Shazam - "How To" Question

[donna plasky]

Hi, everyone. I was wondering if I may ask your advice on how to play a certain phrase in the tune, Shazam. I am a beginner, and thus the inability to play a simple song like Shazam. I've included a YouTube video of Shazam, where at just about the 0:16 seconds mark, Hank plays the part that is puzzling me. Goran's tab site shows the tabs as saying this:

[I have omitted the initial open E's and open A's on the 6th and 5th strings (at least I understood that part ).]

On the 6th string:

0 - 5/7 - 0 - 5/7 - 0 | 5/7 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 5/7 - 5/7

Long story made short, I was wondering if you might either be able to tell me what I am supposed to play...or can you suggest something a little easier so I can "fake it." If I am not mistaken, I can both hear and see Hank doing some sort of "run" up and down the fretboard. But when I look at the tabs, I do not see it. Perhaps some of the zero's represent the "runs" and I am misreading them to mean a single picked open E. I am guessing that a little pick-and-slide from the 5th fret to the 7th fret would not produce the cool "z z z z z" sound that Hank is playing.

If I am having trouble with Shazam, you can just imagine the look on my face when I saw the sheet music for Nivram and Shadoogie.

Thank you so very much.

Kind regards,
Donna

[RogerCook]

Hi Donna

It's quite tricky to put into words but here goes! (the numbers in square brackets eg [5] refer to Goran's tab).

Play the open 6th string [0] then almost immediately fret the 6th string at the 5th fret [5] (this is like a hammer on, so think of it as hammering your finger sharply down at the 5th fret whilst the open string is still ringing) and almost simultaneously pick the string whilst fretted at the 5th fret at the same time sliding up to the 7th fret [7], release finger pressure while still at 7th fret to cut off the note, then release the finger from the string altogether and play the same thing again.

It's easier to do than explain but it is quite tricky to get it to sound right.

Hank plays something like a 12 fret slide in the video clip which is different to the tab and the earlier recordings.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on

Roger

[ernie1958]

I agree with Roger that it's hard to put into words and give a correct explanation on "how to..."
The way I did it..took me a while to figure out though..is let my knowledge of the fretboard and what I'm exactly
hearing that's being played on "Shazam" be my guideline.
So to speak repeatedly play that specific part,put my ears to the test of what I'm exactly hearing,translate that to my fingers and play.
It's all in trial and error but after a few tries it'll come out eventually.

Regards,
Ernie

[RogerCook]

The Shads recording can be heard here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTBe9T412LM

and there's a youtube video here that may help as it shows some of the left hand fingering:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9pjBYUV7sw

I had a look at the tab on Goran's site and it's not the same as the Shads recorded version as per the clips above. There is a note played at the 12th fret on the 6th string at the beginning of the phrase, so the phrase actually starts with a slide down from the 6th string 12th fret, with a pull off at around the 7th fret as you slide down (literally pulling the finger off the string so the note of the open strings sounds). This slide down and pull off happens again in the middle of the phrase.

As I said, it's tricky

[donna plasky]

Dear Roger and Ernie: Thank you both very much for your replies and the information -- and for your encouragement. I will practice the Shazam phrase over the next few days and I promise to let you know how I am coming along with it. My laptop computer has a simplistic "sound recorder" accessory, so perhaps I can record a little 10-15 second clip of whatever I learn to play. And, I will watch the fellow in the video you recommended, to see how he is playing it.

And thanks for telling me that Hank was not playing - in the concert - what the tabs are describing. At least I do not have to worry about that any more.

Thank you kindly,

Donna

[donna plasky]

Shazam4.wma

(237.25 KiB) Downloaded 649 times

Dear Roger: While I am somewhat embarrassed to post this brief clip of my horrible guitar playing, I wanted to keep my promise that I would practice the phrase and get back to you on my progress. I appreciate your help and advice very much.

And...I realize now that my computer's built-in sound recorder software is awful, so one of these days I will buy something better.

