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.com

Save 50% on this song sheet by applying the December 2024 code at Musicnotes checkout: UFE4VBUH3L (click to copy). Thanks for being a Premium supporter!

Song Notes Premium includes a 50% discount code you can use when buying any of my licensed song sheets. For the current month's code, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’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.

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 245 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

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!

Donate

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Key Master

See and hear the notes, chords, scales used in each of the most common keys.

View

Blank Tabs

Free PDF templates to download, print, and write out your own guitar tabs!

View

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

  • December 6, 2024

    "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

    Let's fingerpick this classic from CSNY! While it's originally a piano-driven song, I came up with a easy-going Key of C arrangement I think you'll enjoy.

  • November 28, 2024

    Thanksgiving Roundup: Improved Search, Vidami Coupon Code, and Melody Deep-Dives

    A collection of website & lesson updates from the past couple weeks, including a 20% discount code for Vidami pedals!

  • November 15, 2024

    "Scarlet Begonias" by Grateful Dead

    Let's dive into the 1974 classic from the Dead, with an acoustic-friendly arrangement using Key of G chords! I also show how you can include the catchy riffs wherever they occur, which is great way to channel the full spirit of this song.

  • November 12, 2024

    Does CAGED Help When Learning Songs?

    A quick audience Q&A video, where I talk about how CAGED helps (or does not help) when learning songs. Featuring the main riff from Scarlet Begonias by the Grateful Dead, which I'll be teaching soon!

  • November 8, 2024

    Rhythm Deep Dive: "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle

    Watch the process of me transcribing the rhtyhm of an incredibly tricky song! All shown in real time, in writing. Featuring "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle.

  • Nov 1, 2024

    Website Tour – November 2024

    A look at the state of the Song Notes website, as of November 2024. I've been working on more than just new lessons... check out the latest updates here!

  • Oct 24, 2024

    "Fast Car" - Strumming & Rhythm Guide!

    I've gotten a ton of emails asking how to strum Fast Car — here's a lesson showing 3 possible approaches! You can strum the whole song using what I teach, or combine this with the fingerstyle riff from lesson #494.

  • October 18, 2024

    CAGED - It's More Than Just Chords!

    Learn how each CAGED shape contains not only a chord, but also an arpeggio, pentatonic, and full diatonic scale! This is a must-know realization that'll level up any practice you do with these shapes.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage