Outstanding. There are absolutely two guitars on this song - you can clearly hear them on separate channels when wearing headphones. And one sounds higher up on the neck than the other.....and that's the guitar with the solo. You nailed it. Another guitar mystery solved.
I really think pete is all over the place on this one. sometime riffs of the d / a sometime off tha g / d hell I think a couple times off d / a .... I really don't think he gave 2 shits if he made a chord, I think he was going for the vibe. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !
Thanks for making this video, and confirming what I had thought for years ,that the acoustic guitar is capo'd . I have been a big Who fan across 5 decades btw and I'm pretty certain that in one of the first Who books I read in my teens , Pete said that there are two guitars an acoustic and a Telecaster on Magic Bus ... only read it once but I remember me & my friends talking about it at School 😉✌️🎸
Just watched your farewell from Feb 2015. I can relate, I have a ch and some of the comments about my personal style are just stupid. Have always really liked your vids and you have helped my guitar playing a lot. cheers and keep it up man.
That track has the meanest sounding acoustic I've ever heard. The capo theory makes perfect sense. There's a punch to it that just sounds like a short scale. Also makes it easy to play aggressively which is definitely a component here. I also wonder if there's a nylon string acoustic in there. That A note has such a low-end to it. However he did it; the sound is just plain bad-ass.
I think you have got it right there. As soon as you started messing around the high b and e with the capo, you can just hear it! 10/10 for perseverance!!!
Brilliant that's what I think. Once again I think you've nailed another layer of the way Simon ,or Pete ,or someone with a much thicker richer, wall of guitar that just may have been played on such a simple song that is much more than I've ever even imagined and it's probably ,one of the many layers ,there's that word again, of how he plays that makes him so hard to copy and sound like PETE??? Thank You for all your inputs on how you hear in certain songs !!!!! Peace & Cheers Mate........
Just want to thank you my man for being so giving. Some of us really appreciate your time and effort, and most importantly - the spirit in which you offer thee lessons to others. Personal note...I say I appreciate your spirit knowing I'm going to sound like a tree-hugging hippie, but in fact, while I have hugged some trees, I do not reek of patchouli, wear my hair short sometimes (see picture) and wear items of clothing not made from 100% hemp.
I've been playing this song capo'd like this for years....Like you,one day I heard something different in the TONE of certain notes. I knew it was in A so I started experimenting with the capo and landed what I thought was better! The tonal quality of those notes played high on the neck was the clue! Good video!!!!
I agree. There are a few spots where you can really hear a capo'd tone of the strings, e.g., in the part when it gets to "thruppence and sixpence every day" and he hits those 5th chords between the vocal lines, the tone definitely sounds capo'd.
I know its late, but. There's 3 guitars in it - two acoustic, one electric that comes in at the end. Regardless, all are in E and tuned down 3/4 step. And yes. A capo is definitely used; its placed at fret 5. Chords are E, G5, D, and A. When I play this, G5 sounds best with A-string muted, B and E on the third fret (no Cowboy G). The rest, you pretty much nailed it as usual. THANK YOU!
Hi James, Like you Ive been listening to this song for years. I particularly like Petes solo version on the Jools Holland show. Trust you've seen that one? I could never work out the chords though until I stumbled across your RU-vid tutorial today. Ive just got back from rocking in the kitchen with my guitar. Many thanks 👍
I love your videos and lessons and stories; I feel like I am at a show. When it is just straight hit this string than that string it gets dry. It is as good as Letterman's or Colbert's monologues. Thanks for being so entertaining. Your like Bruce Springsteen who chats with his audience and has made it to Broadway; James on Broadway is a show I would see.
What would be wrong with using standard tuning and putting the capo a half step lower? Just wondering...Great video. Entertaining and instructional as ever...Thanks.
I wonder if the reason Townsend didn't use a capo on stage is because it took away from the "look" of his guitar theatrics, windmill-type power chords, etc.
Great insight -- G sus. Makes a big difference. Then what you demonstrate with the capo. I will experiment. The thing about that song? The aggressive down up strum and how you drop in the chords. This is the best How To on RU-vid. Thanks for that.
