Chords for ♪♫ Steve Miller Band - The Joker (Tutorial)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Hello, I've had a lot of people asking if I could do a tutorial for this song, the Joker
_ Steve Miller band.
_ _ _ Basically it's really just a riff that you need to learn for [F] this one.
[C] It's one of those classic [F#] three chord [G] songs.
[D] G [C] D _ C, _ [G] although _ I tend to play C add 9 rather than C.
But they're the only chords in the
song, three chords. _
_ And if you want to see Steve Miller playing this one acoustically you can, there's a version
of him on YouTube, if you just go to YouTube and look up [E] Steve Miller, the Joker, _ unplugged,
you'll find him sitting in some recording studio playing this one.
I think it's a Bob Rivers show, but you can clearly see how he's playing it.
I think he has his guitar tuned down, _ _ but [G] he's playing [D] G [C] _
[D] C D.
_ _ _ [A] _
[F#] But I'll show you what I think [F] he's doing [D#] basically.
[G] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [C] _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
[D] _ [G] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ Basically that's all the riff is.
_ _ So make a G.
_ As I said, he's playing C, but I'm going to play C add 9, so I just find the transition easier.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ It's just a little, basically getting those little riffs between the chords on these bass notes.
_ So now, as you know, going from a G to a C add 9 just involves moving these two fingers
off the 6th and 5th strings down to the 4th and 5th strings.
_ _ _ _ What _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ he's doing is [F#] basically really attacking the strings [G] and _ _ [Cm] doing two downs, down, down.
_ Then he opens up the 5th [B] string _ and hammers on to the [G] 2nd. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
So down, down, strum, _ [B] open 5th, hammer on, _ and [C] then same on the C add 9 now.
_ _ Down, down on the 5th string, _ _ _ _ open [D] 4th, [C] hammer on to the 4th on the 2nd.
[G] So _ then _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ [G] _ [D] _ _ _
down, down now on the 4th string, which is the D, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ run up the 5th now, [B] _ back to
the [C] C add _ 9, _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ [C] _ open the 4th again and [Bm] hammer on, [C] _
then play the 3rd [G] open. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
[D] _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ Now he doesn't necessarily play those strings so strictly in that particular order every
time, but if you do, you won't go too much wrong.
_ _ Obviously, when you [F#] start playing it and get into it, you're just [G] going to be a bit more untidy.
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _
[G] _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
[D] _ [G] _ _ _ _ [C] Some people call me [D] the space power [C] boy, _
_ [G] yeah, _ _ _ some call me the [D] gangster of love.
_ [C] _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ [F#] You don't have to be so precise with [N] exactly hitting the right strings, it's more or less
just getting the feel, [G] getting the groove kind of happening.
_ _ _ If you want to play C, _ _ _ [C] some people call me [D] the space cowboy, [C] _ _
[G] yeah, _ _ _ _ [C] some call [D] me the gangster
of love, _ _ [C] _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
some people call [D] me _ Maurice, [C] _
_ _ [G] the speed of the pump and the [D] solo. _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
Essentially just doing that through the whole song, until you get to the chorus, _ [C] you're
just going to go from G [G#] to C, G to [G] C for a little while. _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ _
It's pretty much all [F] just doing that hammer [G] on on the 2nd fret of each of those chords. _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ [C] _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
I'm a joker, _ I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight _ _ joker, _ _ _ _ _ shoulda wanted a [D] new one. _ _
Woo!
_ On a D. _ _ _
Woo!
_ Woo!
_ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ So, as the strum, I'm using [E] the inside of my palm [G] _
to _ mute the downstroke.
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ Okay?
_ I know I'm rushing through this, and for those of you who don't [F#] know about palm [F] muting and
stuff like that, you might find this a bit _ _ tricky, but [E] _ anyway, for everybody else, _ _ that's
basically all you need to figure out this song, it's just getting that little riff happening
_ with those little transitions in [C] between each of those chords.
_ _ Anyway, I don't know that there's too much more I can show you for the joker, but anyway,
that's all I'm doing.
That's all Steve's doing as well.
_ _ Anyway, _