Chords for American Idiot Guitar Lesson - Green Day

[G#] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C#m] _ _ [F#] _ [G#] _ _
_ [C#m] _ _ [F#] _ _ [C#] _ [G#] _ _
_ [C#] _ _ [F#] _ [C#] _ [G#] _ _ _
[C#] _ _ _ _ [G#] _ _ Hey guys, it's Carl Brown from _ _ _ GuitarLessons365.com.
Today we're going to learn how to play American Idiot by Green Day.
We're going to do all the riffs and the solo and everything so stay tuned.
So we're in standard tuning here and we're pretty much just going to be basing the whole
main riff I just played right there.
It's going to be based around three power chords.
The power chord off the sixth _ string, the fourth fret on the sixth string. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The full _ pre-note version of the power chord.
_ Then over to the_
just move everything down [C#] one string _ [D]
to the C sharp power chord here.
That's off the fourth fret of the [C#] A string. _ _ _ _
And then back down to the low E string [F#] of the second fret here.
Power chord.
[G#] So I [C#m] just_
_ [F#] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G#] Alright, so now the order is _ we _ have a down up down _ _ _ on the _ first one there, the fourth
fret off the low E.
_ _ [N] Over now to the other fourth fret [C#] one. _ _ _ _
Up, up, [G#] down.
_ _ [C#] _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ [G#] _ _ _
_ [C#] _ _ _ _ _ _
[G#] You see how I missed one of those up strokes?
So I'll do one of those down strokes.
So I'll go down, up, [C#] down, up, down, up, down.
So one of those down strokes I missed.
I'll call it out.
[G#] _ Down, up, down, _ _
_ [C#] up, _ down, [G#] up, _ [C#] _ _ _ up, down.
[G#] _
_ [C#] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] Down here to the second fret power [F#] chord. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G#] Look at this.
_ [C#] _ _ _ _ [F#] _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ [C#] _ _ [G#] _
_ [F#] And then [C#] hit each one once from the four on the A string to the [G#] four off the low E.
And [F#] then two.
_ So we have [G#] this all together.
_ [C#] _
_ _ [F#] _ _ _ [C#] _ [G#] _ _
[F#] _ [G#] Again.
_ [C#] _ _ _ [F#] _
_ _ [C#m] _ _ [G#] _ And then we're going to do_
it's the same thing except [C#m] you just don't play that last
chord when you're just doing_
you don't go all the way down. _
[G#] _ So all together.
_ [C#] _ _
_ [F#] _ _ [C#] _ [G#] _ _ _ _
_ [C#] _ _ _ [F#] _ _ [C#] _ [G#] _
_ I [C#m] repeat.
_ _ [F#] _ _
[C#] _ _ [G#] _ _ _ _ [C#] _ _
[F#] _ _ [C#] _ [G#] _ _ Alright, so full speed is [C#] _ [F#] like_
_ [C#] _ [G#] _ _
_ [C#] _ _ _ _ [G#] _ _ _
[C#] _ _ _ _ _ [G#] _ _ _
[C#] _ _ [F#] _ [C#] _ _ [G#m] Make sure you just keep that momentum going in the [Am] right hand. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ And some of them are missed and some of them are accented.
You just got to go by feel.
That's the best way to do it.
It's just really kind of feel it by keeping a consistent rhythm in the right hand and
then just hitting the strings _ _ trying to mimic the sound of the strumming.
Alright, so the verse is pretty much the same thing as a chorus, just kind of broken up.
It's like it comes in with the vocals [G#] in [C#] _ _ _ _ _ _
and it stops.
[F] _ _ _ _ [G#] _
_ _ [C#m] _ _ _ _ [G#] _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G#] _ [C#] _ _ _ _ _ _ [F#] _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ [C#] _ _ [F#] _ [C#] _ [G#] _ _ _
Alright, so it's pretty much [N] the main riff that we played to start the song and that
they played throughout the song.
Just kind of split in half.
And just_
I mean, they play it and they stop and then they play the second half of it. _
Alright, so the chorus.
Now we're going to let everything ring out again.
The chorus sounds like [C#] this. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G#] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [D#] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [G#] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ [A#] And then you're just going to repeat that.
So we have [C#] just _ _ that chord here.
The same chord, just kind of strumming along on it off the fourth fret on the A string
[G#] over the fourth fret on the E.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Back over to [D#] the A string power chord here at the sixth
fret _ and _ _ _ then [G#] back down to the fourth fret of the low E. _
[C#] Repeat those. _ _ _ _ _
_ [G#] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [D#] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ And then it just kind of ends when it comes back around.
