finger there on
the second fret of the 5th string and the 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of a thicker
string, the 6th string. So we got, we got we got that little gap there to change and
we're gonna play just the 6th string, five four, three.
Then we do like a little "F" power chord here. So first finger in the first fret
of a thicker string and the third finger in the third fret of the 5th string. And
we again play 6th string, 5th string, 4th string, 3rd string. Now the 4th string
sounds a little bit funny out of context but it sounds cool in the riff. Um, after
that we just go back to the "G" and that's the whole riff.
The main chords that we're playing in this are really "A" minor, "G", "F", and "G".
They've been the chords that you'd play if you wanted to kind of do a "strummy"
version. Twenty billion songs with that sequence..there's one other little bit in
the song, so it's doing the riffs a lot. Then it goes into "F", "G", "A" minor.
"F", "E" minor, "A" minor. (Song lyrics) "Don't fear the reaper..."
So it's just that little bit that goes "F" "G", "A" minor. Two, three, four.
"F", "E" minor, and then back into the "A" minor, to "G", to "F".
He kind of strums it a couple of times and then eventually it kind of morphs
into the riff. (Playing ends) The picking for this tune is alternate picking.
I was not really sure to be honest, I tried a whole heap of different pickings
and ended up having to look at YouTube and checking out some live videos of
the Blue Oyster Cult playing the tune and it's quite obvious when you watch
some films that he's using alternate picking. So make sure that you're
going "Down, Up", "Down, Up", "Down, Up", "Down, Up", "Down, Up", "Down, Up",
"Down, Up", "Down, Up". There's a few other patterns that kind of seem a
little bit easier at first but if you do it this way, it does sound just like
the record. And if you're gonna accidentally hit any strings at least
they'll be accidentally the right strings
you know? So, um, like the same strings that he might accidentally have hit on
the record. Um, when it comes to doing the chord part, you can either kind of strum
so you have to be kind of moving the same as it was for the riff.
Live, very often it's kind of chugging eighths. So it changes to double time.
And he's playing power chords often. "F", "E" minor, "A minor", "G" to "F".
And eventually it kind of moves back into the riff there. So, um, that's pretty much
the whole tune, well the whole of the kind of radio edit of the tune because the
actual tune really longer. Loads of great interesting parts and really good solos
if you fancy transcribing them yourself. But this is just the riff lesson and I
wasn't really supposed to do the chord bit but anyways. Hope you've enjoyed playing
that and don't forget, more cowbell. See you soon, buh-bye!