Chords for Geddy Lee Explains His Right-Hand Picking Technique | Fender
Tempo:
85.65 bpm
Chords used:
E
A
B
G
G#
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[E] I remember, I guess, when was it?
In [N] the early 2000s maybe?
We were touring a lot with Primus,
and I have huge respect for Les Claypool [G] as a bass player and [E] as a fisherman, [G#] and as a
winemaker.
He's a super cool [N] guy.
So I really got off at watching how he approached the
instrument.
He used to say to me, you're a big influence on me, but I didn't really hear
that in his playing, because he's got his own style, and it's a very rhythmic style of playing.
And I like that, and I always found it a bit foreign to the way I play.
I found my playing
very kind of white man, you know, very white Canadian style of playing.
So he has a sort of
funk and a sense of rhythm that I found very appealing.
And at the same time, there were all
these bass players doing all this slap and pop and stuff, which didn't really feel like my kind
of thing either.
In an effort to bring more rhythm into my playing, I just started messing
about with my approach to writing [D] a bass part.
When Neil and I would get together to discuss
what kind of rhythm section belonged in a particular song, we at that period made a
conscious effort to make it a little more funkier, a little more rhythmic.
And so that enabled me to
then sit down and try to find new ways of approaching the rhythm.
Now, I don't play with
a pick, and I never [F#] have, but I play with my nails quite a bit, so I can get [A] a lot of twang
when I need to.
So I use the edge of my nail.
And so sometimes when you try to emulate the style of
a pick, the advantage of a pick is you can go up strokes and down strokes back and forth, right?
[E] And so I just started varying that style and adding some funk to it, like that.
And that's
how it developed.
And then I got kind of carried away with it.
And so now, I don't even realize
when I'm doing it, whenever instinctively I feel the part needs more rhythm, I kind of go into this
kind of flamenco approach.
And it really suits our music, and it's fun to do.
So it gives me
just more tools, you know?
As you grow as a player, you want to be able to look at the neck
with less mystery as you get older.
There have to be more and more areas of familiarity so that you
can choose to go there when you need to go there, and it adds a different tone, a different color
to your playing.
And the whole rhythmic or flamenco style of playing is another tool for me,
another color, another tone that I can go to.
[B] [A]
In [N] the early 2000s maybe?
We were touring a lot with Primus,
and I have huge respect for Les Claypool [G] as a bass player and [E] as a fisherman, [G#] and as a
winemaker.
He's a super cool [N] guy.
So I really got off at watching how he approached the
instrument.
He used to say to me, you're a big influence on me, but I didn't really hear
that in his playing, because he's got his own style, and it's a very rhythmic style of playing.
And I like that, and I always found it a bit foreign to the way I play.
I found my playing
very kind of white man, you know, very white Canadian style of playing.
So he has a sort of
funk and a sense of rhythm that I found very appealing.
And at the same time, there were all
these bass players doing all this slap and pop and stuff, which didn't really feel like my kind
of thing either.
In an effort to bring more rhythm into my playing, I just started messing
about with my approach to writing [D] a bass part.
When Neil and I would get together to discuss
what kind of rhythm section belonged in a particular song, we at that period made a
conscious effort to make it a little more funkier, a little more rhythmic.
And so that enabled me to
then sit down and try to find new ways of approaching the rhythm.
Now, I don't play with
a pick, and I never [F#] have, but I play with my nails quite a bit, so I can get [A] a lot of twang
when I need to.
So I use the edge of my nail.
And so sometimes when you try to emulate the style of
a pick, the advantage of a pick is you can go up strokes and down strokes back and forth, right?
[E] And so I just started varying that style and adding some funk to it, like that.
And that's
how it developed.
And then I got kind of carried away with it.
And so now, I don't even realize
when I'm doing it, whenever instinctively I feel the part needs more rhythm, I kind of go into this
kind of flamenco approach.
And it really suits our music, and it's fun to do.
So it gives me
just more tools, you know?
As you grow as a player, you want to be able to look at the neck
with less mystery as you get older.
There have to be more and more areas of familiarity so that you
can choose to go there when you need to go there, and it adds a different tone, a different color
to your playing.
And the whole rhythmic or flamenco style of playing is another tool for me,
another color, another tone that I can go to.
