You sir are absolutely correct about taking the time to learn the introduction. From one musician to another I agree that this song is iconic and should be played correctly. Rock on Brother.
This is, by far, the most thorough and complete tutorial for Suicide is Painless that I have seen. I've never held a guitar in my life, and I feel I could probably learn this. I grew up watching MASH, and the theme (especially the intro) still resonates with me so many years later. MASH is, in large part, why I joined the Navy and became a Corpsman, then as a civilian, became a medic. To this day, every time I see a helicopter, I start humming Suicide is Painless...
Thanks for making this, 2003 baby here, I appreciate the time and how thorough this tutorial is. I learnt this because my parents are great fans and the lyrics always resonated with me on a profound level. Now if only you could do a tutorial on how to cope with the emotions that'd cause someone to write these lyrics!
I’m as old as Alan Alda and now I can play this song. Thanks for the straight forward demonstration of the intro. When I tried tabs I was totally confused.
Awesome tutorial, very much appreciated. Wife wanted to know if I wanted baked or mashed potatoes, told her I'd think about it. Played this for her twenty minutes later. When I make a pun I really commit.
Brian, this really a great effort on your part to hand down an iconic song like this. The overhead angle is fantastic - and rare in tutorials. This theme song - and MASH itself - are some of the oddest, funniest, profoundly ironic items in our culture. The lyrics have always troubled me, though they do speak to a broader humanity. My dear uncle Jimmy took some life-altering wounds on the hills of Korea. I salute him and all the people who've struggled in various ways, today especially Katherine Brosnahan, Bobby K,....and the boys who hit the beaches of Normandy so many years ago on this June 6. Thanks for posting your work!
Thank you for this lesson, it's great for everyone who wants to play and sing it, no matter how good are his guitar skills. And the advice in the end is very precious, I'm telling it from my own experience of street singer :-)
There are others who attempt to do an instructional for this tune but they play it wrong. THIS IS THE CORRECT WAY TO PLAY THIS SONG!!! Thank you Brian Whitmer. I am an advanced guitarist who was looking for a quick instructional on this tune. After watching a couple bozo instructional videos, I came across yours and said, "finally, someone who is playing it correctly"!
your lesson was spectacular. took me less an hour to get down, really good tutorial. i capoed the 2nd and played it on my 1929 ss stewart archtop and took your advice on the embellishments. thank you very very much for the lesson.
Very helpful. As a very average guitarist, I found this to be an attainable version with very clear instruction. I totally agree about the emotional impact of singing too many verses. This song is associated with a very funny show (with occasional episodes of drama). Singing six verses about death and dying is not going to go over too well.
Outstanding lesson !!! Thank you for the time and effort!! Edited to add : your advice at the end is SPOT on !!!!!! It baffles me that a 14yr old wrote the lyrics.......
I did not know that a 14 year old wrote it. The lyrics are a bit more than “morose” when you know what they are. One verse describes how powerless you are as a bullet (or maybe a syringe) slides into your body to kill you. Jeez
Great tutorial! I read that lyrics were written by a 15 year old kid and that he made about $2 million in royalties. Robert Altman directed the movie and made $75,000. He had his son Michael write the lyrics.
Great lesson for only 15 minutes!! Just what I was looking for. Very concise, not rushed, nice calm voice and great camera angles... could see exactly what you were doing. Shame it's 02:00 on a Thursday morning or I'd watch a few more times and perfect it. In the words of Arny, "I'll be back". :) Well done!!
Great tutorial!! I have watched M*A*S*H years and years ago. I've decided to watch it again recently. I am also a few chords strummer so decided to learn the theme from the beginning of the series. It's not as easy as one may think, however the melody itself is great!! I like the lyrics less, to be be honest (never heard them before, never knew that this was a song). Anyway, the theme sounds wonderful. Great work, thanks again for the tutorial❤👌😀👍!!
thank you so much brian! . i just watched m*a*s*h* tonight, first time. had to learn the song. it perfectly blends melancholy, subversion, and the absurd in the film. we are far less sophisticated.
I am a very new to guitar.You are very right if you do not take the time to get the intro right not worth it.Just need practice, practice.Thank you i will keep after it!
+AZMerf Phoenix, Arizona Do it, Merf! With the Internet in general and RU-vid in particular, there's always a teacher and a lesson available no matter what your schedule.. Put a guitar in your lap, a tablet on your table, and go for it.
Brian Whitmer --> Agreed... I picked up the guitar at 51 y/o. Never 'too old' to learn... I'm 54 now, progress has been slow, but hey, I play for my own pleasure in my spare time. Took up the guitar when a teen... but gave it up shortly after. Wish I had have kept at it. Oh well, it is what it is... Enjoying it now... 👍😉
VERY useful! Professional, and very good advice! The same advice I would give...You don't want to depress your audience, lol. A couple of songs come to mind that successfully Will bum your audience out: Green Fields of France, Waltzing Matilda (Eric Bogle was such a delight... lol) , When I was 17, when we were young... Subscribed!
Helicopter rotors? I want that guitar wrapped in bloody bandages and a plasma IV hooked up to it! Seriously though this is the clearest, most thorough, and easiest to follow tutorial for this song that I have found on the net. Thanks for posting this, I know how much work it takes to produce a decent video. There is another song that I have been totally unable to find a decent lesson for and that is Glenn Campbell's version of "Gentle On My Mind" by John Hartford. Any interest in covering that one?
Thanks so much for the awesome review, fullwood. "Gentle on My Mind" is a great song and a great choice for a tutorial. I'll certainly take a look at it, but don't expect anything soon. I've got a lot of other music projects in the hopper already. Thanks again!
I would also request that song! Ive been wanting to play both of these. GCs "gentle" seems to have a lot of barre chords, which throws me. Also, the strumming pattern I can't quite seem to grasp. I'd really appreciate you covering it!
Nice tutorial BUT, the sound of sliding fingers on the strings is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Could you lift or put less pressure on left fingers? Thanks
Great video. I have been working on it for just a few days and can play it pretty well. Thanks. But I agree with you concluding comments about the lyrics -- the verses go on way too long! Vic
Thanks, Vic. I recently learned that the lyrics are INTENTIONALLY terrible. Check out the "Background and Recording" section of this Wiki page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Is_Painless
+Brian Whitmer I have always loved that tune. I had the opportunity of performing in an orchestra and that was one of the chosen manuscripts...I have always enjoyed playing it very much.. Then I discovered that there was lyrics when I read the lyrics I cried. A very emotive piece made even more emotive by such beautiful lyrics.. thank you for this u-tube discussion regards Kathleen Byrne McIntyre Davidson Melbourne Australia
+Melanie C It's kind of you to ask, Melanie, but I perform so infrequently these days that I don't maintain an online schedule -- or even an off-line schedule, for that matter. That Day Job keeps getting in the way.
Thanks again for the excellent lesson, very easy to follow, and will share with my students at Guitars4Vets.. Any recommendations on a good tab with lyrics?? to follow along??..
Hi cabarete. It's an 814ce, which is a much better guitar than I deserve. But like you said, it's beautiful, and so I couldn't resist. The gang at Taylor really outdid themselves with this model.
The lyrics are great. I believe directors son wrote them at 15. Suicide is painless. The dentist. If you’re a fan of the movie I think you’ll find the words perfect. What have you written
I humbly apologize for expressing my opinion before seeking your approval, especially on a topic as objective and coldly factual as lyric preferences. I wish I could say that it won't happen again, buuuuut... In the meantime, let me direct your attention to the second paragraph of this article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Is_Painless. To each his own.
You played the original or your strings are a silvery match! I first heard it with WWII vet Grandpa age 75 in 1980 I... thank you Please have a good day
Yes, I think capo on 2 puts it in the original key, and that's how I usually play it. I was having trouble singing the high notes back when I made that tutorial, but not when I made this cover version: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jxstEglwMaI.html
I apologize as this may be a dumb question. I am a little less than a year into playing guitar, I don’t see why you would remove the second finger in the intro when you move 2 frets back as you don’t use that string there anyway and then you return to A minor afterwards. Not trying to be rude, I just don’t know enough to come up with an answer to this question by myself. Thanks!
Hi Chris. Not a dumb question. If I understand you correctly, I'm not removing my second finger as I slide back down to the Am. I lift that finger off the string when I slide UP two frets, and then when I slide back down I don't place that finger back on the string until the whole phrase starts over. If that doesn't make sense, then I probably misunderstood your question and invite you try asking again. It might help us communicate better if you give me a time stamp (or two) from the video to show me exactly the move you're referring to. One way or another, we'll get it figured out.
@@BrianWhitmerMusicAh yes i mean up 2 frets. at 1:58 is where you explain it, 3:08 you state the second finger again. i forget that going up the fretboard is closer to the body of the guitar haha. so when you move 2 frets up what is removing the second finger changing as you dont hit that string in that particular instance? thanks for the reply!
@@forgetfulslowchris875 I find that if I don't lift my second finger when I slide up the neck, that string rings out and creates the wrong chord. Muting that string is all that matters, though, so if you can find another way to mute it at that spot, there would be no need to lift your second finger. I hope that helps.
Capo goes wherever you (or your vocalist) want it. I'm most comfortable singing this song with the capo on 2, but I left that out of the tutorial to simplify the lesson.
I agree. If you check out my cover of the song (link above) you'll see that I toggle back and forth between C and Cmaj7 in the verses to follow the vocal melody.
Hey Brian: Some constructive criticism if you’re open to improve.: COMPLETELY remove your fingers from the fretboard when changing chords , in order to eliminate the squeaks. . They are awful and a sure sign of someone not fully prepared to play . Practice one change at a time until you can do it blindfolded…..
Don’t do all the verses ? I wonder what the songwriter would say ? I get your point about audiences BUT I’m not so sure I agree . It’s not just about pleasing them....it is also about making a profound statement. Also to argue that the last verses make it morose is almost comical. The song is about SUICIDE . All that said, I would hesitate to do this song in public as who knows who it might push down that final road ?
