Grateful Dead Music Forum

the riff for this song that the dead and winwood tend to use is the following

E--------------------|
B--------------------|
G--------------------|
D--------------------|
A-----------3---3---|
E--3--4--5---5---5-|

Winwood wouldn't play it the same as The Dead, because he plays it in the key of A and the Dead play it in the key of G.

The original riff in the key of A would be:
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-------------0-2-0----------------------------
--------0h3-----------------------------------
--0h3-----------------------------------------

For the Dead in G I have it as:


e-----------------------------
b-----------------------------
g-----------------------------
d--------------3---3--5---
a-----3--4--5----5----------
e-------------------------3

Try this for A:

-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
---------------0-------------------------------
--------0h3------------0-----------------------
--0h3--------------3---------------------------

I play it like this...

-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-------------0---------A CHORD-----------------
--------0h3-----3------------------------------
--0h3-----------------------------------------

I play it close to xstonr, but with a one-note variation and no hammer-ons, just heavy bends:

-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
----------------------A CHORD-----------------
--------0-3----0-3------------------------------
--0-3-----------------------------------------

I've also seen it (and vary it) as:

-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
----------------------A CHORD-----------------
--------0-3-----0-3------------------------------
--0-2-----------------------------------------

Okay, let's try this out:
Updating 16 years later... LOL

Guest wrote:Winwood wouldn't play it the same as The Dead, because he plays it in the key of A and the Dead play it in the key of G.

The original riff in the key of A would be:
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
-------------0-2-0----------------------------
--------0h3-----------------------------------
--0h3-----------------------------------------

My daughter and I were playing along with a Traffic version we downloaded from iTunes last night. It is right on the C major pentatonic so "Guests" assertion here is at least not always true.

I just wanted to straighten that out 6 years later.

sorry folks, but not only does Winwood/Traffic play it in a different key, they play the riff differently than Jerry does. In the Winwood key of A, the riff is E G A C A C A. In the Dead's key of G, the riff would be D F G Bb G Bb G

whereas Jerry plays A C D E D E A

in the Traffic's key of A, the riff (the way Jerry plays it) is B D E G E G A

not just different keys; different riffs. I suppose it's sacrilege to suggest Jerry played it wrong, so we'll call it an "interpretation". both riffs work.

Just pulling your leg, Dujour.

Wow, how we hear things differently as the years go by... Updated my post above 16 years later. HAHAHA

strumminsix wrote: ↑Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:18 pm Okay, let's try this out:

Code: Select all

The repeating pattern.  As it circles, it sounds like 2 bars of A but it's really split 2 beats on the front and 2 on the back.

||:   A /   |        A / / /     |     G / / /      |   D / / /   |   A /   :||

-------------------------------------3----------------2--2--3--2-----0--0-----
----------------------2--2--3--2-----0----------------3--3--3--3-----2--2-----
----------------------2--2--2--2-----0-2-0------------2--2--2--2-----2--2-----
----------------------2--2-----2-----0-----2-0--------0--0--0--0-----2--2-----
------0h3--p0--3--0------------------2---------3---------------------0--0-----
-0h3---------------------------------3----------------------------------------

Updating 16 years later... LOL

I dig this as a starting point and how you laid it out. And it's simple to riff off it with by adding highlights and embellishments (in this vein, I'm playing the A chord in your tab as a 1st finger partial bar). Also, I like ocassionally adding the 2nd string 3rd fret D to the G chord (not saying Garcia or Winwood did it, just that it sounds pleasing to me).

Jon S. wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 10:00 am

strumminsix wrote: ↑Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:18 pm Okay, let's try this out:

Code: Select all

The repeating pattern.  As it circles, it sounds like 2 bars of A but it's really split 2 beats on the front and 2 on the back.

||:   A /   |        A / / /     |     G / / /      |   D / / /   |   A /   :||

-------------------------------------3----------------2--2--3--2-----0--0-----
----------------------2--2--3--2-----0----------------3--3--3--3-----2--2-----
----------------------2--2--2--2-----0-2-0------------2--2--2--2-----2--2-----
----------------------2--2-----2-----0-----2-0--------0--0--0--0-----2--2-----
------0h3--p0--3--0------------------2---------3---------------------0--0-----
-0h3---------------------------------3----------------------------------------

Updating 16 years later... LOL

I dig this as a starting point and how you laid it out. And it's simple to riff off it with by adding highlights and embellishments (in this vein, I'm playing the A chord in your tab as a 1st finger partial bar). Also, I like ocassionally adding the 2nd string 3rd fret D to the G chord (not saying Garcia or Winwood did it, just that it sounds pleasing to me).

Thanks J! Yeah, this song has taken such a life of its own with Traffic, post traffic Stevie / Clapton, Jerry, WSP and others I tried to provide a combination of timing, lead run, chording, a melody notes. I'm guessing my playing of this is some gumbo of the aforementioned folks

You're right, alternate melodies, runs, embellishments, ets. Was just trying to give folks a staring point