[B] [A]
Key:
E
A
B
G
G#
E
A
B
_ _ [E] _ I remember, I guess, when was it?
In [N] the early 2000s maybe?
We were touring a lot with Primus,
and I have huge respect for Les Claypool [G] as a bass player and [E] as a fisherman, [G#] and as a
winemaker.
He's a super cool [N] guy.
So I really got off at watching how he approached the
instrument.
He used to say to me, you're a big influence on me, but I didn't really hear
that in his playing, because he's got his own style, and it's a very rhythmic style of playing.
And I like that, and I always found it a bit foreign to the way I play.
I found my playing
very kind of white man, you know, very white Canadian style of playing.
So he has a sort of
funk and a sense of rhythm that I found very appealing.
And at the same time, there were all
these bass players doing all this slap and pop and stuff, which didn't really feel like my kind
of thing either.
In an effort to bring more rhythm into my playing, I just started messing
about with my approach to writing [D] a bass part.
When Neil and I would get together to discuss
what kind of rhythm section belonged in a particular song, we at that period made a
conscious effort to make it a little more funkier, a little more rhythmic.
And so that enabled me to
then sit down and try to find new ways of approaching the rhythm.
Now, I don't play with
a pick, and I never [F#] have, but I play with my nails quite a bit, so I can get [A] _ _ a lot of twang
when I need to.
So I use the edge of my nail. _
And so sometimes when you try to emulate the style of
a pick, the advantage of a pick is you can go up strokes and down strokes back and forth, right?
_ [E] And so I just started varying that style and adding some funk to it, like that.
And that's
how it developed.
And then I got kind of carried away with it.
And so now, I don't even realize
when I'm doing it, whenever instinctively I feel the part needs more rhythm, I kind of go into this
kind of flamenco approach.
And it really suits our music, and it's fun to do.
So it gives me
just more tools, you know?
As you grow as a player, you want to be able to look at the neck
with less mystery as you get older.
There have to be more and more areas of familiarity so that you
can choose to go there when you need to go there, and it adds a different tone, a different color
to your playing.
And the whole rhythmic or flamenco style of playing is another tool for me,
another color, another tone that I can go to.
_ [B] _ _ [A] _ _
In [N] the early 2000s maybe?
We were touring a lot with Primus,
and I have huge respect for Les Claypool [G] as a bass player and [E] as a fisherman, [G#] and as a
winemaker.
He's a super cool [N] guy.
So I really got off at watching how he approached the
instrument.
He used to say to me, you're a big influence on me, but I didn't really hear
that in his playing, because he's got his own style, and it's a very rhythmic style of playing.
And I like that, and I always found it a bit foreign to the way I play.
I found my playing
very kind of white man, you know, very white Canadian style of playing.
So he has a sort of
funk and a sense of rhythm that I found very appealing.
And at the same time, there were all
these bass players doing all this slap and pop and stuff, which didn't really feel like my kind
of thing either.
In an effort to bring more rhythm into my playing, I just started messing
about with my approach to writing [D] a bass part.
When Neil and I would get together to discuss
what kind of rhythm section belonged in a particular song, we at that period made a
conscious effort to make it a little more funkier, a little more rhythmic.
And so that enabled me to
then sit down and try to find new ways of approaching the rhythm.
Now, I don't play with
a pick, and I never [F#] have, but I play with my nails quite a bit, so I can get [A] _ _ a lot of twang
when I need to.
So I use the edge of my nail. _
And so sometimes when you try to emulate the style of
a pick, the advantage of a pick is you can go up strokes and down strokes back and forth, right?
_ [E] And so I just started varying that style and adding some funk to it, like that.
And that's
how it developed.
And then I got kind of carried away with it.
And so now, I don't even realize
when I'm doing it, whenever instinctively I feel the part needs more rhythm, I kind of go into this
kind of flamenco approach.
And it really suits our music, and it's fun to do.
So it gives me
just more tools, you know?
As you grow as a player, you want to be able to look at the neck
with less mystery as you get older.
There have to be more and more areas of familiarity so that you
can choose to go there when you need to go there, and it adds a different tone, a different color
to your playing.
And the whole rhythmic or flamenco style of playing is another tool for me,
another color, another tone that I can go to.
_ [B] _ _ [A] _ _