Chords for Robben Ford´s best lesson
Tempo:
96.75 bpm
Chords used:
E
Em
B
D
D#
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[E]
[E] [Em] I started playing the guitar when I was about 13 and my first instrument was saxophone.
But if there was a musical instrument around I would start [E] playing it.
[F#] Jimmy Witherspoon, who was coming to a club that I used to play all the time,
I asked the owner if I could open for him.
He said yes.
Spoon showed up with only a guitar player.
He didn't have a band.
And he said, I want you guys to back me up.
I was like, great.
I was already a big Jimmy Witherspoon fan.
He was my favorite blues singer.
I worked with him for about two years and during that period of time
I was heard by Tom Scott and members of the LA Express
who were about to go out on the road with Joni Mitchell and were looking for a guitar player.
So I got a call from Tom, out of the blue, never heard of him.
Knew nothing of Joni Mitchell really.
And he said, how would you like to go on the road with Joni Mitchell?
And I got together [A] and played with them and agreed.
[E] That led to everything else.
George Harrison came after that.
And then my own solo career.
[Em] [B]
[D]
[C#] That's when things happen.
Things happen to you at about that age.
You get out of school.
I didn't go on to junior high school.
I didn't go on to college.
I got no education.
I dropped out of high school even.
So I'm an uneducated, self-educated kid.
But that's when the energy [D#] is really ripe.
Is in your early 20s.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of young people at that time,
they don't know what it is they want to do.
They don't have anything that they're pointed towards.
And I knew what I wanted to do since I was 10.
So that helps.
And you want to do it so badly that you're willing to [C] live with four other guys.
Eat when you can.
Do whatever you can to get a gig.
You have [G] the fortitude.
You have the strength.
Everything is really in your favor at that time if you know how to direct it.
And most people, I think, they don't really quite know.
So they have an idea and they go on to college.
And they get an education in a field.
And then they drop out.
Spend thousands of dollars.
[E] And still don't know what they want to do.
[Em] The first thing that I say [B] to guitar players is learn chords.
And the reason is if you don't know chords, you can't play anything.
And if you know chords, you can play anything.
And that in itself is kind of a musical approach
because it's about playing songs.
Improvising is a whole other level.
And there's different ways of improvising.
And there are obviously different levels of how good of an improviser one is.
I've had a career of being a supportive guitar player,
of having my own thing, learning to write songs,
learning how to record, learning how to produce,
and now moving into that stage of my life as a producer.
It's a very natural progression.
It took a lot of effort.
And I had to stick my neck out constantly, as I'm doing still today,
sticking my neck out by moving to Nashville to become a record producer.
It's like, what?
There's no budgets for records anymore.
Producers don't get paid.
I'm going to do it anyway.
At about that time, when I was about 19,
I realized that I didn't know any chords.
And so the reason I was beating myself up
is because I wasn't learning anything new.
You know?
And even, like, so I got a book, and I started studying chords.
[F] And again, I stopped beating myself up
when I kind of realized [F] I was never going to be
that guy that [E] I thought I was going to be.
I wanted to be John Coltrane.
I wanted to be [D#] a ridiculous guitar player.
And that meant a lot of chops.
[Em] And I sort of finally, and it happened in a natural way.
It wasn't like I sat down and decided this.
It kind of happened in a natural way.
I just realized I was never going to be that guy.
And I relaxed with that.
[E]
[Em] [G] Coltrane was never happy with his playing.
And that hurts.
[N] And I know that feeling really well.
I know that feeling, man.
But by my late 20s, early 30s,
especially, I just relaxed with it and found another way.
So Miles Davis took up painting.
Trust me, Miles Davis was not the greatest trumpet player in the world.
He was not.
Many people are better trumpet players than Miles Davis ever was.
But his musical mind was incredible.
Eventually, I started once again, like,
I wanted to be John Coltrane now,
or I wanted to write music like Wayne Shorter.
I started comparing myself to saxophone players,
not guitar players, because I listen to saxophone players.
That also is a tip for guitar players.
Listen to other instruments.
Don't base everything you do on guitar.
In fact, I don't listen to guitar players, literally,
because I don't want to sound like them.
Trying to live up to what you think somebody else's standards are is a mistake.
So I was reminded of that I don't care attitude
that I had when I was a kid, but took the arrogance out.
Like when you're a kid, you say, I'm hot stuff.
It's like, yeah, smoking cigarettes.
You think you're hot.
So basically, I just went back to that philosophy without the arrogance.
The arrogance is a cover for your fear and your insecurity.
So being [D] confident in yourself, [E]
that's enough.
Just go from there.
You're no longer competing.
You're no longer comparing yourself to anybody.
You just are who you are, and you're happy with that.
