Intro / Chorus Riff:

The main riff of this song (during the intro and chorus) is based around the open E major chord shape. However, notice we start by playing the A note too (using the 3rd finger). This means we actually start off with an Esus4 chord. Then we pull off the 3rd finger from the A note to play the G# (being held by the 1st finger on fret 1 of the G string). By doing that, we are reverting to the standard E major chord.

The main riff constantly alternates between the Esus4 and E major chords like this - right from the start.

These E sus4 / E major chords aren't fully strummed, just selected parts are played. And that may make it a bit harder for you to follow what's going on. In order to see it more clearly, just strum a standard E major chord (strum: 0 2 2 1 0 0). And then an Esus4 chord (strum 0 2 2 2 0 0). There is only one note difference between these 2 chords. The G# note on fret 1 of the G string is used in the standard E major chord. The A note on fret 2 of the G string is played instead for the Esus4 chord.

So what's a sus4 chord? 'Sus' is short for 'suspended' and don't be afraid of the name, most suspended chords are easy to play, sound good, and are easy to understand.....

Any sus4 chord is just like a normal chord triad (1 3 5 notes from the parent scale) except we replace the 3rd note with the 4th note - from the same parent scale. The parent scale for these E chords is the E major scale, so let's see how this works:

E F# G# A B C# D# E

The major chord triad is always 1st 3rd and 5th notes from this parent scale. This gives us E G# B. Now with a sus4 chord, we simply use a 4th note instead of a 3rd (1st, 4th, 5th). Giving us E A B. That's the difference!

Put simply...for a major chord play 1, 3, 5. For a sus4 chord play 1, 4, 5. If you need to know what triads are, check out the chords lessons in the Theory section.

So, returning to this song riff, we start with the sus4 and shift between that and the standard E major chord. All this really involves is using the A note (held by 3rd finger) on the G string, to strike out the sus4 chord notes. Then switching to the G# note (held by 1st finger on the G string) for the E major chord. The only difference between these chords, is whether they use that 3rd or 4th note!

Keep your fingers around that E chord shape - just as shown in the ActionTab - and you should be able to get it quickly enough.

You can use different fingers to play that part if you prefer - holding a standard E major shape (0 2 2 1 0 0):

1st finger - fret 1 of the G string (gives G#) - as shown in the Actiontab
2nd finger - fret 2 of the A string (gives B)
3rd finger - fret 2 of the D string (gives E)

And then use your 4th finger for the A note (and pull off) on the G string at fret 2 instead of using the 3rd finger that we show here. Either way is fine.

Apart from that....Just keep an ear out for the whammy bar being used occasionally during the intro. It's used a couple of times!

Verse:

The next main part of the song (verse - where the singing starts) involves some partial strumming, mostly around a Gsus4 shape. Just barre across the 3rd fret with your 1st finger and fret the other notes shown. Just alternate between strumming the low G note and the top strings for the most part.

Interlude:

Typical of Purple, the keyboard and guitar play off each other quite a lot in this song, this means the guitar can be hard to make out at times, or that it just takes a back seat. This is especially true of the interlude - where the song goes mellow and he starts singing about gardens and doves etc. We've kept the distortion on the guitar here for this part so you can hear the notes easily. In the song however, the guitar is turned low, with a cleaner sound and lets the keyboards / vocals take the stage.

Once you know your way through these 3 main song sections - you'll be able to play the whole thing no problem. The Chorus and Verse parts simply repeat. Just one word of warning. The intro riffs and the chorus riffs are essentially the same, but be careful - the chorus is a little different. The Low E is included a couple of extra times during the main riff.

In the Lead ActionTab, we'll show you all the little lead licks that do the fills at different points during this song!