Prerequisites
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More than Words, one of the best acoustic love ballads ever produced, was the work of an emerging rock band that had more heart than hairspray. Written by the singer of Extreme, Gary Cheron, and the legendary guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, More than Words talks about a man's need to hear more than just the words “I love you”.
“It’s such a simple song,” says Bettencourt. “It doesn’t have the standard verse-chorus-bridge structure. It doesn't have that typical ballad part where you're like 'okay everyone, get ready for the big hook'. She wanders a little. That's the beauty of the song, I think. It flows very naturally.”
But the path to success was not easy. At the time of the song's release, rock ballads were known for their thunderous drums and massive backing vocals, big hair and extravagant outfits.
Extreme was even told by their management that the song would never be a success. But Bettencourt fought for her. He even threatened to stop touring and leave the band if the song was not released.
The label finally agreed to test More than Words into a smaller market and began airing it on a station in Phoenix. They ran it three times on a Monday and by the end of the week it was number nine. Another week and she was almost number one.
More than Words eventually became an early '90s sensation, becoming so iconic that 25 years later Jimmy Fallon and Jack Black would recreate its classic video.
Be careful, the tuning is not standard, you must detune your strings -1/2 tone:
E -> D#
A -> G#
D -> C#
G -> F#
B -> A#
E -> D#
(Or Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb)
GB
Cbadd9
Abm7
Cb
Db
Ebm
Db7
Db/F
Gb7/Bb
Cbm
Abm7
Introduction to the song
This song, Nuno, the cheek with his fingers. There are lots of little details in this song, and I noted every little movement of the original song.
Technique and details
I'm going to show you the chords and little technical tricks of the song. But you'll really need to familiarize yourself with this “muffled hit” technique throughout the song. It would be really complicated for me to explain everything here, and quite difficult for you to learn everything at once. So if you're really into Extreme, you might want to get the official tablature and sit down and work on it slowly until you get the hang of it.
Picking reason
Let's start by taking a close look at the picking pattern, it's super important. Once you master this pattern, the rest of the song is pretty easy.
Execution of the pattern
I will explain in detail how to play this picking pattern. It involves chords, bass notes and a little specific strumming to get that particular sound.
Transition between chords
We will also review the transitions between chords, so that it sounds smooth and precise.
Practice and mastery
I recommend that you practice regularly to master this pattern and the transitions between chords. It takes patience, but you'll get there.
Prerequisites
Downloads
Log in or create an account to access downloads
More than Words, considered one of the most beautiful acoustic love ballads ever created, is the brainchild of an emerging rock band driven by authentic passion. Written by Extreme singer Gary Cherone and legendary guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, this song expresses the deep need to hear more than just the words “I love you”.
“It’s a disconcertingly simple song,” says Bettencourt. “It escapes the standard verse-chorus-bridge structure. She avoids that typical part of ballads where we wait for the big hook. Its freedom of movement is its true beauty, I think. It flows with a natural fluidity.”
The path to success was not without pitfalls. At the time of its release, rock ballads were known for their grandiose arrangements and flamboyant performances. Extreme's management even doubted the song's potential. However, Bettencourt fought for it, even going so far as to threaten to leave the group if it was not published.
Eventually, the label agreed to test More than Words in a limited market beginning with airplay on a radio station in Phoenix. After just three spins on Monday, the song placed ninth. Another week and she was almost at the top of the charts. More than Words became a '90s sensation, making such an impact that 25 years later, Jimmy Fallon and Jack Black would recreate its iconic video.
Exploring Percussive Guitar Techniques
“Pluck and Chuck” is a term I use to talk about a group of percussive guitar techniques that integrate closely with fingerstyle guitar playing. This includes thumb taps, wrist flicks, and other techniques that can be performed without interrupting a fingerstyle groove. In the advanced series, the use of a thumb tab is added to allow for faster and more complex bass lines.
Introduction to “Empty Chuck”
Here everything is done with your fingers. This song is an introduction to “Empty Chuck.” This is a fancy way of saying that there is a thumb tap that is not accompanied by any chucking/flicking technique. It's an easy variation on the basic idea of pluck and chuck, so it's a perfect song to start the series with. It moves at a fairly easy pace, which should give you some time to practice your thumb taps and get used to integrating them into a song accompaniment.
Tips for Advanced
For those of you who are a little more advanced and revisiting this song, I want to point out that this is a great example of a regular eighth note groove and you can incorporate other patterns eighth note groove in this song.
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