Teach me using YouTube to play Lyle Lovett "Snow Leopard . . . "

[Shortfinger]

If you have time and are willing, please do a video showing the picking for this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVJCOWZWraM

[Shortfinger]

Here is the version with Lyle playing the guitar part without his large band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tdIkj_DJLQ

[rick-slo]

Take your time and figure it out on your own. That will pay you back the next time, and the next time, and...

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Shortfinger

Here is the version with Lyle playing the guitar part without his large band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tdIkj_DJLQ

Tip #1: he's in drop D tuning.

Tip #2: the descending bass line is on the A string (frets 3-2-1). (doubled by an invisible bass guitar here, I think).

Tip #3: download a copy of Transcribe - https://www.seventhstring.com/ - and do the rest yourself.
It will work with video too, but that requires downloading and converting the youtube, which needs other software. You should be able to combine the slowdown options on youtube (to see his shapes) with Transcribe's more detailed functionality (to hear the notes).

It still may take you a while (to get used to the program), but it's way better to do this kind of thing yourself - you learn it much better, and feel more sense of ownership.

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Take your time and figure it out on your own. That will pay you back the next time, and the next time, and...

Absolutely!!! Spending the time to develop your ear and dig into the music on a deeper level will help you on SO many levels. The sooner you start, the sooner you arrive.

[Shortfinger]

I am not good enough to figure it myself.

The only tab I found for it has the first two bars about like what Lyle is doing, but from there things go south.

The chording shapes he is doing after he does the intro up to fret five, are the ones I cannot figure out.

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by Shortfinger

I am not good enough to figure it myself.

The only tab I found for it has the first two bars about like what Lyle is doing, but from there things go south.

The chording shapes he is doing after he does the intro up to fret five, are the ones I cannot figure out.

Keep at it. You CAN succeed. Then you'll have become "good enough".

Listen carefully to the sounds. Observe the RELATIVE location of the fretting hand. Experiment with chords/fingerings in that area until it starts to sound right.

It's all part of musical development.

Edit:

Open wide! http://www.allcountrytabs.com/tabs/l...ng=&transpose=

[Shortfinger]

Thanks to the responders. I had that tab, but parts of it did not seem right.

I listened and listened and watched and watched, slowing down the YouTube video by half, and am now playing it.

There are errors in the tabs and I am playing it the way Lyle does it. Now if only I could sing, and have a small group for backup with the bass fiddle, drums, and steel guitar. Wow!

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Shortfinger

Now if only I could sing, and have a small group for backup with the bass fiddle, drums, and steel guitar. Wow!

Right! You and me both...

[jseth]

I absolutely agree with the "take the time to figure it out" replies... best thing you can do for your musical development. I know, it is difficult at first, but you WILL get there!

Nice thing to remember is, you don't have to do the tune the way Lyle does it... pretty sure that he does the song differently than the original writer does it anyway... you can be "close" or farther away from the original, as long as it sounds good to you! After all, Lyle ALREADY did the thing one way...

Another tip for your continued development would be to notice any unusual chord shapes used in whatever song you learn, and then experiment with those to see where they might be applicable in other songs you already play or those you may learn in the future...

Think of it like you're learning new words and phrases so you speak the way you want, in any given situation...

Great song from a TERRIFIC record, by the way! I love how Lyle had a bunch of success with a few records, and then chose to do a double CD set of songs from all the folks who were his "heroes" as he started out... and you can bet your butt that the writers got the fair share of any money made on that CD, "Step Inside This House"...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by Shortfinger

Thanks to the responders. I had that tab, but parts of it did not seem right.

I listened and listened and watched and watched, slowing down the YouTube video by half, and am now playing it.

There are errors in the tabs and I am playing it the way Lyle does it. Now if only I could sing, and have a small group for backup with the bass fiddle, drums, and steel guitar. Wow!

Good going. One observation:

Songs like this pretty much get their shifting tonal colors not so much from a chord progression as utilizing a moving line...in this case in the bass...while maintaing basic semblance of the chord above it. You get a nice contrast between the moving bass and the chord. Drop D and other altered tunings are great for this.

Here it stays on one or another inversion of the D chord while the leading tone in the bass passes through a C# to a B...which can be taken from any number of chords, most notably the bm, the G or possibly an E major or minor depending on where you're coming from and where you're going.

So you needn't think of each fingering as a chord so much as "chord>shift, chord>shift" as the leading tone moves.

Good choice of song, good work on figuring it out. Keep making it your own and if your ear and hands hijack your brain and play something interesting and unintended, go with it. Often what we call a "mistake" is just the music taking charge.

Let it...