Any David Crosby Fans Here?

[Quickstep192]

I'm dying to learn a song called "Holding on to Nothing" from Crosby's new album. I'm not good enough to figure it out myself, so wondering if any one here can tab it or determine the chords. To further complicate matters for me, I think it may be in an alternate tuning. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[SprintBob]

I'm a huge "Croz" fan and his latest album is great. It's amazing how strong his voice still is. The acoustic work is really nice and his son has really made the production tight. Can't help you so I guess I'll be looking for tabs in the future also.

[JonPR]

Just listened to the track - beautiful stuff.

The tuning is some kind of drop C or open C, not sure what, but the chords are these:

VERSE
|C69 - Gm7/C - |Em11 - - - |
|Ebmaj9 - - - |Dm11 - - - |
(x4)

CHORUS
|Fmaj7 - Em11 - |Am9 - - - |
|Fmaj7 - Em11 - |Am9 - - - |
|Fmaj7 - Em11 - |Ebmaj9 - - - |
|Am9 - - - | - - - - |

Coincidentally I've just been transcribing a Richard Thompson tune that's in CGDGBE, and that seems very close to this tuning. Here's how you can get those chords with that tuning - or near enough anyway:

C69 = 0-0-2-2-3-0
Gm7/C = 0-0-3-3-3-3
Em11 = 4-4-0-2-0-0
Ebmaj9 = 3-3-3-3-3-3
Dm11 = 2-2-3-0-1-0

Fmaj7 = 5-5-7-5-5-5
Am9 = 9-7-10-0-0-0

(That last one - and maybe the Dm11 - are the only slightly tricky ones, making me think maybe the tuning is something else. But the others all work well.)

[Quickstep192]

If it's any help, here's a youtube video of Croz performing the song live. There are some decent shots of the guitarist.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWBTe_y1sZw


For what it's worth, the Alt tunings I've encountered in Crosby songs include EBDGAD, DADGBE and AADGBE and occasionally DADDAD and DGDDAD

[BluesBob1]

The key to listening to this song is the use of slash chords.

I'm using

6 5 4 3 2 1
C G C D A E

This gives the opening chord progression after the root note by barring the top 3 strings on the 7th fret then up to the 8th as seen in the videos.

ie 3 2 1
7th A E B
8th Bb F C

(Dominant 7th major scale)

The chords listed in the above reply work well.
I appreciate the work done on this.

The holding of Bb/Eb and Am7/D before resolving at the end of the chorus is sublime as is the whole album.

bob

[Quickstep192]

I appreciate the info, but after spending some time trying to extrapolate the chords that JohnPR provided into the tuning that BluesBob specified, I have determined that I lack the knowledge and skill to do this. If someone were to be willing to tab this, I'd be really grateful.

[jseth]

Sure, I'm a David Crosby fan, I suppose... I still enjoy listening to his first solo record, "If I Could Only Remember My Name"; very rich and lush music that meanders a bit, but in the end, the only fault I can find is that it's too darn short!

Haven't really heard all that much of his stuff in the past 20 years, though... he is fond of using some bizarre tunings; probably to make up for his lack of technical expertise with the guitar...

It's pretty amazing that the guy is still alive! Both he and Keith Richards are testimony to something or other...

[JonPR]

OK, I think I've got it!

Thanks to BluesBob1 for the tuning idea, but I think it's actually CGCDAD - it seems to sound just that little bit closer than CGCDAE.
(On the Em11 chord, there's a G A and D on top of the chord, which isn't possible in CGCDAE.
I worked (again) from the sound of the studio track, but also looked at a live video I hadn't seen before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWBTe_y1sZw

Here's the sequence again (with some chord names changed):

VERSE
|C6 - Gm7/C - |Em11 - - - |
|Ebmaj7 - - - |Dm7 - - - |
(x4)

CHORUS
|Fmaj7 - Em11 - |Am7 - - - |
|Fmaj7 - Em11 - |Am7 - - - |
|Fmaj7 - Em11 - |Ebmaj7 - - - |
|Am7 - - - | - - - - |

C6 = 000777 (CGCAEA - easy to add a B on top if you want: 000779)
Gm7/C = 000888 (CGC Bb F Bb - easy to add a C on top if you want: 00088-10))
Em11 = 444500 (EBEGAD)
(444555 and 444550 would also work, giving Em7, and look like what he plays in the video, but I hear that open A 2nd string in the original)
Ebmaj7 = 333550 (Eb Bb Eb G D D)
Dm7 = 222330 (DADFCD; adding a low E also sounds cool: 224330, Dm9)
Fmaj7 = 555777 (FCFAEA; or 555770 or 55577x, all sound good)
Am7 = 9-9-9-10-10-x (AEACGx; or 9-9-9-10-10-0 - open 1st string would make it Am11)

It's true that most of those shapes would work equally well in CGCDAE (although top E would need to be muted for the Eb chord).

[loupdemer20]

Here is what I found from the video above :

tuning : CGDDAE (same as for "Tracks In the Dust" from the "Oh Yes I Can" Album except first string in E (instead of D).

Chords :
0 0 0 7 7 7
0 0 0 8 8 8
4 4 4 5 5 0
3 3 3 5 5 0
2 2 3 2 3 0

......

Chorus
5 5 7 7 0 0
4 4 5 5 0 0
9 9 10 9 10 0

5 5 7 7 0 0
4 4 5 5 0 0
9 9 10 9 10 0

5 5 7 7 0 0
4 4 5 5 0 0
3 3 3 5 5 0
2 2 3 2 3 0

Michel

[Tone Monster]

Like his music but I got to know him in the 80's and he was a jerk.

His fav things was when when meeting a well meaning fan as he was was shaking the hand he on cue let out some loud gas.

I could go on but this is the act of a jerk.

I also put on a show in Daytona Beach with a double bill on him and Roger. Roger wanted him to join him on stage and David told him only if he paid him.

[jseth]

Despite Tone Monster's character estimation, I have a lot of respect for Crosby; for anyone who lived through all the craziness of those days... seems a shame to castigate someone for a period of their life where they were (quite admittedly) not in any sort of shape for "public consumption". Doesn't make his being a total jerk at times, any more excusable...

Since I posted on this thread, I have read David's second book, "Since Then"... liked it a lot (although I'm SO chagrined to discover the key role that cocaine played in CSN, from the beginning... How in the world did they EVER do any good vocals behind blow? Coke trashes your voice, along with the rest of your body and mind... but there you go. They did it!)

Since reading Crosby's book (and Graham Nash's as well), I've gone back and listened to some of the stuff he did with his son in CPR, as well as more of the Nash/Crosby outings...

Currently, I've added "Lee Shore" to my repertoire and it's a great song for a singer...

By the way, if there were EVER anyone who was an absolute money-grubber, that would be McGuinn... not having "been there" for all the drama behind the Byrds career as a band, I would not begin to understand how much bad blood there might be between Roger and any of the other guys... pretty easy to stand outside the ring and point fingers...

[Quickstep192]

I recently discovered this video of CPR doing Deja Vu. Really nice version. I think Jeff Pevar is really good on it.

http://youtu.be/o6Mg2IVmb6U

[GHS]

You know, I am a huge fan of CSN&Y. James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, and these four are the reason I got into playing the guitar. In the seventies these guys were giants, along with a host of others. All, or most of their solo ventures I like too. But I just cant get my head around this song. Is this just a bad example of it? Hard to hear whats going on with his guitarist.