Paint It Black- Original Key-Acoustic Strumming

Mike-

Hello! Thanks for the lesson on Paint It Black; it was a most interesting one and a great one! Have a few questions about the lesson and appreciate your feedback on the acoustic section of the tutorial (guitar 2).

First, on the Key Signature. From what I’m reading on the Internet the original Key of the song was written by the Rolling Stones in F minor, with Key signature that included Ab, Bb, Db and Eb. This is shown on MusicalNotes.com website where one can purchase the original artist’s sheet music of the song. I’m curious why you chose to teach it in E minor instead? Not that it’s wrong but just curious.

The Outro strumming. Fast, accurate and clean sounding strumming of the Outro at 158 bpm is a challenge for me especially playing the three sets of triplets in succession, then moving very quickly between the E minor or B major chords, very challenging. I’ve been playing guitar with daily regularity straight for nearly 4 years an electric and just picked up my first acoustic in 32 years this past summer. I still consider myself a beginner guitar player and wanting to get a feel of an acoustic. What is the correct progression or intervals of speed (bpm) to increase while say practicing the 4 measure Outro? What bpm to start out with and how long a session to do w/o getting burnt out? I use either the GT metronome or the one I own. I know it takes "years" to play this piece as you do, just curious on some feedback on the above.

Thank you,

Tony

Hi Tony, thanks for the great questions!

1) Indeed, every transcription I've seen for this song puts it in F minor. However, I strongly suspect that the original recording was sped up, resulting in a slightly higher pitch - so for me, it seems more likely it was recorded in E minor. This was even confirmed by checking out some live clips on youtube -- Keith Richards plays it using D minor open shapes with a capo on the 2nd fret.
It was also easier to mimic the sitar part in E minor in regular tuning without a capo, so we made the decision to teach it in E minor.

2) Here's what I suggest:
Find the bpm setting on your metronome where you can comfortably play through the chord progression using those strums 5 times through without making a mistake. Once you find that, bump up the bpm 5 clicks and see if you can do the same. If you can, keep bumping the bpm up 5 clicks until you find the bpm where it becomes difficult and you start making mistakes. THEN, roll back to the previous bpm and practice longer at that tempo.
With repetition, your muscles will start to acclimate to the technique of the strums, and you should find it more and more natural to play the part.
Repeat this process in each practice session, and eventually you should see some progress.

Hope this is helpful, let me know how it goes!
Mike

Mike-

Thanks for getting back! On the Key issue and recordings, very good explanation. I sometimes thought bands purposely performed a half or full step off but did not know why. In any case that clears things up.

On the strumming it's coming along although nailing the B major barr chord is a little challenging with that fast tempo. But in any case will use that technique with the 5 click advances, my metronome only goes by four's, still same idea. My fretting hand fingers are not as flexible or as large as yours but can get by.

By the way, what acoustic guitar do you have and amp settings used?? It really "cuts" through the musical arrangement nicely. Appreciate a comment on the gear and tone of the acoustic set up. I'm trying to see what you are playing.

Thanks!

Tony

Tony,

The acoustic is an Ibanez, but I have no idea what model. I'm pretty sure it's one of the more inexpensive ones. The onboard electronics are stock, and I'm plugging directly into my laptop running Logic Pro X for all acoustic and electric guitar sounds.

For the acoustic guitar, I will use some EQ to remove plenty of bass frequencies so that it sounds more clear and less muddy in the mix. I will also use lots of compression to even out the dynamics and give a more consistent sound that sits in the mix more evenly.

Glad to hear the practice regiment is helping you out! Keep at it!
Mike

Mike-

Thanks, your acoustic sounds terrific and really cuts an edge with the overall song arrangement. Thanks for sharing the equipment and settings as well. I have a Fender acoustic, it more than gets by for my level guitar playing.

Appreciated that you answered back, best regards!

Tony