#41

Tune + warm-up

• Standard tuning on the PolyTune 3: E A D G B E, no capo. Same as last week's Interstate Love Song, so this is a quick check. Every chart checked (UG top rated, UG ver 4, DaveTabs, AZChords) lists standard; none lists half step down for #41
• Tomo · nightly routine, first block only: chromatic at 0:54, descending at 2:00, picking + muting at 2:45 to 4:55. Takeaway: slow, clean, kill the ghost notes
• Alt: Justin Finger Gym. Good prep for tonight's five-fret stretch

Right hand: Dave's steady, percussive strum

• Intro pattern (Carson Mac): pick the top strings of the chord first, then strum down, down, down-up-down. The early top-string hit buys the fretting hand time to land the stretch
• Keep the hand moving like a pendulum even on the misses. Tom Butwin's point about Dave: the right hand is "cranking all the time" while the left hand barely moves
• Mute drill: hold any chord, strum steady eighths, and every other beat relax the fretting hand just enough to choke the strings into a chunk. Then lock it back
• Click at ~75, then 90, then 107 (record tempo). 60-second sets

Skills in G major / E minor

• Scale: G major, one position: G A B C D E F♯. Start it on E and it's E natural minor. Same notes, no sharps besides F♯
• Arpeggios: Am (A C E), Bm (B D F♯), Em (E G B), D (D F♯ A). Play each where its intro shape sits: 5th fret, 7th fret, 7th fret, 5th fret
• Triads that stay put: the verse holds D (G string, 7th fret) and G (B string, 8th fret) the whole time. Find which chord tone that pair is over each bass note: over A, B, E, D
• Tomo idea: move one note at a time. Go G (3-2-x-4) to D/F♯ (2-0-0-2-3) and watch which fingers actually have to travel

Chord changes + voicings

Intro (Am, Bm, Em, Dadd11), verse partials (G/A, G/B), chorus (G, D/F♯, C). Dave's shapes from UG ver 4, DaveTabs and Carson Mac; × = don't play

• Intro stretch: Am is the 5th-fret shape (5-3-2-5), Bm is the same shape two frets up. Carson's tip: move your thumb on the back of the neck to whatever position makes the reach easy. Easy fallback: open Am, Bm, Em, D (UG notes)
• Em: drop the low E open, then 7-5-4 on A, D, G. Dadd11 is a C shape slid up to the 5th fret with the G string open
• Verse: ring finger G string 7, pinky B string 8, and they never move. Only the bass finger changes: low E 5, low E 7, A 7, A 5
• One-minute changes: Bm ↔ Em, then G ↔ D/F♯ ↔ C

Theory refresh: why it sounds good

• Intro climbs Am → Bm → Em → Dadd11 (ii, iii, vi, V in G). Nothing leaves the key, so it floats
• Verse: D and G stay put while the bass walks A, B, E, D. Common tones over a moving bass
• Chorus G → D/F♯ → C is I, V/bass, IV: bright after the minor-leaning verse
• Dadd11 keeps a G (the 11) ringing against the F♯. Same hold-a-note trick as the verse

Section practice with looper

• Loop four bars of the verse (G/A, G/B, Em7, Dsus4) at ~75 on the FGX5. Over it, play the scale from TRK 03 slowly, landing on D or G
• Loop the chorus G, D/F♯, C. Play it back with the intro cycle until the switch is smooth
• Then the full form: intro x2, verse, chorus. Nudge the click toward 107
• Ultimate Guitar · chords (ver 2, top rated), chords ver 4 (Dave's shapes) and Official tab (Pro) in the UG app; slow the Pro player
• Lesson: Carson Mac · #41 Guitar Tutorial
• Why it works: Tom Butwin · Dave Matthews Guitar Technique Is UNLIKE Anyone Else's

Close

• Play along once with the Live From Home version, or the studio track
• One sticky note (the stretch, the held D + G, or the G, D/F♯, C bass walk)
• Leave it in standard; nothing to retune