[E] [Em] I started playing the guitar when I was about 13 and my first instrument was saxophone.
But if there was a musical instrument around I would start [E] playing it.
[F#] Jimmy Witherspoon, who was coming to a club that I used to play all the time,
I asked the owner if I could open for him.
He said yes.
Spoon showed up with only a guitar player.
He didn't have a band.
And he said, I want you guys to back me up.
I was like, great.
I was already a big Jimmy Witherspoon fan.
He was my favorite blues singer.
I worked with him for about two years and during that period of time
I was heard by Tom Scott and members of the LA Express
who were about to go out on the road with Joni Mitchell and were looking for a guitar player.
So I got a call from Tom, out of the blue, never heard of him.
Knew nothing of Joni Mitchell really.
And he said, how would you like to go on the road with Joni Mitchell?
And I got together [A] and played with them and agreed.
[E] That led to everything else.
George Harrison came after that.
And then my own solo career.
[Em] [B]
[D]
[C#] That's when things happen.
Things happen to you at about that age.
You get out of school.
I didn't go on to junior high school.
I didn't go on to college.
I got no education.
I dropped out of high school even.
So I'm an uneducated, self-educated kid.
But that's when the energy [D#] is really ripe.
Is in your early 20s.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of young people at that time,
they don't know what it is they want to do.
They don't have anything that they're pointed towards.
And I knew what I wanted to do since I was 10.
So that helps.
And you want to do it so badly that you're willing to [C] live with four other guys.
Eat when you can.
Do whatever you can to get a gig.
You have [G] the fortitude.
You have the strength.
Everything is really in your favor at that time if you know how to direct it.
And most people, I think, they don't really quite know.
So they have an idea and they go on to college.
And they get an education in a field.
And then they drop out.
Spend thousands of dollars.
[E] And still don't know what they want to do.
[Em] The first thing that I say [B] to guitar players is learn chords.
And the reason is if you don't know chords, you can't play anything.
And if you know chords, you can play anything.
And that in itself is kind of a musical approach
because it's about playing songs.
Improvising is a whole other level.
And there's different ways of improvising.
And there are obviously different levels of how good of an improviser one is.
I've had a career of being a supportive guitar player,
of having my own thing, learning to write songs,
learning how to record, learning how to produce,
and now moving into that stage of my life as a producer.
It's a very natural progression.
It took a lot of effort.
And I had to stick my neck out constantly, as I'm doing still today,
sticking my neck out by moving to Nashville to become a record producer.
It's like, what?
There's no budgets for records anymore.
Producers don't get paid.
I'm going to do it anyway.
At about that time, when I was about 19,
I realized that I didn't know any chords.
And so the reason I was beating myself up
is because I wasn't learning anything new.
You know?
And even, like, so I got a book, and I started studying chords.
[F] And again, I stopped beating myself up
when I kind of realized [F] I was never going to be
that guy that [E] I thought I was going to be.
I wanted to be John Coltrane.
I wanted to be [D#] a ridiculous guitar player.
And that meant a lot of chops.
[Em] And I sort of finally, and it happened in a natural way.
It wasn't like I sat down and decided this.
It kind of happened in a natural way.
I just realized I was never going to be that guy.
And I relaxed with that.
[E]
[Em] [G] Coltrane was never happy with his playing.
And that hurts.
[N] And I know that feeling really well.
I know that feeling, man.
But by my late 20s, early 30s,
especially, I just relaxed with it and found another way.
So Miles Davis took up painting.
Trust me, Miles Davis was not the greatest trumpet player in the world.
He was not.
Many people are better trumpet players than Miles Davis ever was.
But his musical mind was incredible.
Eventually, I started once again, like,
I wanted to be John Coltrane now,
or I wanted to write music like Wayne Shorter.
I started comparing myself to saxophone players,
not guitar players, because I listen to saxophone players.
That also is a tip for guitar players.
Listen to other instruments.
Don't base everything you do on guitar.
In fact, I don't listen to guitar players, literally,
because I don't want to sound like them.
Trying to live up to what you think somebody else's standards are is a mistake.
So I was reminded of that I don't care attitude
that I had when I was a kid, but took the arrogance out.
Like when you're a kid, you say, I'm hot stuff.
It's like, yeah, smoking cigarettes.
You think you're hot.
So basically, I just went back to that philosophy without the arrogance.
The arrogance is a cover for your fear and your insecurity.
So being [D] confident in yourself, [E]
that's enough.
Just go from there.
You're no longer competing.
You're no longer comparing yourself to anybody.
You just are who you are, and you're happy with that.
Key:
E
Em
B
D
D#
E
Em
B
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ [Em] I started playing the guitar when I was about 13 and my first instrument was saxophone.
