Lesson 46 Video

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Lesson 46

Lesson 46 - Sweet Home Alabama

Sweet Home Alabama

 

Lesson Goals:

♦ Review the D, C add9 and G add5 chords
♦ Learn the Intro Riff for "Sweet Home Alabama"
♦ Play complete song

It may very well be that "Sweet Home Alabama" is the undisputed anthem of the south. It is, from experience, one of the most requested songs a musician will get asked to play. I wonder if the guys in Lynyrd Skynyrd had any clue what their three chord ditty would blossom into.

In this lesson we will learn the famous Intro Riff and the rhythm to "Sweet Home Alabama". The song is comprised of the D, C add9 and G add5 chords that we have been using in "Dixie Style".

Let's start by taking a look at the TAB for the Intro Riff below.

46 sweet home intro 01

In the TAB there are four sections. The first is based around the D chord. If you first form the D chord and then work out the single note picking you will find that it is much easier.

The same holds true for the next two sections, by working the single picking notes around the chord forms, it will fall into place a lot faster.

I would highly recommend keeping your 3rd finger anchored to the 3rd fret of the 2nd string throughout the entire Intro. This will make your chord transitions much smoother, and when you reach the last measure of the intro you can play the individual notes using your 1st finger while keeping your 3rd in place.

 

Now we can look at the chart for the rest of the rhythm. It is, for the most part,  what you just learned with the Intro Riff. You can simply keep repeating that throughout the verses and then do strumming on the choruses.

46 sweet home score 01

Lesson 46 Summary

Take some time to work out the single note picking on the Intro Riff. It may take a little while to get all the notes sounding clearly. As always, start slowly and gradually work up your tempo. It will be well worth the effort when your family and friends are in awe as you start to play the first few lines of this song!

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Jam Tip!

It cannot be stressed enough, the importance of anchoring your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string throughout the entire passage of the Intro Riff. The chords and single note picking will transition much more smoothly by reducing excess finger movement.

D Chord

15_ d chord pic 01

C add9 Chord

43 c add 9

G add5 Chord

43 g5 add 2