Hello everyone, today it is time to have a look at this all time favourite song. It contains a great riff, simple but effective, nice chordsequence to play around with and a great chorus containing powerchords to finish the song off with. What more would you like to enjoy yourself with on a Cold Winters Day??!

Okay for those not familiar with the song, here it is:

Here is the intro:

                  Gadd5                                                C

  E  ————3————————–      ————-0——————————————

  B  ————3————————–       ————1——————————————

  G  ————0————————–       ————0——————0———————–
                                   P O    P O 
  D  ————0——4–5–4–5–4–0–       ———– 2——–0—2—————————–

  A  ————2————————–         ——-3—3—-2————————————–

  E   ——3—-3————————–         ———————————————————

 

Just listen to the orginal song from the video to get the rhythm of the into. Now the way I put the intro is not how Bowie plays it, however it is a great way to get that full sound of the intro. I believe it is near impossible to get the sound of the recording on one acoustic guitar. I will include two other videos from Youtube from another guitartutor who will show you how to play the intro in a different way. I would suggest you to check it out after you can play the way I put the intro here.

Gosh do I need many words to put all this information accross here eh?

Alright, now it is time for the verse.
Here the chords for the verse:

   G     Bm     C      D

   G     Em     A      C   :]

  Play Bm as a Am-shape barre chord

Here are the chords for the chorus:

  A⁵      G⁵    F⁵    G⁵   

  D       E

   For those powerchords I play something like this:

      A⁵      G⁵     F⁵

 A –7——5—–3—–

 E –5——3—–1—–        Notice when playing F⁵ play after the chord an open E on your low E string, so you

                                        go 1st fret low E then open E then back to the 1st fret ect. Listen to that part

                                        over and over again if you are not sure!

    Structure of the Song:

        Intro: 4x

       Verse: 2x

     Chorus: 3x

        Intro: 2x

       Verse: Only Once!!

     Chorus: 3x

Final Intro: 4x 

 

As for strumming patterns chords ect. Please listen to the recording since it is my believe that this song is clear enough for most people to hear by ear what is going on strummingwise. It really does not matter if it does sound a little different from the recorded version you hear in the video, as long as you get the flow and feel of the song.

Okay, now two videos of this good old chap here [No, this it not me, my accent sounds much sweeter!!]
I have chosen this video since he is very clear in his explanation, and what he mentions about the strumming ect. is similar as my own beliefs and attitude:

P.S: Notice his different intro compared to my version. Try it to see which one you like better!!

P.S.  Notice the difference in some of his chords, and the chorus: No Powerchords but Barrechords.
Try both ways to see whichever way you like it. Playing electric ,you may prefer powerchords with a little
bit of distortion on your amp. Anyway  just see what works for you.

Okay folks that is it for today, hope you enjoy your new song and would like to meet you all again in the New Year.
Eddie