Chords for "Letters" Jakub Zytecki Arpeggios LESSON w/ TABS!

[Bm] In this [E] video, you're gonna learn how to play this. _ _ _
Let's _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _
[N] get started.
Today, we're learning how to play Letters by Jakub Zyteski.
I think that's right.
First things first, make sure your guitar is on the neck pickup.
Next, take your six-string guitar and tune down to C-sharp standard,
because that's what Jakub is tuned to for some reason.
Now, if you're anything like me, your strings probably feel super, super slinky.
If this makes you uncomfortable, you might have to get some thicker strings.
When I asked Jakub about the strings that he used on this track,
he responded and told me that he was using 10-56,
and he was using none other than Ernie's Balls.
Here's an overview of all these arpeggios.
The music is comprised of two different sequences that repeat,
and then a set of runs at the very end.
The whole segment is in a kind of 3-ish feel,
so you could put the whole thing in 6-4 or 3-4.
For the purposes of this video, I've divided the two sequences into measures of 3-4,
and I divided the last little group of runs into 3-2-4 sections.
They're just easier to read and understand this way.
Also, for the purposes of this video,
I'm going to refer to all the notes on the neck as if we're still in standard tuning.
Because we're tuned down, the key of this song ends up being somewhere in the realm of G-sharp minor,
which is not fun to talk about at all, so we're not going to do that.
Here's the first sequence.
[E] _ _ _ _ _
_ [N] This sequence is primarily based around an embellished B minor arpeggio in the first half
and an embellished G major arpeggio in the second half.
Note the mix of alternate picking, sweep picking, and hammer-ons.
The alternate picking towards the beginning and end of each phrase
is especially crucial to the overall character of the sound.
It's very percussive.
Not picking each one of these [D#] notes does not do the arpeggios any justice.
Here's the first half, slow.
_ _ [G#m] _ _ [F#] _ [C#] _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ [G#m] _ _ _ _
[E] _ [C#] _ _ _ Now here's the second half, slow.
[E] _ _ _ _ _ [C#m] _ _ _
_ [F#] _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
Note the barring of the first finger along the 12th fret.
The slide right before this helps get your ring finger in position to make this barring feel natural.
Now here they are again, put together.
_ [G#m] _
_ [D#m] _ [C#m] _ _ [F#] _ [E] _ _ _
_ [C#m] _ _ [G#m] _ _ _ [C#m] _ _
_ [F#] _ [E] _ _ _ _ [C#m] _ _
_ [G#m] _ _ [C#m] _ [E] _ _ _ [G#m] _
_ [C#m] _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
Let's move on to sequence 2.
Here's the second sequence. _ _ _ _
_ _ This second sequence is actually pretty similar to the first one.
This sequence is loosely based around a C major 7 arpeggio with a Lydian flavor.
Here's the first half of sequence 2. _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ _ [G] The way Yaakub tackles the descending B and G on the 12th fret
is by using his middle finger for the first B and then his index on the G below it,
rather than trying to bar here.
The rest just falls down to the pinky, which then shifts [D#m] one fret down for the next few notes.
Here's the second half.
[E] _ [A] _ [E] _ _
_ [D#m] _ _ _ [E] _ [A] _ [E] _ _
_ [D#] _ _ [E] _ _ Note the hammer-on slide going on with the first three notes.
On the 15th fret of the B string, make sure that you play that with your ring finger
so your pinky is able to grab the 17th fret above it.
Here they are, put together.
_ [A] _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ [A] _ _ [E] _
_ [D#] _ _ _ You're almost done!
We just need to learn the last climb.
The last part is made up of a couple of mini-sequences that last two beats each,
and they sound like [E] this.
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
The third of these mini-sequences is almost exactly like the second one,
just transposed up and with a different destination on the slide.
There you go!
That's all the notes of that arpeggio section of letters.
The order [B] goes the first sequence [F#m] twice, the [E] second sequence twice,
the [B] first sequence twice again minus the first two sixteenths,
the [E] second sequence once, and then the climb once.
And all put together it sounds like this. _ _
_ _ Now _ _ [A] _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [E] _ you can show off your newfound guitar skills to all your [F#] friends,
if you have any of those.
If you have any trouble, practice it very slowly and always use a metronome
so you can always keep yourself consistent.
If you're super overwhelmed, I would look at the mechanics of
sweep picking and alternate picking and get super familiar with those,
because [Bm] those are the main things that drive this music.
Special thanks to Jakub, of course, for answering my string gauge question,
and of course for writing this amazing piece of music.
If there's any music you'd like me to try and transcribe,
especially sick guitar music like this where there's not a whole lot of information on it,
let me know in the comments.
If you found this video helpful, please leave a like,
and share it with your awesome guitar-playing friends.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'm Matthew Brooks, and I'll see you next time.