It just ends on that _ E flat power chord there.
_ [G] Alright, now the only other part we have to take a look at here is the solo.
So let me play through the solo for you real quick and then I'll show it to you note for note.
Here we go.
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _
[D#] _ [C#] _ [D#] _ _ _ _ [F] _ [D#] _
[C#] _ [C] _ [A#] _ _ _ _ [C#] _ _
[A#] _ _ [D#] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _
[D#] _ [C#] _ [D#] _ _ _ _ [F] _ [D#] _
[C#] _ [C] _ [A#] _ _ _ [C#] _ _ _
[A#] _ [G#m] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[F] _ Alright, so we have some octaves there.
Now, if you've never played octaves before, basically we're going to be _ starting here
at the eighth fret on the A string.
_ _ And along with that note, we're going to be playing the tenth fret on the G string. _ _
They're the same note an octave apart. _
Now in order to do that, you need to mute the string in the middle, _ _ the D string.
Now how you do that is with the bottom of your index finger.
_ It's holding its note and it's coming off the string in a way that _ is going to lean
against the string underneath it and mute it out.
_ _ And then you can have either your third finger or your pinky play the _ top note.
_ And as you strum those three strings, _ _ you'll only hear those two outside notes. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
So we have the rhythm strumming on that _ _ down _ _ to, _ that's the eighth [D#] fret, then _ [C#] six, then four.
[F] So we have this. _ _ _ _
_ [D#] _ _ [C#] _ _ _ _
[Am] Now [D#] back to six and _ _ _ _ then back [F] to eight, [G] [C#] six, [C] four, _ three.
[F] So we have this all together.
It's just kind of following the vocal melody.
_ _ _ _ _ [D#] _ _
[C#] _ [D#] _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
[D#] _ [C#] _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [A#]
Alright, now we're going to come over to single notes on the G string here.
_ _ _ _ [C#] _ _ _ [A#] _
_ _ _ _ _ So three, _ hit a few times, [C] then _ _ [C#m] five, six, [C] _ [A#] five, three. _
_ [C#] _ _ [C] _ [A#] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Alright, one more time. _ _
_ [C#] _ _ _ [A#] _ _ _ [D#] _
Alright, and now we have this cool little pedal point. _
_ So _ _ _ [G#m] _ _
_ _ _ [D#] that's up to the eighth fret here on the G string.
Kind of slide into it, _
[G#m] _ _ _ over to nine on the B, and then come back to the [D#] eighth fret on the G. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Now eleven on the B, _ _ back down to that note on the G.
_ We're going to keep coming back down to that.
Then reach all the way [C] up here and grab the thirteenth fret, _ _
_ _ _ [D#] _ _ _ _
back down here to the note
on the G string. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ And then eleven on the B, _ _ _ _ that note once on [G#m] the G, _ and then the nine on the B.
So we kind of went up, [C] _ _ _ [A#m] _ [G#m] _ _
[D#] _ and kind of putting it around that note. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G#m] _ _
_ _ _ Now back to the same [F] octaves again, _ _ _ _ _ _ [D#] _ [C#] _
[D#] _ _ _ _ [F] _ [D#] _ _ [C#] _
[C] _ [A#] same melody.
_ [C#] _ _ _
[A#] _ _ _ Now I'm going to end the solo [D#] with, _ slide to the eighth fret on the G, _
[G#] _ and then up to
the thirteenth on the G. _ _
_ _ _ [Em] _ Alright, so when you're playing a lot of these riffs in the song, you're going to hear a
lot of some extra kind of noise in there when the riffs start.
They kind of sound [G#] like_
[C#m] _ _ _
_ [G#] _ [G] _ _ _ Alright, so what's going on?
He's just hitting the strings _ _ just kind of randomly [G#] with that.
I think they put a little bit of an effect on it too.
So you're going to hear that, especially in the verse.
_ [C#] _ _ [F#] _ [C#] _ [G#] _ [F#] _ _
_ _ [N] _ _ _ _ [G] _ [G#] _
[C#] _ _ _ _ [G#] _ _ So just watch out for that.
It's probably just a quick little upstroke on those open strings, and [Gm] come down on the power chords.
Alright, I'll see you again soon for _ _ GuitarLessons365.com.
Bye bye. _ _ _ _
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