I used to play this on A without the capo. After watching this, it was like a revelation lmao, and now I only play it with the capo on the 5th. Great finding!!
one thumb up for showing me a better way to play this tune after playing it for 30 years. another thumb up(if I could) for the house of guitars shirt. I went in there a lot as a kid and was always blown away by the amount of guitars in that place.
First way is fab 'n sounds so right .... but then the second way is Perfecto ! At 7:07 when you break to the leads ... my mind popped with an epiphany ... orgasmic man ... you nailed it ! This could be the perfect song to go to when one has had a hard day and just needs to blow away the frustrations ... plug into the amp - let the neighbors know you are home - and feel like ol man Peter Townsend ( his initials are like your prior handle ! ). Many thanks JJ.
I think you took it down the right path, plus I believe you're correct that 2 - 3 guitars are probably being used on the recording. Capo on the 5th seems dead on. Icing this cake with the 1/2 step down does it for me. Good listening on your part, great job presenting all these variables. Thanks, I have to hope this will improve my listening skills in spite of my aging ears. Thanks you for sharing.
You're right,capo and without capo goes thrue the whole song.,in the intro start with capo and secund later start another,great guitars.From that epoca Magic Bus and Jumping Jack top songs with acoustics riffs.
Perfecto ... both sound great but I think you are right .. the capo version is just a nudge different and crisper and it hits the nail on the head. Fantastic musical sleuth work. Love the lead breaks ( 4:52 ) you do so well. I will switch to this way. Thanks !
Sounds great. I never thought to play with the capo, but I sometimes play the G with a D shape chord. I kind of play both at the same time I guess. Without the capo, alternating between regular open G, and the D shape G you are playing with the capo. The lead fill seems easier with the capo though. Great stuff. Thanks for posting!
James! I agree you've nailed the very sound on the capoed guitar but if the progression you proposed is right (capoed A being in the form of chord E), then the two chords you play after A is C and G (that's what you actually play naming the capoed chords G and D). So if you play without capo it must be as well A, C, G and not A, G, D. That's why you prefer the chord "G" with a C - because IT IS C! The problem however is with the melody, because Roger ends every verse on chord D instead of G. Why? God knows. My guess is Roger sings to the progression of A, G, D and not to the apparent capoed guitar which play different chords. That's what alcohol can do to music! I looked up Pete's rendition of Magic Bus from 96 and nowhere does he play G after initial A. Pete's a genius rock amateur musician. What I love about his playing is that it is purely intuitional. And that's what rock should be. Oh, and vonhasselbach here also plays A, C, G! And rightly so!
Listen real close: Pete actually uses BOTH those progressions in the original. He usually plays (this is with capo) E---D-A-. Then occasionally he plays E---G-D- for extra spice (especially noticeable right before "I don't care how much I pay!").
I think he even varies the chord voicing beyond that. I think I hear an occasional x04230 D-over-A in there. It's a real classic Pete acoustic-rhythm tour de force along the lines of "Pinball Wizard," the BBC version of "The Seeker," and assorted live Pete performances of "Drowned" and "Won't Get Fooled Again." Having said that, thank you James for another excellent video; I learn lots from you, and I dig your obvious love for rhythm guitar and great parts. Too many advanced players are 99% fancy single-note lead.
Thanks for the break down, awesome as ever. Have struggled (never figured out) trying to replicate the acoustic parts on this song during the break. You definitely convinced me there's two acoustic parts, one that has dominant attributes , one more secondary . Per your comments, seems Pete performs the dominant part to get that 'power G note' as the tune begins to finish up
Sounds right to me. I never really played this song so tonight I put it on and grabbed my acoustic. Immediately I knew it was capo'd and went looking for confirmation. Thanks! You nailed it perfectly.
Nice run through, but that trying to tune while you have a capo on is killing me. Does that actually work for you? I always have to take the capo off to tune.
True. If you write the chords to a lot of his songs on paper, they may tend to look very similar. But he was as good at arranging as he was at songwriting, so they don't all seem so repetitive.
