Difficulty: Intermediate
The title track from the 3 Doors Down album “Away From The Sun”
is a mid tempo power ballad. As in many 3 Doors Down songs, the rhythm pattern is an arpeggiated chord progression with various little fills throughout. It can be played with a pick or finger picked (both are demonstrated in video below).
The chord shapes above the tab give you an indication of the chord that is arpeggiated. You should hold each chord shape until the next chord in the progression comes along. This allows each note from the chord to ring together.
Here is the transcription to the verse:
How To Play It
The correct fingerings to play this riff are fairly obvious. If a note falls on the 3rd fret then you’ll play that note with your 3rd finger. If it falls on the 2nd fret, you’ll use your 2nd finger, and if the note falls on the 1st fret you’ll use your 1st finger. The only place that you’ll alter these fingerings is in the last 2 measures where we use our pinky to play the D note on the B string (3rd) fret.
When picking it, you should use all down strokes.
This riff will be hard to play at regular speed for many people. It is a fairly brisk tune at 120 beats per minute. If you find that you fall into this category then try slowing the tempo down.