Premium
VIP
Beta Tester
Keep 'Em on They Toes
by Brent Cobb • Lesson #355 • Mar 13, 2021
Video lesson
Licensed Song Sheet 2 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.comEditor’s notes
Hey friends! Today we’re looking at “Keep ‘Em on They Toes” by Brent Cobb, one of my absolute favorite new songs from 2020. If you haven’t heard this one, give it a listen – the combination of the witty lyrics, Cobb’s vocal style, and easy-going (yet nuanced) guitar part make it a blast to play. While normally played in the key of E (no capo, E - B7 - C#m - A), I’ll be focusing on a key of C version (capo 4, C - G - Am - F)… which enables you to play the distinctive flourish notes while strumming.
Here’s timestamps for my video lesson:
- 0:00 Preview & lesson summary
- 2:54 Capo and chords needed
- 5:00 Verse & chorus progressions
- 6:54 Strumming patterns
- 11:39 Flourish riff on each chord
- 17:00 Full playthrough w/ lyrics
If you haven’t heard this song before, give it a quick listen – I’m confident the opening verse will get its hooks in.
Lyrics and chords
Capo 4th fret using the chords below. Or play on capo, key of E (see below for more details).
See my sheet music for the lyrics with chords.
Capo 4 (key of C) or no capo (key of E)?
From watching a solo acoustic live video, Brent Cobb plays this song in the key of E, without a capo (using the chords E / B7 / C#m / A). However, I like playing it capo 4 – which lets you use key of C chords (C / G / Am/ F), and more importantly lets you play those flourish notes you hear in Cobb’s album version. It’s up to you how to approach it… but I’m teaching it capo 4 because that’s how I like to play it.
Chord shapes
Here’s how to play the chords, for both the capo 4 version as well as the no capo version. For the F chord, you don’t need to do a full 6-string F… I often play just the middle four strings (for the chorus), or the thinnest four strings (for the verse).
No capo: Capo 4th fret:
e –––0––––2––––4––––0––– e –––0––––3––––0––––1–––
B –––0––––0––––5––––2––– B –––1––––0––––1––––1–––
G –––1––––2––––6––––2––– G –––0––––0––––2––––2–––
D –––2––––1––––6––––2––– D –––2––––0––––2––––3–––
A –––2––––2––––4––––0––– A –––3––––2––––0––––3–––
E –––0–––––––––––––––––– E ––––––––3–––––––––1–––
E B7 C#m A C G Am F
Strumming pattern
A few options here… I think the main idea is to keep it a bit chill, casual, and low-key. Here’s two patterns: the first of which I use during the verse & the end of the chorus, while the other (a bit more bouncy) I use during the up-beat part of the chorus.
See PDF for strumming diagrams.
Adding the flourish notes during the verse
Here’s some tabs to help you play the distinctive flourish notes you hear during the verse. Two big ideas to keep in mind here. (1) These notes happen every OTHER measure, meaning after you play them – you return to a measure of normal strumming. In my chart, I use an asterisk to denote a measure played with flourish. (2) You can actually keep your D-DU-UDU strum going through both these measures… and play the flourish notes on the “U” up-strum notes of that pattern. Just make sure you keep the strum low-key & chill, only playing some of the strings (don’t overdo it). See my video lesson for reference.
See PDF for full tabs.
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"