_ But if there was a musical instrument around I would start [E] playing it. _
_ _ _ _ [F#] _ Jimmy Witherspoon, who was coming to a club that I used to play all the time,
I asked the owner if I could open for him.
He said yes.
Spoon showed up with only a guitar player.
He didn't have a band.
And he said, I want you guys to back me up.
I was like, great.
I was already a big Jimmy Witherspoon fan.
He was my favorite blues singer.
I worked with him for about two years and during that period of time
I was heard by Tom Scott and members of the LA Express
who were about to go out on the road with Joni Mitchell and were looking for a guitar player.
So I got a call from Tom, out of the blue, never heard of him.
Knew nothing of Joni Mitchell really.
And he said, how would you like to go on the road with Joni Mitchell?
_ And I got together [A] and played with them and agreed.
_ _ [E] That led to everything else.
George Harrison came after that.
_ And then my own solo career.
_ [Em] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ [C#] That's when things happen.
Things happen to you at about that age.
You get out of school.
I didn't go on to junior high school.
I didn't go on to college.
I got no education.
I dropped out of high school even.
So I'm an uneducated, self-educated kid. _ _ _
But that's when the energy [D#] is really ripe.
Is in your early 20s.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of young people at that time,
they don't know what it is they want to do.
They don't have anything that they're pointed towards.
And I knew what I wanted to do since I was 10. _
_ So that helps.
_ And you want to do it so badly that you're willing to _ [C] live with four other guys.
_ Eat when you can. _ _
_ Do whatever you can to get a gig. _ _ _
You have [G] the _ fortitude.
You have the strength.
_ Everything is really in your favor at that time if you know how to direct it.
And most people, I think, they don't really quite know.
So they have an idea and they go on to college.
And they get an education in a field.
And then they drop out.
Spend thousands of dollars.
[E] And still don't know what they want to do. _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] The first thing that I say [B] to guitar players is learn chords.
And the reason is if you don't know chords, you can't play anything.
And if you know chords, you can play anything. _
_ And that in itself is kind of a musical approach
because it's about playing songs.
_ _ _ Improvising is a whole other level.
And there's different ways of improvising.
And there are obviously different levels of how good of an improviser one is.
I've had a career of being a supportive guitar player,
of having my own thing, learning to write songs,
learning how to record, learning how to produce,
and now moving into that stage of my life as a producer. _
It's a very natural progression.
It took a lot of effort.
And I had to stick my neck out constantly, as I'm doing still today,
sticking my neck out by moving to Nashville to become a record producer.
It's like, what?
There's no budgets for records anymore.
Producers don't get paid. _ _
I'm going to do it anyway.
At about that time, when I was about 19,
I realized that I didn't know any chords.
_ And so the reason I was beating myself up
is because I wasn't learning anything new.
You know? _
And even, like, so I got a book, and I started studying chords.
[F] And _ again, I stopped beating myself up
_ _ when I kind of realized [F] I was never going to be
that _ guy that [E] I thought I was going to be.
I wanted to be John Coltrane.
I wanted to be [D#] a ridiculous guitar player.
_ _ And that meant a lot of chops.
_ [Em] And I sort of finally, and it happened in a natural way.
It wasn't like I sat down and decided this.
It kind of happened in a natural way.
I just realized I was never going to be that guy.
And I relaxed with that.
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ [G] Coltrane was never happy with his playing.
And that hurts.
[N] And I know that feeling really well.
I know that feeling, man.
But by my late 20s, early 30s,
especially, _ _ I just relaxed with it and found another way.
So Miles Davis took up painting.
Trust me, Miles Davis was not the greatest trumpet player in the world.
He was not.
Many people are better trumpet players than Miles Davis ever was.
_ _ But his musical mind was _ incredible.
Eventually, I started once again, like,
I wanted to be John Coltrane now,
or I wanted to write music like Wayne Shorter.
I started comparing myself to saxophone players,
not guitar players, because I listen to saxophone players.
That also is a tip for guitar players.
Listen to other instruments.
Don't base everything you do on guitar.
In fact, I don't listen to guitar players, literally,
because I don't want to sound like them. _ _
Trying to live up to what you think somebody else's standards are is a mistake.
_ _ So I was reminded of that I don't care attitude
that I had when I was a kid, but took the arrogance out.
Like when you're a kid, you say, I'm hot stuff.
It's like, yeah, smoking cigarettes.
You think you're hot.
_ _ So basically, I just went back to that philosophy without the arrogance.
_ _ The arrogance is a cover for your fear and your insecurity. _
So being [D] confident in yourself, _ _ [E] _ _
that's enough.
_ Just go from there.
You're no longer competing.
You're no longer comparing yourself to anybody.
You just are who you are, and you're happy with that. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ [Em] I started playing the guitar when I was about 13 and my first instrument was saxophone.
