Hi thanks, that’s a typo on my part I did mean Em7. So in a roundabout fashion you have answered my question. The tab available on this site for the Wish You Were Here Riff is different from what Justin plays in the video, App or Website. Which is what I don’t understand. Thanks for replying it’s appreciated and for clarification on writing the chord.
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The version Justin is teaching in the beginner course is a simplified version for beginners. This is why there is a difference.
Hi Thank, but isn’t Em7 a more difficult chord? Which is played in the video, also playing 2033, in place of 022033 sounds bad, and not anything like the riff in the video. It is a shame really as someone who is more versed in music theory than me could just say it’s wrong and is not what’s in the video, or I’m not reading it correctly and explain it. All the experienced people are saying some very complicated things.
Was actually a question, just wanted to give a bit of background so I didn’t appear so stupid. But hey ho.
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Hi Mick,
Could it be that you are hitting all the strings and not just the bottom 4 with the 2033, otherwise I don’t understand what you mean?
Greetings,Rogier
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xx2033 (the x’s mean unplayed unstrings) is just the top 4 strings of the full Em7 (022033). It is used in the strummy parts of the riff and should sound fine. If it “doesn’t sound anything like what Justin plays in the video”, then you are likely doing something else wrong. Since both xx2033 and 022033 are Em7 chords, they are sort of inter changeable. Although, in this context, playing the full 6-string version might sound a bit muddy. The strums are meant to be light and just fill in between the individually picked notes (which really constitute the riff). Hence the exclusion of the thickest strings when strumming the chord.
If you post a video of you playing it, you’ll surely get some help in figuring out what isn’t working.
For a long time I wailed on these strums and it was rough sounding. These strums, as @jjw mentions are light fill strums. Took me a while to dial that in (well, still fine tuning after several years at it…).
Listen to the original version and try and emulate that light shimmer. The up strum is important.
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Is it okay to tap foot 8 times per bar instead of 4?
If it helps you keep the rhythm, I would say it is fine. Just be aware you are tapping at double the original tempo. You can practice tapping at the “proper” tempo after you’ve learned the riff…which is probably worth doing.
For what it’s worth, it took me several months of playing this riff before I could tap at the proper tempo. Then again, I’m someone who finds foot tapping actually disrupts my rhythm a lot of the time. There are a few of us here.