This song is in open D tuning (dadf#ad) with a capo on the second fret
There are mainly four core parts that are repeated throughout the song
-Intro
-low part
-high part
-step down
Probably the most important aspect of playing this song is the alternate picking of the
low d strings. Throughout the whole song Steve Earle alternates picking the two low d
with his thumb. This is most likely the thing that will get you and requires a lot of
before getting it constant.
The intro is a combination of the low part and the high part
*Intro*
d --------------------------------------------------|
a -0---------0-----2---------2-----0----------------|
f#-------0---------------1---------------1-----0----|
d -----0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0----|
a --------------------------------------------------|
d -0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0--------|
*Low Part*
d --------------------------------------------------|
a -0---------0-----0---------0-----0---------0------|
f#-------0---------------0---------------0----------|
d -----0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0----|
a --------------------------------------------------|
d -0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0--------|
[ Tab from: http://www.guitaretab.com/s/steve-earle/189899.html ]
*High Part*
d --------------------------------------------------|
a -2---------2-----2---------2-----2---------2------|
f#-------1---------------1---------------1----------|
d -----0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0----|
a --------------------------------------------------|
d -0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0--------|
*Step Down*
d ------------------------------------------------------------------|
a -----4-------4-------4-------4-------2-------2-------2-------2----|
f#-----3-------3-------3-------3-------1-------1-------1-------1----|
d -----0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0----|
a ------------------------------------------------------------------|
d -0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0-------0--------|
Now that you have those four parts you can combine them into the whole song
The order is:
Intro
low part
high part
Intro
high part
Intro
Step Down
Intro
The order presented is for each set of verses not the whole song.
It would be best if you were to play the recording of this song off the album Townes by
Earle or watch the video on youtube. The correct video is Steve Earle playing the song
Letterman.
I hope you get this song and remember that this style of alternate picking takes a lot
patience and dedication to master. Good Luck!
* If there are any problems or hazy parts feel free to e-mail me explaining the problem
I'll try to respond to it and fix the error. Thanks
