Premium
VIP
Beta Tester
Shallow
by A Star is Born • Lesson #181 • Oct 11, 2018
Full lesson
Licensed Song Sheet 3 pages
Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.
On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.
Buy at Musicnotes.comPlay-along cover
Lyrics w/ chords
See PDF for lyrics, chords, and intro tab.
Chords needed
“Magic ring” chord shapes (used for intro & verse fingerpicking):
E ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
B ––––3–––––3–––––3–––––3––––– <== left ring finger stays here,
G ––––0–––––2–––––0–––––0––––– on 3rd fret, for all chords!
D ––––2–––––0–––––0–––––2–––––
A ––––2–––––0–––––2–––––3–––––
E ––––0–––––2–––––3–––––––––––
Em7 D/F# G Cadd9
Conventional chord shapes (used throughout the song):
E ––––0–––––3–––––3–––––0––––0–––––0–––––2–––––0––––
B ––––0–––––3–––––3–––––1––––1–––––1–––––3–––––2––––
G ––––0–––––2–––––0–––––0––––2–––––0–––––4–––––2––––
D ––––2–––––0–––––0–––––2––––2–––––2–––––4–––––2––––
A ––––2–––––––––––2–––––3––––0–––––x–––––2–––––0––––
E ––––0–––––––––––3––––––––––––––––3––––––––––––––––
Em D G C Am Am/G Bm A
How to learn the intro riff
When learning this song, I recommend using the following as a guide to understand the rhythm of the intro & verse chords. Whether you strum or fingerpick, you’ll want to note which chords are switched to on the beat, and which are “pushed” so that you switch to them an 8th note ahead of the main beat (e.g., the first G is played on the “4 +” count instead of the “1” count).
See PDF for tab diagram
From here, you can bring in the fingerpicking tab as heard in the actual song. Notice how the chord changes happen on the beats prescribed above.
See PDF for tab diagram
Simplifying the intro & verse riff
Here’s the same intro progression, but using the simplified chord shapes that keep your left ring finger on the same note for all chords. Can’t beat that!
See PDF for tab diagram
If you want to keep things simpler for the intro and/or the verse, I recommend learning this approach. The benefit is that your left ring finger stays on the B string (3rd fret) for all chords, which makes things so much easier. Note, this gets looser with the timing - which also keeps things simpler (don’t feel like you HAVE to match the exact timing of the song, if it’s giving you a hard time).
See PDF for tab diagram
Chord progression cheat sheet
There are four beats per measure - and each of the main song sections used the following chords (sometimes you stay on a chord for 4 counts, other times you split a measure between two different chords).
Verse: "Tell me something, girl..."
| Em D/F# | G | C | G D |
Pre-chorus: "I'm off the deep end..."
| Am | D | G D/F# | Em |
Chorus: "In the shallow, shallow..."
| Am Am/G | D/F# | G D/F# | Em |
Bridge: "Whoaaaa....."
| Bm | D | A | Em |
| Bm | D | A |
Strumming pattern
After the verse sections are over, I usually strum the rest of the song. Quite simply, I’ll use a “down, down up… up down up” pattern, over and over again.
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
D D U U D U
Thanks and good luck!
I hope this helps, and as always let me know if you have any questions. While you’re here, check out my other lessons for songs from A Star is Born:
Always Remember Us This Way
Lesson timestamps:
- 0:00 Lesson preview & agenda
- 1:45 Chords shapes needed
- 4:53 Chord progressions
- 7:04 Strumming patterns
- 11:18 Chorus: strum & timing
- 14:05 Chorus: advanced voicings
- 16:23 Putting it all together
- 18:03 Farewell & thanks
Maybe It’s Time
Guitar lesson:
Play-along cover (full song):
Browse Related Lessons
Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:
Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!
Most of the lessons on my website are 100% free. If you have the means, please show your support with a tip jar contribution. I put many hours into every lesson — but it only takes you a minute to make a donation. You have my thanks!
Looking for More Song Lessons?
Featured Courses
Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made
Coming soon is Jambox – which shows all the video jam tracks I've made. It's note quite ready for the spotlight, but check it out if you like!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel
Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!
Recent Lessons
-
November 15, 2024
"Scarlet Begonias" by Grateful Dead
-
November 12, 2024
Does CAGED Help When Learning Songs?
-
November 8, 2024
Rhythm Deep Dive: "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle
-
Nov 1, 2024
Website Tour – November 2024
-
Oct 24, 2024
"Fast Car" - Strumming & Rhythm Guide!
-
October 18, 2024
CAGED - It's More Than Just Chords!
-
October 3, 2024
Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee"
-
September 27, 2024
Paul Simon Fingerstyle with "59th Street Bridge Song"