Cars. We drive them. We love them. We put pictures of them on our walls when we REALLY like them. Well, gracing the cover of almost any of The Cars cd’s is just that. The Cars were an influential and fun-loving group of musicians who reminded us about the one thing we take for granted every day of our lives and what’s that? CARS. “Heartbeat City” was their most popular album, but this self-titled cd had some amazing hits like the one you are learning and “Just What I Needed.”
Verse Riff
Take a look at the tablature. There are a few things that you should notice. The first observation is that you will be playing a “palm mute.” Remember a palm mute is when you allow your pick hand to lay down on the strings not being played so that the strings offer a muffling sound instead of an actual ring. You will need to let these notes ring. The first and third measures are the same, as are the second and fourth.
How To Play It
Begin this song by placing your 1st finger on the “low E” string on the first fret and your 3rd or 4th finger on the “A’ string on the third fret. You are playing a power chord here. This power chord is called an F5. Now, with your fingers in place, you will need to play the “low E” string two times, and then play both strings together. Play the strings together three times, with a hint of a strike on the strings on the third time. Then play the “low E” string once, the power chord once, and to end the measure, the “low E” string once. That is it for the first and third measures!
To play the second measure, you will need to place your fingers in the same way as you did beginning the first measure, except on two strings below. You will be playing Bb5. Play that three times, then pick the “A” string on the first fret one time. Now, here is the only real change in the song. Do this by placing your 3rd finger on the “A” string on the third fret, and your 2nd finger on the “D” string on the second fret. This chord is a C.Play that four times, and then to end this measure, perform a “scrape” on the “A” and “D” strings. Remember, a scrape is when you grace the pick across desired strings. That is it for the riff! There are some chord diagrams to help you know what you are playing.
