Times Like These Guitar Lesson

Being a bit of a music geek, one of the things I absolutely love about this song is the two quirky theory concepts that it serves up. The first is that the whole song is written in the Mixolydian mode, and the second is that we have part of it in a 7/4 time signature.

Don't worry, we will do our best to explain these elements, but not in too much detail. At the end of the day ,you don't have to understand these to play the song, but it is cool to have a little think about as part of the learning process.

So, let's dive into this masterpiece!

Times Like These Riff

We'll start at the start, with the two main riffs of the song. The first chord is extremely quirky, and according to various online chord generators, is called a D13(no3), which means it's a D13 chord without a major 3rd. Don't spend another second thinking about what that all means; that is theory for a later date, and more typical in more advanced blues and jazz lessons. The main thing is that we learn the chord shape, and how we pull the 2nd finger on and off to create the riff. It looks like this:

As you can see, we rotate between the fretted chord and the chord that has the open A string. The key thing here is ti understand the rhythm pattern, and when to take the finger "off", and when to put it "on". Here is that groove with clear "off and on" markers:

As we then transition into the main lead riff, we are now switching to a 7/4 time signature. This simply means that you have 7 quarter notes per bar. So where we are used to counting "1 2 3 4" in a bar, we now count "1 2 3 4 5 6 7" in a bar. Pretty cool, right? On top of that we are also using the D Mixolydian scale for this riff. Without going into too much detail, the D Mixolydian is the D major scale with a b7th note, or you can think of it as a G major scale starting on the D. Here is that scale:

As you work through the video to get the notes down with Franco, you can also consider the chords that are taking place underneath the riff. It may be that this is the part you would prefer to play, and if so, it is: | D5 | C5 | B5 | - Just remember, though, that each bar is 7 beats now, so the strumming would look like this:

The Verse Section

Once you have the riff learnt, we can check out the verse. The good news is that this part is a whole lot easier than the main riff, so you can breeze through it if you know your own chords. The section moves back into a 4/4 time signature, and uses the chords: | D | D | Am | Am | C | Em | Riff | Riff |, which you play twice round. NOTE: On the second time round, you play the whole riff twice, rather than once. Those chords and the rhythm pattern look like this:

My top tip for this section is to start introducing little arpeggiated vibes in the open chords. Nothing too strict, just start picking out some individual notes, within a rhythm, to create a more laid back feel to the verse. Franco talks about this clearly in the video, so make sure you've watched it all the way through.

The Chorus

Our final part to get together is the chorus, which has the following chords: | C5 | E5 | D5 | (x3) | C5 | E5 | RIFF | RIFF | RIFF | RIFF |. This is all still in 4/4, and we can continue to use the same strumming pattern if you like, like this:

You are also very welcome to adapt the strumming as much as you like. There is nothing set in stone here, and as the song develops you may feel as though you want to change those patterns and go more with the feel of the song. This is up to you, and something you can start to work with as you get more advanced on the guitar. So, good luck with this track, guys, and we'll see you soon! PS. Don't forget to share it with your friends!