Guitar lesson for R.E.M. song Harborcoat Recorded with 1990's Epiphone Sheraton & Orange Crush 20RT Amp. Make sure to check out my other R.E.M. videos at: / @r.e.m.guitarlessonsco...
I've been playing this song for YEARS and could never figure out what the second chord was (been playing G#m barre chord but I knew it wasn't quite right). You're an angel!
I read an interview with Peter Buck and he said that his brother is a classically trained guitarist and Buck would constantly hound him about "what's this chord called and what's that chord called." Awesome to know that he, like many of us, just learned by ear and experimentation (a few tabs never hurt, either).
I had no idea his brother was a guitarist as well. I had no idea if Peter even took lessons years ago, I figured he sat there with records and learned stuff on his own. I'm glad I took about five years of lessons in the late 70s and 80s or I'd have no clue whatsoever! Har. Plus being a lefty guitarist with short fingers has never been easy. A major breakthrough for me in the early 2000s was learning how to deal with downtuning and open tunings, and using the capo properly. That helps, especially in a song like Harborcoat where it's a half step down. Years ago I would just not be able to play it.
After playing guitar for thirty years, or rather, having sort of given up on it in the last 15, I bought a new guitar which sounds so good that I cannot believe my ears. Thanks for reintroducing me to the songs I have always wanted to play. I feel, at times, like I'm 23 again.
A decent guitar helps, a decent amp, and some decent accesories and a tuner. And having the guitar set up properly is essential. Or it just becomes even more frustrating.
Sounds good. Was thinking of doing this one next. What always frustrated me back in high school was trying to figure this stuff out just from listening to the record. It was nearly impossible. Forget tabs. After seeing PB play live, I knew a little more. Seeing some of the stuff they put out on VHS was even more helpful. But now we have the Internet, and we can see PB play some of this stuff live. I find I am re-learning everything. But it sure is fun. I play the low E chord on this, dragging my pinky down to get that sound you hear each verse. PB doesn't seem to do bar chords much in his early stuff. Apparently, he couldn't play them. I play the chorus and the bridge just about the same, though I'm using harmonics on the 7th fret [just went back and looked at Pasaic--PB plays on 7th--I originally said 5th). Looks like you got the ric back which is good. I've got a similar amp that I've had since the early 80's: a 1968 silverface Fender Twin Reverb. It gives that great PB sound!!
+Dead Letter Hey Dead Letter! Yep, same exact scenario for me in high school (probably dating myself but no internet and only a few VHS bootlegs to assist). I recently saw some footage from 1984 that I think helps with this one...I think the chords are correct, just like you said, no bar chords. I think he plays the F# minor to G# minor not as bar chords but up on the 5th fret like a minor structure. Now that I have a Ric back (thankfully!) I think I will go back and re-record a cover :-) Looking forward to checking out your continued posts!!
+Fast Ocular Yeah, the 1985 Pasasic, NJ, show (Capital Theatre) shows it all on this song! It's one of three or four concerts available that shows Peter Buck well for the most part. I graduated HS in 1988--got into REM because of a neighbor's garage band that played some of the songs ~1984/85. First saw REM at the Mosque, Richmond, VA, Dec. 1985. It was a great show. Keep up the good work!
So my 2p worth - the chord is an inversion of B6 which kind of makes sense if you sub in a more 'normal' voicing. There's a few ways to express that chord, and you can pick which you prefer from list below, all seem reasonable, calling it B6 feels right to me YMMV. Great channel, new subscriber :-)
I appreciate your effort and your taste. The first thing you should do for any lesson piece is a play through Then address some theory issues Then the walk through Finger Positions Chord by chord You don’t need close ups Just Third Finger 5th Sting 3rd frett Second finger 2nd frett 4th sting First finger First frett 2nd string 2nd C
Flowers is a good deal easier than Harborcoat. I think so, anyway. Was practicing that song tons last year and recently too, mainly on the 12-string. Cuyahoga is reasonably easy as well, but to me it sounds best on a 12-string.
Second chord is wrong. You can't have an open A in there, you need it to be a B, and you've got to mute the low E string. Then, you've got a B6 chord, which is the correct chord, making the progression: E-B6-A, and you can hear that reflected in the bassline too. If you have an A in the root of that chord, it becomes an A with a G# and a D#, which are not in the scale and sound messy.
