Getting Started with "She Talks to Angels" and Open-E Tuning

Lesson #459 • Nov 10, 2022

Description

Hey there, friends! New lesson today where I’ll walk you through first steps with She Talks to Angels, the 1990 classic from The Black Crowes. This lesson won’t teach the full song — but instead, will walk you through my suggested approach in learning the 3 riffs heard in the first 30 seconds. Because this song is in Open E tuning (which I’ll explain), there may be some new territory for you to get familiar with — as there was for me! But with the step-by-step exercises I show you, you’ll be able to get up-to-speed relatively quickly (compared to simply looking at the full tab for each riff, and trying to make them sound good). I hope you enjoy!

Free Video Lesson

Slow Playthrough

Requires membership to Song Notes Premium. A zoomed-in, no-talking playthrough of each of the “exercise” riffs I’ve created to help you learn the 3 main riffs heard in the Black Crowes Recording. For each of the 3 riffs.

Instructional PDF 3 pages

Lesson Discussion

Looking for more Open Tuning lessons?

This is one of the first times I’ve ever explored a “true” open tuning, and must say it was a blast! I did explore Open D tuning once, and have dabbled in Drop-D and Double-Drop-D several times. If you’re interested in lessons on those topics, here’s a few suggestions

Instructional lessons

Playing around in Drop-D tuning

Song lessons

"Dublin Blues" by Guy Clark

$ Song Sheet Available

"Cover Me Up" by Jason Isbell

$ Song Sheet Available

"Welcome to Paradise" by Green Day, in the style of Tyler Childers

$ Song Sheet Available

"Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver

$ Song Sheet Available

Nirvana Riffin' in Drop-D (ft. All Apologies)

★ Instructional PDF

"Whitehouse Road" by Tyler Childers

$ Song Sheet Available

"Harvest Moon" by Neil Young

$ Song Sheet Available

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?

Recently Added

Featured Courses

Strumming & Rhythm

While your left hand is busy learning chords, your right hand has its own job: creating a sense of rhythm with strumming! This can be tricky at first, but there's so much fun-to-be-had once you get over the hump. Here's a guide to get you started.

17 lessons

View

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking

Dive into the basics of fingerstyle guitar, with plenty of examples of riffs, exercises, and songs that put this technique to use. This includes a healthy serving of Travis Picking lessons, which feature an alternating bass note played with your right thumb.

31 lessons

View

Blues Starter Kit

A guide to must-know elements of beginner blues guitar! I'll walk you through the essential topics, showing you fun things to play along the way.

18 lessons

View

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learn to read tabs, chord charts, fretboard diagrams, strumming patterns, and more! This course explains how to understand all of these must-know notation styles.

6 lessons

View

Learning Lead Guitar

A collection of videos teaching you licks, riffs, solos, and other lead guitar techniques! Includes info on scales, CAGED shapes, and other helpful lead guitar concepts.

24 lessons

View

Beginner Chord Guide

A guide to the must-know chords you'll need when getting started with guitar! The quickest way to learn major chords, minor chords, the chords in each key, and more.

22 lessons

View

Practical Music Theory

A general overview of must-know theory concepts. The goal here is practical, easy-to-understand explanations — all of which provide clarity to your everyday guitar playing.

12 lessons

View

Using a Capo

Capos are incredibly helpful if you want to play along with your favorite artist, change a song's key, adjust things to your vocal range, and so on. In this series of videos I explain all this & more!

8 lessons

View

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

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

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.
October 3, 2024

Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee"

In honor of Kris Kristofferson's passing, here's a brand new play-along cover of his 1971 classic Me and Bobby McGee – with some updated strumming tips included.
September 27, 2024

Paul Simon Fingerstyle with "59th Street Bridge Song"

Let's dive into Simon & Garfunkfel's 1966 hit, where I'll walk you through several ways to tackle Paul Simon's Travis-style fingerpicking.
September 20, 2024

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking Lesson Roundup!

I've been busy organizing all my lessons teaching fingerstyle & Travis picking, and have them in a new easy-to-browse layout. Check 'em out here!
September 13, 2024

"Rebel Rouser" - 1950s Lead Guitar Lesson

Let's learn how to play Duane Eddy's 1958 classic! This song's memorable riff is easy to approach, but poses a fun challenge as the song changes key over and over. I'll walk you through it all, jam tracks included!
September 5, 2024

Lead Guitar Lesson Roundup!

I've organized all my lead guitar lessons into a new easy-to-browse area of the website! Whether you're interested in techniques or learning song-based riffs, I've got a lot of lessons I'm sure you'll enjoy.
Aug 30, 2024

"Linger" by The Cranberries

A deep-dive into The Cranberries 1993 classic, showing you the intro riff and three different ways to strum the verse & chorus. Such a fun song to play!
Aug 21, 2024

Capos, Explained: 6 New Lessons & PDF Guides

I've updated the capo section of my website, featuring 6 new lessons, a handful of PDF guides, and a new interactive web tool – Capo Captain!

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage

Getting Started with "She Talks to Angels" and Open-E Tuning

Description

Free Video Lesson

Slow Playthrough

Instructional PDF 3 pages

Lesson Discussion

Looking for more Open Tuning lessons?

Instructional lessons

Song lessons

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Strumming & Rhythm

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking

Blues Starter Kit

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learning Lead Guitar

Beginner Chord Guide

Practical Music Theory

Using a Capo

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Capo Captain

Key Master

Blank Tabs

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons