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Home ❯ Songs ❯ Pearl Jam ❯

Yellow Ledbetter

by Pearl Jam • Lesson #458 • Nov 2, 2022

Description

Hey there, friends! In this guitar lesson I’ll teach you an acoustic-friendly version of Yellow Ledbetter, the Hendrix-inspired Pearl Jam song from 1992. For the absolutely classic intro riff, I’ll show you how to cut a few corners so you can capture Pearl Jam’s sound in a bit more of a beginner-friendly manner. Likewise, for the chord shapes (E, B, and A) I’ll show you some clever-yet-easy-to-play open voicings which similarly make things easier to pull off. This is one of my absolute favorites, and I hope you enjoy!

Free Video Lesson

Strumming & Rhythm

Requires membership to Song Notes Premium. Tackles the open chord shapes, progression, and strumming patterns for the verse, chorus, and ending sections. For the chords and strumming in particular, I’ll show multiple ways you can approach things.

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Slow Playthrough of Riffs

Requires membership to Song Notes Premium. See me play through the intro riff at normal speed (0:00), a simplified version of the intro riff at slower speed (0:30), and the separate ending sequence (1:07). This video is zoomed in, with tabs on the screen, without any talking.

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Jam Track

Here’s an audio jam track I made, playing over the E-B-A-E chords at 70 beats per minute. This gives you a repeating loop to play over, which has the same chord progression as the verse and chorus of this song.

Download jam track as mp3, or listen below:

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Lesson Discussion

Jump in the conversation with other members of the Song Notes community! Post a comment about this lesson, ask a question, or even upload a video of your progress. All skill levels welcome!

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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.

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Pearl Jam’s Recording of Yellow Ledbetter

Original recorded version (1992):

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