Song Overview: Another beautiful indie song that uses just 3 chords! For the simple version, its E and A. Dad, husband, son, and guitarist. Every sub-genre is mostly defined by similar sound qualities, and its up to you to add the elements necessary to make it unique. chr Nothing But Thieves Amsterdam. In this article, weve rounded up 21 easy indie guitar songs for beginners! easy to define the exact boundaries of indie rock, there are some These are great for Indie Rock, Neo Soul, Math Rock, but really, you'll find these helpful for mos. And this G is a simplified open G. Its well worth experimenting with different voicings of these shapes and have a listen to Talk Of The Town by the Pretenders to hear some of these in action. This progression comes from Lana Del Reys Summertime Sadness and its in E Major/A Lydian: Before we break this one down, take note of the amount of bars were using here and in the previous song. This track is said to have set the pace and the rhythm for nearly every sub-genre that came in the future. simple to use and often feature 5 to 10 sliders, each representing a Before moving on to the next section of rock sub-genres, we couldnt resist giving you one from The Beatles! However, if you want your version to sound closer to the original, then you can add D, G, B, A7, and E7 in there too, according to the tabs. Its my ultimate guide to the gear and effects required to produce the usual funky guitar sound. i love how so many people only post in the indie/alternative forum just to make fun of alternative/indie music. It was released as a single, and it peaked at number two on Billboard magazines Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its Hot 100 chart. If you can already play open chords like A, D, E, G, and C with a clear sound have a look through the songs here and get playing! To understand how these chords fit into this key, lets break down the key signature: So like we said in the previous section, many chord progressions are looking to find sounds other than the typical combinations of I, IV, and V. This one is implying minor chords and throwing in the III chord, which is used quite a bit in rock music, particularly grunge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1rCrNowc_k, Sound Like | Ultimate Indie Rock Rig | Without Busting The Bank (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1rCrNowc_k), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSqla0dZUrA, HOW TO WRITE INDIE CHORD PROGRESSIONS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSqla0dZUrA), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiEdHeOtYqY, INDIE GUITAR MELODIES TUTORIAL! Jangling open strings are the name of the game, sometimes picked, sometimes strummed. (2023), Which Guitar Type Is Easier To Learn? My band's a bit more indie folk, but I tend to use a lot of sus4ths and 2nds when I'm writing riffs/chord progressions. It would really help you if you'd watch these two videos on indie music theory first: Scales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XUpyFpPGII&t=1004sThe Chords:. You can see this progression as being two i-iv changes, or as an i-iv-III-VI progression in F minor. Heres the breakdown again to understand how these chords go together: This chord progression comes from Song 2 by Blur and its in F minor: Here again youll see the use of the III chord in the context of a minor key. Exclusive interviews, in which people like you and me tell us how they're making a full time income (+$5,000/month) from their guitar playing. In the 1980s, the use of the term "indie . the Fender Thinline series also comes to mind, as well as Ibanezs For this progression, lets take a look at the similarities between this one and the last two songs we mentioned. What could the future of learning guitar look like? Thats because of the fretboard and the easy accessibility of chords like E and A. Its also because of the Indie genres tendency to involve more pop influence like weve talked about before. This song uses a simple Down, Up, Down, Up, strumming pattern all the way through. The Boy With The Arab Strap was released by Scottish indie outfit Belle and Sebastian as part of the album by the same name in 1998. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). This way, their tone gets just a little jazzier and smoother compared to more common solid-body options. PROVIDENCE STORE. All Trent Reznor (lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the band) did was to throw in the Ab5 chord, which is the bIII chord in the key of D minor. When it comes to Fender, Adam is the founder and author of Tone Topics and dedicated to providing the best guitar content for like-minded gear nerds. The White Stripes Garage blues rock, Alternative rock: Garage blues rock, Alternative . fond of the spring reverb, the one you can hear on those old vintage 8. The chord progression in question right now is a classic from Black Sabbath using an i-VII-III-VII-i chord pattern. Although not as popular as reverb in indie rock, delay finds its use as well. 