Chords for How to play Son House (Deathletter etc) Open G

_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Bm] _ Here we are showing you a bit about Open [G] G tuning, Sun House stuff. _
_ _ [D] My Black Mama, a whole string of them.
The essence of what he's doing is Open G tuning.
_ He uses the slide on the third finger, but you can use it on the little finger.
There's no picks on the right hand, but just a very heavy percussive claw technique, basically thumb and finger.
But Sun House also uses the whole hand.
And it's very loud and intense. _
[F] The first thing you've got to get down is the snapping part of the bass.
_ _ [G] _ Get your thumb right underneath the string, the fifth _ _ [Ab] string.
That starts off each of the riffs.
[G] _ _ [Bb] All of the bong.
[G] _ _
_ [Bb] So you've got this slide [G] figure.
_ [F] Third fret on the third string.
[G] Hammer off.
[A] _ _ [G] _ _
[G] Fifth fret on the top string, that tonic G note. _
Vibrato, [A] no damping at all, just let it ring.
[N] At the same time as you're doing that, you've got to follow through with the rhythm.
Now, _ _ the _ _ axe, _ _ it goes back to the work songs of keeping the rhythm going.
_ The wood, chopping wood.
The axe is coming down.
[G] _ _ _ _
[A] So that first beat _ accentuated [Ab]
in this style, and Sun House does that even if he's [F] doing something with the slide.
So in that part of this riff, after the snap.
_ [C] _ _ _
Then go_
[B] And _ [G] _
then you follow through [Bb] with the thumb on that one beat.
_ _ [G] _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ [N] When you've done the top five fret _ [G] _ vibrato slide note, you're following [Ab] up straight away with that downstroke.
To keep that chop rhythm [Bb] going.
He also does upstrokes as well in this part, so you've got to get used to doing the two things at the same time.
The strong, [Am] heavy, up and down rhythm [G] with the right hand.
And _ _ do that again, just the [Bb] slide figure part.
_ [G] _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ You've got to play with a lot of volume, a lot of intensity, and a lot of movement with the right hand.
This isn't detailed, pretty finger picking.
This is heavy, like your [Ab] life depends upon it. _ _
_ [Gm] _ _ _ [Gb] The other part of this, the basic [G] _ _ _ _ Sun [A] House open G stuff, is when it moves up to the fourth chord and the fifth chord.
[Ab] So _ _ _ [G] _ _ you pull barre with the index [C] finger.
_ _ [D] _ _ Seventh fret of the [G] fourth chord.
And then follow it up quickly after a strum down and up, [Fm] heavy.
_ _ [G] With the seventh chord, and it's just basically giving you three [C] frets from _ [Bb] there.
And the top two [Cm] strings. _
[Gm] _ _ [G] So [Bb] it slides with the third finger, so he might do the seventh chord.
[C] _ _ Fourth finger.
[A] You put it all together, it sounds like this.
_ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ [Cm] _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Thank you.
[N] _