_ But if there was a musical instrument around I would start [E] playing it. _
_ _ _ _ [F#] _ Jimmy Witherspoon, who was coming to a club that I used to play all the time,
I asked the owner if I could open for him.
He said yes.
Spoon showed up with only a guitar player.
He didn't have a band.
And he said, I want you guys to back me up.
I was like, great.
I was already a big Jimmy Witherspoon fan.
He was my favorite blues singer.
I worked with him for about two years and during that period of time
I was heard by Tom Scott and members of the LA Express
who were about to go out on the road with Joni Mitchell and were looking for a guitar player.
So I got a call from Tom, out of the blue, never heard of him.
Knew nothing of Joni Mitchell really.
And he said, how would you like to go on the road with Joni Mitchell?
_ And I got together [A] and played with them and agreed.
_ _ [E] That led to everything else.
George Harrison came after that.
_ And then my own solo career.
_ [Em] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ [C#] That's when things happen.
Things happen to you at about that age.
You get out of school.
I didn't go on to junior high school.
I didn't go on to college.
I got no education.
I dropped out of high school even.
So I'm an uneducated, self-educated kid. _ _ _
But that's when the energy [D#] is really ripe.
Is in your early 20s.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of young people at that time,
they don't know what it is they want to do.
They don't have anything that they're pointed towards.
And I knew what I wanted to do since I was 10. _
_ So that helps.
_ And you want to do it so badly that you're willing to _ [C] live with four other guys.
_ Eat when you can. _ _
_ Do whatever you can to get a gig. _ _ _
You have [G] the _ fortitude.
You have the strength.
_ Everything is really in your favor at that time if you know how to direct it.
And most people, I think, they don't really quite know.
So they have an idea and they go on to college.
And they get an education in a field.
And then they drop out.
Spend thousands of dollars.
[E] And still don't know what they want to do. _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] The first thing that I say [B] to guitar players is learn chords.
And the reason is if you don't know chords, you can't play anything.
And if you know chords, you can play anything. _
_ And that in itself is kind of a musical approach
because it's about playing songs.
_ _ _ Improvising is a whole other level.
And there's different ways of improvising.
And there are obviously different levels of how good of an improviser one is.
I've had a career of being a supportive guitar player,
of having my own thing, learning to write songs,
learning how to record, learning how to produce,
and now moving into that stage of my life as a producer. _
It's a very natural progression.
It took a lot of effort.
And I had to stick my neck out constantly, as I'm doing still today,
sticking my neck out by moving to Nashville to become a record producer.
It's like, what?
There's no budgets for records anymore.
Producers don't get paid. _ _
I'm going to do it anyway.
At about that time, when I was about 19,
I realized that I didn't know any chords.
_ And so the reason I was beating myself up
is because I wasn't learning anything new.
You know? _
And even, like, so I got a book, and I started studying chords.
[F] And _ again, I stopped beating myself up
_ _ when I kind of realized [F] I was never going to be
that _ guy that [E] I thought I was going to be.
I wanted to be John Coltrane.
I wanted to be [D#] a ridiculous guitar player.
_ _ And that meant a lot of chops.
_ [Em] And I sort of finally, and it happened in a natural way.
It wasn't like I sat down and decided this.
It kind of happened in a natural way.
I just realized I was never going to be that guy.
And I relaxed with that.
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ [G] Coltrane was never happy with his playing.
And that hurts.
[N] And I know that feeling really well.
I know that feeling, man.
But by my late 20s, early 30s,
especially, _ _ I just relaxed with it and found another way.
So Miles Davis took up painting.
Trust me, Miles Davis was not the greatest trumpet player in the world.
He was not.
Many people are better trumpet players than Miles Davis ever was.
_ _ But his musical mind was _ incredible.
Eventually, I started once again, like,
I wanted to be John Coltrane now,
or I wanted to write music like Wayne Shorter.
I started comparing myself to saxophone players,
not guitar players, because I listen to saxophone players.
That also is a tip for guitar players.
Listen to other instruments.
Don't base everything you do on guitar.
In fact, I don't listen to guitar players, literally,
because I don't want to sound like them. _ _
Trying to live up to what you think somebody else's standards are is a mistake.
_ _ So I was reminded of that I don't care attitude
that I had when I was a kid, but took the arrogance out.
Like when you're a kid, you say, I'm hot stuff.
It's like, yeah, smoking cigarettes.
You think you're hot.
_ _ So basically, I just went back to that philosophy without the arrogance.
_ _ The arrogance is a cover for your fear and your insecurity. _
So being [D] confident in yourself, _ _ [E] _ _
that's enough.
_ Just go from there.
You're no longer competing.
You're no longer comparing yourself to anybody.
You just are who you are, and you're happy with that. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _