Angeles by Elliott Smith Tutorial

[canukkid]

if you want a tutorial for the finger picking check out my page and vote this up :) thanks!

[blolz]

you're not playing the right chords when you get to the change

[gatorsofdoom]

Great help thanks.

[manicmarzipan]

may I add, it also helps to listen to the song in slow motion. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + S when you play it in your windows media player.. Since discovering this I have found it so much easier.. Starting to get the hang of the intro.. and I tell you once you get it it's addictive... I can't stop playing it .. it sends me to a higher realm :)

[unkleal21]

you are a Beast!

[bullard1707]

Great teacher!

[TheRzt1]

thanks mate

[aye1354]

Can you send me the tab you used?

[bodysn9]

Thanx Bro ! Awsome

[BuriiBii]

Excuse me sir, can you lend me some of your awesome? :D

I love this..<3

[phrumcford]

very nice song...

and sexy voice! xD

[TheMitchellBrown]

wat the hell happened to part 2?

[lizjonas]

awesome playing, beautiful voice, great song... i might love you a little bit

[TmmyBlytn]

i can't keep up with you, man



[veinysaboteur]

elliott played a b minor shape with the open e as the bass note. trust me. give that a try.

[gilchristjat]

i could listen to you talk all day dude, can you just record some random shit for hours please thanks... appreciate it! also great playing

[MrEverhope]

Very nice!

[beenyj]

im awful at guitar, teaching my self, but im determined to lear this song!

[8ihateu8]

that sounds good but just not like the original..where did you get the tab? do you play it with 3 or 4 fingers?

[moxeeboy78]

@Kornd0g8 HI my name is corndog and I like to point out everyones flaws because I am so perfect.

[airatak]

you have a really good talking voice man 

[jeremieKayou]

nice. i think E chord @ 1:03 is major

[poonmcnugget]

don't get me wrong @jeffhkim2501 it's really good but like someone else said you're missing some parts. . .

[bacelines]

great voice, you should do voice over work or radio dude.

[bosen012]

my fingers are bleeding. great job tho

[niklass698]

thanks man

[marshie25]

Why would someone dislike this

[Juar3z7]

Hey the first part helped alot, can you post the second one as soon as you have to time please. and thanks

[saucguad25]

Anyone taking their time to learn Elliot's music is impressive !

[analwizard]

dude your voice is like ear chocolate

[MatthewPA1972]

@analwizard And that's coming from the anal wizard!

[QuistTV]

cool! Yr guitar sounds nice too

[JonnyML]

you are too fast. slow down that song

[clickmeforgoodtime]

How do you pick that fast? I feel like my fingers are too big.

[johnhatkinson]

@clickmeforgoodtime its just practice, I don't really have spindly guitar friendly fingers but with time I was able to pick pretty fast.

[clickmeforgoodtime]

@johnhatkinson

ah thanks.

I've found that after a few afternoons of picking, you pick up on it quick.

[dankane90]

i don't mean to be critical, but your rhythms a bit off in the intro. nice tho

[PullingTeeth1]

You people should really listen to the song while learning it, jesus christ.

[Adamwaddum]

What the hell kind of tutorial is that? You didn't explain how to play it at all.

[jhollstedt]

MAN!! I could not get the picking down for the longest time. I had never heard of Travis picking until I tried learning this song. The picking pattern should be made clear in your tuturiols bro.

[petedohertysdealer]

This is the key bit: 2:50

[moree21]

THANK YOU!!!

[Soraman12345]

dude you're terrible at explaining... would you mind posting a tab?

[eggbagel]

that melody is just magical

[carlrs15]

Nice job. So do you pretty much need to shape your fingernails fingerstyle to play this?

[knd53]

cool!!...gracias amigo!!1

[johnhatkinson]

you should be on late night radio ;)

[algore92]

i cant see the pickinggggggg...i suck!!!

[Fedex099]

@algore92 i had the same problem but look up for some "travis-style" picking tutorials. i can play it almost as good as this guy now

[happysappy21]

@Fedex099 hey mate, how long did it take you to get the hang of the travis picking style? I started yesterday and see some improvement but I think getting anywhere near the speed of this guy is impossible.

[kitchwatembo]

@happysappy21

just start playing is slowly but accurately. maybe try some iron and wine songs like cinder and smoke, which has the travis picking but much easier chord changes

[happysappy21]

@kitchwatembo Hey thanks mate, I think that's where I'm having trouble. I've started getting faster but my acuracy is now suffering. I think I need to be patient, slow down and ensure it's correct then let the speed come naturally.

[Fedex099]

@happysappy21 umm.. i don't know, like a month?

i haven't been really practicing it, like if you did it even like 10-15 min a day you should get pretty good at it withing a couple of weeks. i thought the same thing at first but the trick is not to hurry yourself up too much... play it at the speed that you can get it perfect, and slowly increase it. after a while, its not that difficult

[happysappy21]

@Fedex099 hey mate, thanks for getting back to me, actually it's been two weeks and I've nailed it. I'm even tending to go too fast now. It's absolutely amazing how the human brain, it's like my fingers have a mind of their own now, I can even talk while doing it. I can't believe after 10 years of self-taught guitar playing, it's only now that I've discovered the Travis picking style, it's opened up this whole new world of playing, I'll be getting to work on some Simon & Garfunkel now

[NamPlatypus]

Congrats!

[lalaluyah]

thank you so much! I tried to figure it out by myself but it goes so fast... Anyway, thanks again!

[duciopastesty]

Thank you! Very useful! :)

[avancouw]

I had hoped someone on youtube could demonstrate Elliott's strumming style. Most tutorials for this song focus a lot on the intro. Really, the rest of the song can manage on a simple base-note strum but Elliott is doing something much more complex and interesting.

[TheWainemaine]

unfortunately the 90% of the people that posted u a comment are affected by "racism"-

[mark1800]

oh and the first chord is 024032 low to high... not sure if that's what you got

[mark1800]

second chord is actually an A7... may wanna check other tabs before you do a tutorial. good effort though.

[syncosync]

moron

[CCSofChocolatesvill]

He's a Chinese American nerd with glasses as pre-judged by my book cover of narrow minded ignorance.

[ptchjamie]

Kim is a Korean last name.

[ptchjamie]

Don't thumbs down me; I was correcting that CCS guy. Perhaps I should have called him names or something.

[catseatingclouds]

can your say the plucking order? like ed, b, e ..???

[Fluffy918]

Could you clarify part of the bridge please? You went over it super fast and that is the only part that is truly troublesome. The chord after the F#m where you bar the 9th fret and make a funny shape with your hand is giving me some difficulty. Could you tab it our or post it like E maj would be 022100. Much thanks for the tutorial though!

[eskc486]

Could someone please explain the picking to me.. i'm not even close and video doesn't really help..

[ed1962]

yea no worries man, im just about to make a tutorial vid for the full song, note for note, with the correct picking technique and timing broken down. ill let you know when its up.

[Sonja1906]

Check out matthewcross' tutorial. It's very well explained there!

[ed1962]

this is far from note for note.

[mirkointube]

Excellent tutorial

[jackinthia]

i just adoooooore this song, soo beautiful, one of smiths bests, thanks for the great instructions!

[xoxduffyxox]

Love Elliott, love you, thanks for spreadin the love <3

[fertuiee]

Brilliant!...the right hand is cracking me up,i will get it though. ;)

[oranjjjggg]

this helped me learn the song. The finger plucking is a bit off, but hey, i wouldn't want to figure it out note for note either haha

[radshotvids]

hey thanks so much i've been trying to learn this for years and i think i finally got it. you are the man. sounded great btw

[stephgunit]

think i may have just fallen in love with you! haha.

[tuliviejo]

that's awesome dude, great guitar playing

[eldr1ntravvv]

dude I like your voice for this song, no homo

[pageseventyfive]

This is great. Do you think you could possibly make just like a list of the chords on the verse parts in the order really quick? i might be asking too much..but it would be awesome.

[cspring08]

yeah that would be nice

[iapaia5]

oh damn.... o_o

It seems hard to play... i don't think i can do that.

[samd42]

Very nice. It makes me want to learn it. Also, it's amazing that so many people want to see such an esoteric guitar tutorial, isn't it?

[zepplinjsd04]

i think that you're tooting your own horn a bit by suggesting that this song is esoteric.

[SamDarVid]

Would you categorize the song as "simple", like Smoke on the Water? It sounds complicated to me, with the finger picking. Haven't tried to learn it yet. Maybe I am wrong.

[Th31nsurg3nt]

really nice :)

[JonahMicheaJudy]

Thank you so much :)

[jeffhkim2501]

It's an MXL990. you can pick one up at musicians friend for $70, or find it used on c-list for $30 like I did. Cheers.

[taxi909]

You didn't argue that you're not a rich bitch though, tellingly...

[MockCity]

Thanks alot for posting these videos! I've finally learn't how to play Angeles with your help :-)

[ixwishes]

Thanks for posting. You play beautifully.

