Where to find this song - Whatever and Ever Amen track # 3
Release Date- May 1997
The Band:
Ben Folds - piano, vocals, keyboards, flutophone
Robert Sledge - bass, vocals, upright bass, cello
Darren Jesse - drums, vocals
The Bio:
A guitarless band may seem strange at first, but the piano, bass and
drums trio Ben Folds Five have dispelled any misgivings about their
ability to rock as loud and hard as the next band. Calling themselves
"punk rock for sissys," the band have been grouped with the
nerd rock movement of the mid-90s with one exception, Folds know how
to write catchy and clever pop songs that hold up after repeated listens.
The band captures a strong sense of jazz as well. Their talent is amazing,
and their on-stage antics truly go to show that they KNOW what they
are playing, and don't mind playing around in different genres of music.
This particular song speaks for itself, as it is about the struggle
between a girl and a boy who find out the the girl is pregnant, and
contemplate abortion. It truly strikes a note with many, many people
facing these issues - right or wrong.
Verse Riff
This song is in drop D tuning. In drop D tuning the low E string is
tuned down one whole step to D. To tune your guitar to drop D tuning,
first make sure your tuned to standard tuning. Then you'll want to tune
your low E string down two steps to D (we drop it down one step, hence
the name). See the picture below. You can use the audio clip below to
tune your low E string to D for drop D tuning.
This song is incredibly fun to play, mainly because it has a very simplistic
approach, but makes high usage of the open "low E" (tuned
to D) note. The song is in standard time - which is - everyone now!
- 4/4 timing. The audio is accentuated for timing purposes. It is played
on the cd using a piano ( Ben Folds primary instrument), but Ben Folds
also plays acoustic to this song in some live shows. That also explains
the erratic picking pattern that you will see.To begin the riff, notice
that you will only be playing a total of three chords, but the picking
is a bit tricky. You may find yourself picking the notes without even
realizing it, because the notes provide a very even flow. Start off
with a D chord, which should be easy to play even for beginners. If
you are having trouble with it, simply notice that the tab shows you
where to place your fingers. For the next chord, you will be playing
a Dsus2. Take a look and see that all you are doing is taking your 2nd
finger off of the "high E" string. For the next chord, you
will be playing a G6sus2. Play that by placing your 1st finger on the
fifth fret on the "low E" string, and your 3rd and 4th fingers
on the "D" string and the "G" string.
