Learn to play "Tell Me Why" by Neil Young on the guitar

In this lesson, we'll learn how to play "Tell Me Why" on the guitar. This song by the legendary Neil Young is not only fantastic but also great fun to play. It does come with a few tricky moments, especially in the chorus, but don't worry! With a little practice and patience, you'll be playing this song in no time.

Tuning and Arrangement

Before we get into the song, there are a couple of things to note. First, we'll be tuning down one tone, a common practice for Neil Young's songs. Don't be discouraged if you don't have a tuner or can't remember the tuning. You can always put a capo on the second fret, tune as usual, and then take the capo off.

The arrangement we'll be looking at today is based on several versions by Neil Young. The original recording starts immediately with the vocals, but most times when he performs it live, he includes an instrumental riff at the beginning before he starts singing. On the original recording, there are quite a few guitar layers that weave beautifully together. What we'll do is take most of the distilled versions of the way he plays it live and some elements from the original recording and combine them.

The Intro Riff

We'll start with the intro riff, which is used for the intro and happens after every chorus. The first chord is a C, but we've got a nice country-style run-up. In the C chord, we play the fifth string, then there's a down and an up strum, then we play the fourth string.

As we continue to the D chord, we play the bass note for the D, then the A, which is the fifth string, back to the D, and then we go down to the A minor. So, the chord progression here is C to D to A minor.

The Verses

Luckily for us, the verses are a lot simpler. The same core progression is going: C, D, A minor, G. Then, the fun starts when we get to the chorus, but don't worry! We'll take it step by step.

The Chorus

The chorus is where things get a little tricky. There's a two-four bar of D, then it goes into a kind of regular bar of the A minor, and then some strumming. The rhythm can be a bit complex, but the key is to listen to the song a lot and get it into your musical imagination.

Wrapping Up

The most common arrangements for Neil playing it live seem to be intro, verse, chorus, intro, verse, chorus, intro, chorus, intro. Feel free to experiment and embellish the song. Neil definitely does that live as well!

In summary, learning to play "Tell Me Why" by Neil Young on the guitar can be challenging, but it's also incredibly rewarding. It's a beautiful piece of music that's full of technical intricacies and unique rhythm patterns. With a little practice, you'll be playing this song with ease in no time. So, grab your guitar, tune it down one tone, and let's get started! Don't forget to watch the video for a detailed breakdown and demonstration of everything we've discussed in this lesson.

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