I attempted to play the notes you advised, an open E on the 6th string, then a fretted pick-and-slide from the 5th to 7th frets, and repeat. I realize I that am playing much too slowly; that is always my problem with a new song. Hopefully, I will get faster as I become more familiar with the song.

It has been about four months since I started trying to play my Strat. I am finding it interesting that the Shadows songs that I liked to listen to before buying the guitar, are not necessarily the ones that I enjoy trying to play, and vice-versa. For some reason, I seem to like playing tunes like Geronimo, The Frightened City, and Shazam -- the western, cowboy type of tunes. But I didn't like those tunes so much before I owned a guitar. Conversely, I have recently played Wonderful Land and Atlantis and they were not much fun for me. Perhaps the underlying truth is that I like what is easy and I dislike what it is difficult.

Thank you again for helping me. I really appreciate it.

Best wishes,
Donna

[abstamaria]

Hello, Donna,

I think actually that you selected the more difficult pieces to play! Frightened City is more difficult than Atlantis, I feel. The pieces you listed all seem to have a strong beat and drive, so that may be what you want to play. You probably like Savage as well (another difficult piece).

Unfortunately, I am unable to access your link on this device, but am sure you are doing very well. Were you playing guitar before getting the Strat?

Our bass guitarist Anna, who posts here once in a while, is relatively new to Shadows music. She had been playing bass without a plectrum for some years and so has to learn to use one, a skill new to her. However, since her clinic is close to my office, we brought two small amps to my office the other day and spent lunch practicing against a BT. We'll keep the amps there so can keep practicing" I am sure you'll be doing the same!

Best of luck.

Andy

[Iain Purdon]

Donna, I am seeing Roger tomorrow and I will ask him to show me how to do it. If I can do it, you can!

and thanks for telling me that Hank was not playing - in the concert - what the tabs are describing. At least I do not have to worry about that any more

Hank is very forgiving. He just plays what he plays at the time, always has, so you needn't worry about being precisely the same as he was on any particular occasion. Unless you're trying to reproduce one of the old records exactly, in which case you do have your work cut out.

Iain

[alanbakewell]

Donna, Iain has summed it up nicely when he says that Hank "Plays what he plays at the time".

I play "what I play at the time" and it works for me.

The most important thing is that you play. Enjoy yourself Donna. Don't fret, ( Fret, pun intended ), about getting
it bang on. If we all worried about that there'd be very few posts.

One thing I can guarantee about my version of Shazam is that it's definately different every single time.

Carry on and enjoy it.

Cheers, Alan.

[donna plasky]

Dear Alan, Iain, and Andy: Thank you very much for your kind words and for your encouragement. Andy, I think you are right -- maybe I like the songs with the driving beat. I had not thought of it that way before -- thanks! I do not yet have the skills to play delicate, smooth-flowing songs like Atlantis. I tried, but I know it sounded terrible and too choppy.

And you asked about when I started playing the Squire Strat...I originally bought a Yamaha acoustic guitar some time in early 2011 but I found I could not play it because the strings hurt my fingers too much (and I gave up). In late November 2011, I bought a starter-kit Squire SE Special Stratocaster with a 10-watt practice amp. I found I could play it a little bit (better than the acoustic any way) so in January or February 2012 I traded in the starter guitar/amp for a Squire Classic 60s Vibe Strat and a 30-watt amp. It was well worth the extra money.

I have various books and DVDs that I need to read/watch in order to learn how to play the guitar. But in the meanwhile, I keep downloading guitar tabs for various Shadows tunes and just giving it a try, to see how far into the song I can get before I crash! The thing that has saved my life is that one of my books has a fretboard diagram, showing all the notes on the 1st through 12th frets. I cross-reference that diagram when I use guitar tabs, to try to at least learn what notes I am playing.

Thank you kindly for your interest -- and for going easy on me with your critique. Fellow Shadows fans like yourselves are the only people who understand what is going through my mind. Other people are suggesting that I not try to play Shads tunes yet because it is too difficult, etc. And they are right, that is true, but the only reason I wanted to play the guitar was so I could play Shadows tunes.

Gratefully,
Donna