“Melissa” Intro

Here is a simple chord progression from the Intro to the Allman Brothers classic “Melissa”.It is comprised of only three chords. The E major chord in the open position, a “variation” of an F# minor chord, and a “variation” of a G# minor chord.

It is not important at this stage to know “why” these last two chords are variations, and “what” they are. It is more important to simply know “how” to play them.

I would almost bet that when the “Brothers” sat around the “Big House” on Vineville Avenue here in Macon, GA – that they weren’t overly concerned about “what” or “why” these last two chords were “variations” – they just knew that they sounded “cool” when played together!

Take a look at the chord diagram below. If you are unfamiliar with chord diagrams please see “Reading Chord Diagrams“.

We are going to assume that you already know how to play an E chord.

Notice that the fingering pattern for the F# minor variation and the G# minor variation are identical.

Once you form the chord shape for the F# minor variation, you only need to slide that formation up two frets to be in position for the G# minor variation.

For further clarification, we have included the TAB below to illustrate the formation of all three chords. If you are unfamiliar with reading TAB please see “How to Read TAB“.

Playing this Intro is so simple that we did not need to include a music chart!

Just start with the E chord, then play the F# minor variation, then the G# minor variation, then back to the F# minor variation, then return to the E chord.

The chord progression just repeats after that. Try it out!

Enjoy…