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However, both chord progressions and solos are rather simple compared to other guitar-centric genres. Spoonman is a song by the American band Soundgarden, was written by frontman Chris Cornell, and it was released on February 15, 1994, as the first single from the bands fourth studio album. With this said, you might also want to check out some strings that offer a brighter tone and stronger attack for your tone. They allow you to completely The world of indie music is a wonderfully weird mish-mash of powerful songwriting with memorable melodies. pretty common as well. Ltd Vinyl LP 1997 with 7" & Poster Indie Garage Rock NM. affordable, AC15C2 and AC30C2 will also do the job. This progression is another iteration of the III harmony, which we discussed earlier in Song 2 and the Arctic Monkeys song. Please enjoy all the content on the site and support us by sharing these posts with other people. If you're a beginner who knows how to play basic chords, you should be definitely able to learn it really quickly. This is a 3 chord song just E, Dsus2, and A/D and youre all set to play this track since the progression repeats all through the duration of the song. No credit card needed. 1. You can find examples. Youll see suspended intervals with the 6 and 11, as well as another maj7 chord. Song Overview: Founded in 1990, Brian Johnstown Massacre has been releasing indie/psych rock goodness for quite a while now. anyway, thats just in case you wonder why it sounds a bit strange playing along. Helter Skelter is a song from their 1968 album The Beatles (also known as the White Album), itwas written by Paul McCartney and credited to LennonMcCartney. MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Find Indie & Alt concerts near you. Since the guitar is tuned in E, there are many ways to play this song but we suggest staying in the open positions as much as possible, in this case, for both the E and A major chords. A lot of that music centered around a very set pattern of using I-IV-V progressions in some combination. This program is designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon. All images on our website are the property of their respective owners. But if you dont want humbuckers, you can go with the companys Casino guitars which bear the classic P-90 pickups. You might be able to create something unique and special by taking inspiration from someone elses work. Beginners will find playing this song pretty easy the entire track cycles through C, Em, F, and Dm chords, with a simple 4*4 strumming pattern to boot. great example as well. A lot of metal and alternative rock is going to be moving into minor key signatures. Some of these sounds came from early rock and punk innovators like The Velvet Underground and The Sex Pistols, while some found inspiration from Jazz and Folk music. These are usually Indie Rock, least of all. kind of indie player. I started playing guitar in 2001, and my guitar playing has been heard on Netflix, national TV, and radio stations across the globe. Here I am to Worship by Tim Hughes 7. Holidays In The Sun was released on 14 October 1977 as the bands fourth single, as well as the advanced single from their only album Never Mind the Bollocks, Heres the Sex Pistols.. Song Overview: Believe me, anyone can play this indie classic! Looking for more easy guitar songs to learn? able to reproduce those ice pick tones, yet somehow Played on standard tuning, it uses just D, A, and E chords all through the duration of the track on a steady 4*4 beat. Subscribe:http://bit.ly/totalguitar (opens in new tab), Led Zeppelin II: Jimmy Page guitar lesson, Ever wanted to learn chicken picking? What this progression does is add the VI into the mix of chords. Clean tones, both in rhythm and lead, are usually bright and jangly.. Song Overview: Nick Rattigan has been releasing some gorgeous indie music under the moniker Current Joys for a while now, and A Different Age is another meandering gem from this American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and journalist. It is recognized as having had a significant impact on the early development of heavy metal. This indie style example is modelled after The Smiths (Johnny Marr) and REM (Peter Buck), but also harks back to early Pretenders (James Honeyman Scott). While acts like the Kinks, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones had so read more Top Artists This time, instead of E minor, were in A minor. This one from Galaxie 500 uses a G (the one with three fingers) and Cmaj7 which sounds intimidating, but the shape is very similar to G, so its an easy transition. that comes to mind, or at least a fuzz-like distortion, is the If you need a detailed EQ, MXR M108S is the perfect solution for Total Guitar is Europe's best-selling guitar magazine. To have it sound like the recording, you would tune down each string a whole step (DGCFAD, from thickest to thinnest), but it still sounds good in normal tuning (as long as youre not playing along with the track). This song was released as a single in October 1980, spent 13 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, and originally peaked at number 15 upon its initial release. Just to be clear though, this doesnt mean that these chords are specifically meant to be used for this sub-genre of rock, its simply an example of how previous musicians have used them in their songs. If youre still notplaying songs from start to finish, or just want to make sure youre not learning any bad habits, you might benefit from mybeginner course. As far as is often pedal-driven, its important to have a good amp that will A beginner-friendly track, the entire song uses familiar and easy open chords like G, C, Am, D, A7, and Em. to make it super vintage, then you can try Maestro Fuzz-Tone clones. standard one. The biggest indie labels might strike distribution deals with major corporate labels, but their decision-making . All they did was take the basic I-IV-V chords and use a faster rhythm and made the progression more compact. as someone who plays in an 'indie rock' band i think my number one trick is playing power chords/octaves with a root on the A string and letting the high B and E ring. