Bye Bye Love

[ElectroVibe]

Can anyone figure out what chords Don Everly is playing during the opening riff?

Standard tuning or what?

I've checked a couple of Youtube instructional videos but I'm not sure how accurate they are.

 

[Febs]

A C D A.

Edit: He uses an open G tuning (D G D G B D), so he's just barring across the 14th fret for that first A chord. Link Removed

 

[JW56789]

Never though about it ( . . . I'm not playing chords . . . .), but to me it sounds like the basic blues 1-3-4-3-1 lick, with the 1 being A major (instead of the classic minor one in blues) with C (as an A-minor inversion) then D (minor, no F#) and back to the 1. Yep, there goes my baby . . . . . .

If you ever hear the term 'family harmony' when talking about singing groups and wonder what that is, start with these guys. That close, effortless blend is special.

 

[ElectroVibe]

A C D A.

Edit: He uses an open G tuning (D G D G B D), so he's just barring across the 14th fret for that first A chord. Link Removed

Yes, I can hear that open tuning now that I listen again. It's cool how he also plays a 7th chord sometimes.

 

[ElectroVibe]

By the way I just read through that page with the quotes from Waddy Wachtel. I knew that Keith Richards was a fan but it's pretty amazing to think that Don Everly had such an enormous influence on so much of the Rolling Stones sound, just by using that open tuning. Very cool stuff.

 

[ElectroVibe]

This clip is even a bigger mystery. He's obviously playing in standard tuning in this clip, and so he must have worked out a different fingering, but they don't show what he's doing from the camera angle at the intro. The thing is, it looks like he is strumming all the strings which is wild. He still sounds good even with the open tuning.

 

[ElectroVibe]

This song also had an interesting guitar intro (his most famous). I'm not sure what tuning he's using but he does have a capo.