We Are All Enlisted

Only four chords to this song, and they’re all super easy!  Not only that, but fully half of the twenty-four measures are repeats.  You only have to learn these measures, and you’ve got the whole song:  [1], [2], [3], [4], [7], [9], [10], [11], [12], [15], and [16].  I’m not counting [8], which consists entirely of a single, strummed C chord.  The only place where the repetition is not exact is in the last line, where the notes are picked separately, without hammer-ons or slides.

There are no hard chords or difficult transitions, but the tempo is FAST, so I added a change of pace in the middle.  It’s slower than the rest of the song, but still not exactly SLOW. Remember, the metronome numbers are for quarter-notes, not eighth-notes, and the song is arranged in 8/8 time, so each beat of the metronome counts for TWO “counting numbers,” not one.  If you want to count each counting number separately, double the metronome speed.

Nearly all the G7 chords in the tab are really Gs, but there’s no need to kill your hand making fast chord changes. The #1 string is not played in any of these G chords, so the difference is academic.  It’s easier to hit the melody notes from a G7 hand position, so I’ve called them all G7.  You can play G the “right” way if you like, but your hand will get mighty tired.

In measures [7] and [23], do the hammer-on with the ring finger, leaving the middle finger free to do the slide which follows. The last note of the measure is an open e-string, giving you time to position your hand for the following C chord strum.

Some chords are pinched, some are strummed, and some are played as arpeggios. If you are using finger-picks, be sure to play the arpeggios with the fingers, leaving the thumb and thumb pick free to strum the next chord.  If you try to strum the arpeggios, you may have difficulty getting the thumb back into strumming position in time. You will either have a choppy rhythm, or you may hit the strings with the thumb pick on the way up.

A couple of tips:
-- the pull-offs on the third string are easier to do quickly as push-offs. Instead of pulling the string away from you to pluck it with the middle finger of the left hand, push it toward you to pluck it. This may seem a bit unnatural at first, but it’s not hard to do.
-- in measures [7] and [23], fret the A note on the third string, 2nd space, by briefly flattening the  middle finger across the string, instead of moving it from the fifth string. It’s a bit faster, where speed really counts.

It’s not actually necessary, but I like to end the song with a C/G chord, which is just a normal C with the G note added with the little finger on the #6 string. It gives a fuller sound than a normal C chord, but contains all the same notes. If you’re following the tab, your finger will already be there, but if you have trouble hitting it in tempo, just play a normal C, as tabbed.

In this song, tempo is king. It sounds terrific when played at speed, and it’s not hard to do. With a little practice, you can sound like a fretboard wizard.

An Angel from on High, easier and better

There are a few transitions in this version that may require a bit of practice for smoothness, but not as many as you might think. That’s one reason I tabbed it in C, instead of the key of G, as it’s written in Hymns. The other reason is that I have tendinitis, which makes my left hand lock up when I play in G. I got it from years of twisting my left wrist so I could see what my left hand was doing. If your guitar teacher tells you not to look at your left hand, there’s a reason!
           
The (slightly) hard transitions are in the fourth measure of the first line and the third measure of the last line, where you have to go rapidly from a barred GIII chord to an F note on the first string. All you really have to do is slide the left hand down to the F, but you’ll want to lift your fingers from all the strings during the slide, to avoid sliding noises. You may also find the pull-off in the third measure of the second line difficult. The trick is to leave all the fingers in place except the barring finger, then use that finger to do the pull-off.  This is actually the easiest way to make the change, at least for me.

The second and fourth measures of the third line require you to play the CIII as a barred-A, a barre chord that gives lots of people problems.  This could be done in other ways, but none lends itself to the quick series of rapid chord changes required so well as the barred C, F, and G progression. If you have trouble with barred-A chords, you may be exerting more pressure with the left hand than the chord really needs. Done properly, this type of chord is not really hard to play at all, but the finger placement has to be exact, using good technique, with the fingers arched, and only the tips contacting the strings. Many beginners try to muscle this chord instead of learning it right, then wonder why it seems so hard.

A word about the tempo.  Switching from 6/8 to 4/4 does more than change the count. The speed of the music also increases dramatically. If you are playing more than one verse, you can play the second part in 8/8 instead of 4/4, which will make the last two lines slow and lyrical instead of quick and bright. You might also consider strumming more of the chords instead of pinching them, as shown in the tab.  The bright sound of the pinches sounds really good played near the bridge, giving the piece a real “guitar” sound, especially when played a bit faster than is normal when accompanying singers.

This song is intermediate level, and is in the public domain.