[pineapplesnickering]

thy alot for this

[XxxRowan90]

Lol go on on 2.47

[ertwyu]

The picking structure that jeffhkim2501 uses throughout the video is not the exact same style which Elliott uses; jeffhkim2501 actually plays it more complicated than necessary. If you look around for the "Fat Brian Wilson" tabs on the official Elliott Smith forums, it will have the correct picking structure. Hope this helps.

[TonySarandrea215]

Jeyleft is on crack.

Yea, Im having trouble following you on this. You should def. keep your word and do a part two.

Nobody on youtube has a thorough tutorial/lesson of this song. Its a bit complicated both finger picking and theres some random chords.

Why does E. Smith capo 7 when everyone else does capo 5?

[codemonkeybrains]

elliot tuned his guitar a whole step down, that's he capos 7.

[TonySarandrea215]

ya i knew that I just don't know why he plays it that way but every cover is played capo 5.

[arhyoulistening]

Because one whole step= 2 half steps. Elliott played a good portion of his music tuned down; it's easier to capo up than to tune. Everyone else who capos 5 is still in standard tuning.

[jayleft4000]

man you are no elliott so quiet tryin to be some teach man just play his music with heart! but then you dont know how to play with soul because you havent lived! dont be a teach be an artist

[Bshansen7]

You're a downer. any resurrection is soul of Elliott. More power to Jeff

[BubonYabon]

Can you tell me what kind of Seagull y'oure playing. Love the tone ^^

[julharb]

What in Sam H is the chord during the bridge, "Don't start me crying now..." So it's F#, A, then...????? Something barred on the 4th? Can't really tell where your fingers are.

[attastealth]

you play F# then F#7/G#7 (move 3rd finger up to low E string) then its A.. then C# .. which is you barring the middle 3 strings like x4666x .. hope it helps.

[AdamDrizzy]

amazing my man!

[grateight]

it is E minor at the begining, but E major at the end, you play an E minor, you know

[Season1255]

amazing video, i love this song and im really glad i can play it now. I really appreciate it

[416481]

hey your videos are awsome, i'm having trouble replicateing his strumming tech, yours seems to be close, care to make a part 2 , plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Grindthefender]

wow. itshealan are you seriously trying to learn how to play this song when you don't even know how to play a g or em chord? seriously, im not even trying to be mean but your never going to get any good at guitar if you don't learn the basics. that goes for anybody. If this video wasn't enough of a tutorial for you, then you aren't ready to play this song. Start off with something simpler.

[jupis20]

the second chord is not A7. it is clearly A major if you listen and watch in his videos

[SomethingImplied]

why do people bitch???? This video is such an excellent resource. If you can't figure out how to play it from this vid, then why don't you go learn some michelle branch and come back in a few years.

[turbocivic2009]

hey man, i thought it was a cool video, ur great on the guitar, just to advanced for me lol. nice work though

[Shrinkynuts]

What kind of guitar is that? A D-28?

[itsthealan]

honestly are you just bad at tutorials or are you trying to show off? you don't even say a single word about the chord before a G, nor do you show anyone the e minor riff... why bother making videos when you just play the song really fast without helping any beginners?

[jasonbhamlin]

It's not really a song for beginners, unfortunately. The riffs can be found on several web sites, you could see those and then come back here for structure. I personally feel it's best to see the tab for the song and then watch someone play it. And then, for Elliott, practice your ass off.

[casyburnsed]

This song is for the people who aren't idiots... I believe you're looking for the Lincoln Park tutorials, good luck next time, bud.

[slaughterxsandii]

you have a very sexy voice mann. !

xD

[pocketfullofkush]

dude..

your literally. my hero.

where do you live?

[Brenho]

Dude you are class

[yppsiyppsi]

brilliany, thnx so much!

[metalmaniacthirteen]

great job btw, you've got the picking sequence right.

tad fast though.

[metalmaniacthirteen]

wtf is that my cat in the background?

[johngstalder]

yea, definitly not the right picking sequence.... just watch elliott play it... transcibe it from that much better... no offense

[hannah0904]

let's see your transcription

[cominguproses22]

Holy crap is this impossible. He is my favorite singer and all I wanna do is play this damn song. I am a beginner though so I guess I got a LONG way to go.

[INRVISN]

dude you need get a steady tempo man calm down

[wdxdino]

its fine, learn to listen

[potentialcarnie]

its a good starting point that resembles it. it is not however how elliott plays it so piss off

[hannah0904]

god you people just need to CHILL the fuck OUT. if you've got a better suggestion, post a video of you doing it. If not, don't knock people who've tried.

[samdathi]

This is different to the original. Learn to listen.

[IPWN3DURMOM]

Asian

[flomar81]

Very.

[SeikoPsycho]

Hey. Love your videos. I wish you would make more!! Why are you studying chemistry again? How did you learn guitar? lessons? tabs?

[MetAlX16]

at..so glad to meet you...a little slowed down...:P:P

[jalks1]

from the kid that tought me how to play Between the Bars, comes Angeles.

Thanks Man

[jpb6892]

is it possible to use only the thumb, index, and middle fingers while travis picking or is the ring finger required as well?

[KooKuiKei]

You are so dashing...

[zackthomas2]

you do a great job on covering this song! it would be more helpful if you went into greater detail on the picking style

[desbo004004]

can you post another video on the picking pattern. that's still the one part that confuses me. thanks, very helpful!

peace

[lookylad]

great fuckin job

[dadidea]

Wow. That song is fantastic, and your voice really seems to fit it well. Thanks for the help with getting this song. I hope to play it some day.

[tzohfeld]

I posted my version. It's dicy but it gets the point across.

Check it out=]

[mkiv987]

when you are doing the travis picking what strings and in what order are you plucking them? i cant seem to get it right. Thanks! great lesson otherwise.

[tzohfeld]

Ummmm it goes root note, root note last note in a pair, and the middle strings alternating with the root note, at least thats how i play it.

hope that helps =]

-travis

[agenthenry]

you have a very soothing voice

oh.... and thanks for showing the picking, i've been trying to figure that out for a while now

[imnotlarry]

great job

[NxtGretzky88]

So are you just using your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers for picking? I don't know that many finger picking tunes and I've never studied it so idk...

[ttmor]

cheers mate, i really couldn't find that E variation...

[TubMac]

Part2:

Em9th: -0-2-2-0-3-2- (hammer-on 2nd fret 1st string)

A7: -x-0-2-0-2-0-

BmAug5: -x-2-4-0-3-x

Asus4: -x-0-2-2-3-x

G: -3-x-0-0-3-3-

No remaining character count, damn. See above, :-)

[TubMac]

To make this more clear, here some short tabs of the chords of the intro/verses:

Part1:

Em9th: -0-2-5-4-3-2-

A: -x-0-2-2-2-0-

BmAug5: -x-2-4-0-3-x

D: -x-0-4-2-3-x

G: -3-x-0-0-3-3-

No remaining character count, damn. See posts above, :-)

[21lloyd12]

this is really good thanks

but your playing to fast

slow it dow a little bit and it would be simply amazing and thinks for posting this video

[Rydaholic]

Is there a place anyone of you could recommend where I could find the chords your playing written down? Haven't had any luck in my search

[ragsyrags4mr4]

ahh fuck im jealous it's gonna take me a while to learn this.

ah well. thanks!

[alextoob1]

ive seen a lot of your videos and you lack clarity in explaining. for example, when you first ran through the chords you said 'it begins on a variation of Eminor', but it looks exactly like E minor. then when you say 'The intro all strung together', you dont even start on Eminor.

Very good tutorial for the right hand, but you should work on very specific instruction to get across your point. Somebody That I Used to know Tutorial was also hard to see and unspecific.

clearly youre very skilled

[THELIGHTMONSTERS]

THIS SHIT IS HARD TO PLAY!

[itaintnogood]

WOW!

OMG...my eyes just popd out!

i'm serious....

i'm soooo gonna buy a capo now...ha..and try till I notice that i can't do it...

and once again...WOW!!

[bevel3]

Wow.

[bawhite125]

Difficult to see fingering

[miocid69xx]

buen tutorial para una excelente cancion, gracias!!

[spada34]

is there a way to play it right without the capo?

[SixStringStrumming]

plink. that was my jaw hitting my desk. that is awesome - i've been playing a long time but I've never had the patience to really practice the fingerpicking until I get it down. I play some simple fingerstyle. Any tips - just stick it out until it comes naturally? thanks man. I love these tutorials people put out. also any other good artists you'd recommend - I just got into elliot smith lately...

[lachc6]

what you've done is quite impressive.

however there are better ways to play it.

[THELIGHTMONSTERS]

doyou know of a video that can get me into some really cool elliott smith like chords without killing my hands

[lachc6]

this is definitely a decent attempt, but i think it is not completely accurate.

I basically looked at every tab and video of angeles on the internet, then put together my own rendition. I am now quite confident it is completely correct.

I might try to tab it soon, if i do I'll let you know.

But thanks a lot jeffhkin, this video really pathed the way for me.

CHeers

[theNERPER]

Thats really good - did you figure this out by ear?

Do you have a tab for this as well?

Keep it up!

[MasterShredder87]

this dude sounds like he'd be an excellent golf sportscaster