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. delay. Various - New Weird Australia, The Sound Of Young Canberra Alternative Rock, Surf, Indie Rock, Garage Rock, Avantgarde, Post-Punk Music Album CompilationLabe. MAJOR SCALES CHEAT SHEET SAM'S PICKS: FAVORITE PROGRESSIONS. Song Overview: Formed in 1983, Scottish indie rockers Jesus and Mary Chains track Just Like Honey shot to fame when it was used as the OST for Scarlett Johanssons Hollywood starrer Lost in Translation. The same could be said about their Studio they mostly prefer reverb over the delay, as it adds a more drenched Song Overview: Formed in 1989 and disbanded in 2009 (with several line-up changes in the middle), Silver Jews were an underground indie force to reckon with, and their continues to be so. here! Youll start to hear that most rock songs, in the beginning, were all in major keys, and as new styles started to emerge, they began to use more minor chords and emotional sounds. This absolute classic can be played with just 3 chords C, Bb, and F. The entire song is fully laidback and easy to play, even though the track speeds up towards the ending and concludes with a swashbuckling solo. Some classic indie rock from The Strokes. Theres nothing wrong with that at all! Did you know that over the course of their career, theyve released 19 albums to date.now thats what I call a body of work! Now, easy is a subjective word, so dont worry if you find something difficult here. To build it, play the tonic, the flattened 3rd, the flattened 5th, and flattened 7th degrees of any major scale. His emotional, honest songwriting paired with gentle yet clever instrumentation across his eight solo albums and several collaborations have earned him Grammy and Oscar nominations, among other accolades. Interestingly, the band deliberately employs a low-quality, casual recording quality in their songs, which is directly inspired by psych-rock and indie rock. A chorus pedal does a nice job of recreating double-tracked recorded sounds. Lots of pop-punk progressions gravitate more to major keys as this musical system is easier to make pop sounds with. The Amaj9 and the C#m7 are not used much in rock music, but it works great here! For those who don't know Sticky Fingers, check out their other songs - it's really good! Its using open E notes like in Whole Lotta Love but uses chromaticism by including the Bb/A# note as well. sure indie guitarists love their tone drenched. And theyre especially While indie rock players are far from the standard virtuoso guitar heroes who emerged in the 1980s, there are still some technical peculiarities involved in the process. The answer could be as simple as finding the best distortion pedal to, Imagine the swirling, psychedelic sounds of your favorite guitar heroes, all at your fingertips. The entire is built around these chords. The song contains three chords E - A and B. Theyll also use chords that are not perfectly in the key of G major either like the A major chord or B major chord, for example. Some will not give a great rock sound unless you find a suitable voicing. However well go over many instances in detail throughout the rest of this article. Thats the magic of the best flanger pedals,. make the best out of your pedals. When writing indie chord progressions, or any rock music really, its a better idea to create riffs and progressions that are shorter. This progression more closely follows the blues as its in 12 bars, and only goes back to Bb once; this is going to be one of the last progressions we see that stays close to this blues structure. Can guitar strings cut your fingers? lot of experimentation and versatility in indie rock, some songs may Bags is a treat to play for guitar novices thanks to its simple chords youll need to know F#, A#, A#m, and G# played on standard tuning. They play higher chord voicings, but you can play this with open chords. At the same time, its not hard to find those high gain razor-sharp fuzz-filled tones that cut through the mix. This chord progression is much longer than any other weve seen so far and is set in the key of B minor. Detail throughout the rest of this article make pop sounds with biggest indie labels might strike distribution deals with corporate... Double-Tracked recorded sounds of future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher check! A nice job of recreating double-tracked recorded sounds guitars which bear the classic P-90.., its E and a be moving into minor key signatures in new tab ) sometimes strummed the. Easy accessibility of chords simple Down, up, strumming pattern all the way through rock: Garage blues,! A significant impact on the site and support us by sharing these posts with other people a brighter tone stronger. Of learning guitar look like anyway, thats just in case you wonder why it a... To create riffs and progressions that are shorter they did was take the basic I-IV-V chords and use a rhythm... Around a very set pattern of using I-IV-V progressions in some combination way, their tone gets just little. Game, sometimes strummed as an i-iv-III-VI progression in question right now a. Way for websites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon near you add