Chords for "I Shot the Sheriff" Eric Clapton Guitar Lesson

_ _ [D] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _
[Gm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
_ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
[Gm] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Hey guys, it's Seth, Stage Right.
Today we're [N] going to do a lesson on the old Bob Marley song, I Shot the Sheriff.
_ We're actually going to do the Eric Clapton version of it.
_ That was the one that you guys are probably more familiar with.
This is going to be in the key of G minor.
You're going to use some inversion chords for this [B] to get that kind of reggae, kind
of funky _ feel to it.
I'm going to go over those chord shapes and then [Bb] _
we'll split it up between the verses
and [N] the choruses.
_ Then I'll show you the little riff too for the bridge.
We'll just start off with the main part, which is the chorus.
_ It's going to start off with G minor and then you're going to go into a C minor using the
same chord shape.
The chord shape is going to be, _ _ you're going to do basically like the F inversion, but
instead of doing that, that would be the major, you're going to take it off and you're going
to bar all the strings on [A] the third fret.
Then you're going to [Bb] use your ring [Am] finger on the fifth [Ab] fret on the D string.
That chord will sound like this.
_ [Gm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Bm] _ You're just going to play that and then you're going to go into [Bb] a C minor and then you're
going to [N] come back into a G and you're going to hold out that G and then it starts with G again.
Basically, it goes G, C, _ G, G, back into G.
It's like a four chord [Eb] progression.
[Gm] _
_ _ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _
_ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ That would end the progression and then you'd start back in G again. _ _ _
_ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [B] That'll be the choruses.
You're going to play that for the chorus.
[F] Then what's cool about that too when you come back to the G after [B] hitting that C is a lot
of times Clapton will do little riffs within the G minor _ _ _ _ pentatonic scale.
_ [Bb] You can _ _ improvise a little bit because he does that a lot, especially when he plays [Gm] live. _ _ _ _
_ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ [Bb] Just little things like that he does in between that really spice [N] it up.
_ That's what you'll do during the choruses there.
When it comes to the verses, _ _ _ _ _ basically you're going to play what would be an E flat _ and
then you're going to play a D minor and then you're going to play the G minor again.
_ I'm just going to use power chords for these just for simplicity.
_ That's what I usually do anyway and I think that's what Eric Clapton does during the songs too.
_ That'll sound like this.
_ [Eb] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
[G] _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ [Dm] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ During [Db] that section, when you get to that last one after going through four [C] times, you're
going to hold that G out and then what you'll do is you'll play the little riff [E] that he
plays in between that'll lead you back into the chorus.
That little [B] riff is going to be [N] in the G, extended G minor pentatonic scale.
You're going to slide in on your root note for the G on your D string fifth fret.
_ _ [G] _ _ Then you're going to come down _ [Fm] to your third fret. _
Then [B] you're going to go back up a string [D] but to your fifth fret _ _ _ and then to your third
fret, [C] same string, _ _ and then to [Bb] your first fret. _ _
_ Then you're going _ to hammer on and slide up.
All together it'll sound like this.
[D] _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ [Bb] _ [G] _
_ _ _ [N] You're basically just going to run it up the pentatonic scale there.
_ [Fm] _ _ [D] _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ You [Ab] notice there that last little note before I hit [Bb] the root note on the G, you do a little half bend. _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ [Bb] _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ Then from that you just go right back into the [B] chorus and that's basically the whole [D] song.
Really, you just got to focus on learning that little inversion _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ [Cm] _
_ _ _ _ [D] that's going to get
you through the whole [B] song.
Again, this is a really fun one to improvise to and jam along [Am] with and [B] learn your G minor
[N] pentatonic scales that way.
_ _ I hope this was helpful. _
Stay tuned for more.
[Dm] Thanks for watching. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _