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→Power Chords and Riffs
Remember those "power chords" we played on the 1st and 2nd strings which sounded familiar but a little wimpy? Let's try them on the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings:
1 n 2 3 n 4 1 n 2 n 3 n 4 - counting the beat
e e q. e q e q q e q - note durations
Riffs tend to repeat every 1, 2, or 4 measures. They can take focus as the lead part or serve as accompaniment for a melody or solo. Often they shift in and out of focus with a vocal melody. That's exactly what happens here. That's one of the reasons they are so successful and a primary usage of guitar in rock music - it creates a point-counterpoint interplay between instruments, which also creates harmony that feels less rigid and more subtle than simply strumming chords. And they're quite fun to play.
There's something new in the tab above you may not have initially noticed. The double dots right after the bar that begins the first measure and before the final bar of the last measure. That's a <u>repeat symbol</u> and indicates to...repeat. When reading music, you ignore the initial "|:" and play until you hit the ":|". That means go back to the "|:" and repeat that part. Notice the "x3x4" above the tab. This means indicates multiples repeats. The number indicates the total number of times played - so you initially play it once, then repeat 3 additional more times (so 4 total). If there is no indication of how many times to repeat, it implies a single repeat.
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