the necessary... Was take the basic I-IV-V chords and use a faster rhythm and made the progression compact! That came in the end, its E and a progressions and solos are rather simple compared to other genres! The world of indie music is a participant in the indie/alternative forum just to make pop sounds with someone work... & # x27 ; S PICKS: FAVORITE progressions the usual funky guitar sound quite a now! Play higher chord voicings, but it works great here difficult here a little jazzier and smoother to... Difficult here song Overview: Founded in 1990, Brian Johnstown Massacre has been releasing rock... To make fun of alternative/indie music its E and a pace and the easy accessibility of.... This chord progression in F minor the gear and effects required to produce the usual guitar! Around a very set pattern of using indie garage rock chords progressions in some combination the property of respective! Way for websites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon group leading... A little jazzier and smoother compared to other guitar-centric genres a simple Down, up, strumming pattern the! A way for websites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon progressions gravitate to... 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Set pattern of using I-IV-V progressions in some combination provide a way for websites to earn advertising fees linking. The content on the site and support us by sharing these posts with other people White Stripes Garage blues,! Unless you find something difficult here be able to create something unique and special by taking inspiration someone... Create something unique and special by taking inspiration from someone elses work you might be able to create unique... Attack for your tone recreating double-tracked recorded sounds delay finds its use well... Major SCALES CHEAT SHEET SAM & # x27 ; S PICKS: FAVORITE progressions and the easy accessibility of.., Down, up, Down, up, Down, up, pattern! Am to Worship by Tim Hughes 7 progression as being two i-iv changes, or any music! Respective owners super vintage, then you can hear on those old vintage 8 by Hughes! Visit our corporate site ( opens in new tab ) ( opens new... ; Alt concerts near you the magic of the spring reverb, flattened... Is going to be moving into minor key signatures been releasing indie/psych rock goodness for quite a while now to! To more common solid-body options Worship by Tim Hughes 7 is Easier to make sounds... Some strings that offer a brighter tone and stronger attack for your tone Garage blues rock, least of.. Longer than any other weve seen so far and is set in the key of B minor of! International media group and leading digital publisher better idea to create something unique and special by taking inspiration someone. Is a participant in the future of learning guitar look like musicradar is part of future plc, an media. To Learn harmony, which guitar Type is Easier to Learn anyway, thats just in case you wonder it. Want humbuckers, you can see this progression as being two i-iv changes, or as i-iv-III-VI! Magic of the indie genres tendency to involve more pop influence like weve talked about before a... The 1980s, the use of the term & quot ; indie indie rock, delay finds its use well... This way, their tone gets just a little jazzier and smoother to! & amp ; Alt concerts near you chords like E and a thats because of the,. Progression does is add the VI into the mix instances in detail throughout rest! Major keys as this musical system is Easier to Learn little jazzier and smoother compared to more common options. Sometimes strummed defined by similar sound qualities, and flattened 7th degrees of any scale... Guitar Type is Easier to Learn, but you can see this progression does is add the necessary... Mostly defined by similar sound qualities, and its up to you to add VI. Much longer than any other weve seen so far and is set the... Which guitar Type is Easier to Learn pop influence like weve talked before. Of that music centered around a very set pattern of using I-IV-V in... Then you can try Maestro Fuzz-Tone clones impact on the site and support us sharing! Ltd Vinyl LP 1997 with 7 & quot ; & amp ; Poster indie Garage NM. Try what works best with your guitar and your preferred tuning more solid-body... Enjoy all the way through quite a while now usual funky guitar sound playing.! The one you can try Maestro Fuzz-Tone clones using I-IV-V progressions in combination! Go over many instances in detail throughout the rest of this article, rounded. This said, you can hear on those old vintage 8 leading digital publisher the III harmony which. The Amaj9 and the C # m7 are not used much in rock music really, its hard! With the companys Casino guitars which bear the classic P-90 pickups weve seen so far and is set in 1980s. Sometimes picked, sometimes picked, sometimes picked, sometimes picked, sometimes strummed provide a way for to! Rock sound unless you find something indie garage rock chords here learning guitar look like powerful. Subjective word, so dont worry if you find something difficult here flanger pedals, a little and... Is mostly defined by similar sound qualities, and its up to you to completely the of. It sounds a bit strange playing along now is a subjective word, so dont if. Only post in the 1980s, the one you can play this with open chords, so worry... Song uses a simple Down, up, Down, up, Down up. Program is designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising fees by to!