Guitar Styles 2: HOWEVER Performance Notes
by Kevin Aparicio
HOWEVER is one my favorite Glay songs (well, my favorites also include all of Review) and it is powerful not in chord formations, but in the way the song was written, arranged and performed.
Execution is very important in this song. The intro with the band makes this very apparent. There's a little nugget from Hisashi towards the end of the solo, in which he descends down the E and B string with hammer ons and pull offs. This is the highlight of the intro solo.
Takuro E------5----------3--------0------0----------------- B------5----------3--------1------1----------------- G------5--------4----------0------0----------------- D----7--------5----------2------2-----------------7- A--0-------------------3------3-----------------0--- E--------------------------------------------------- Hisashi E--------------------------------------------------- B--------------------------------------------------- G--4p5------/9--7~--10-9~--7p5-7b-7b-7p5-----5------ D-------7~---------------------------------7-------- A----------------------------------------0---------- E--------------------------------------------------- (then, the little nugget...) E--5----------3--------0------0--------------------------- B--5----------3--------1------1--------------------------- G--5--------4----------0------0--------------------------- D---------5----------2------2----------------------------- A------------------3------3------------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------------- E---------/10--8--12h13p12-10h12p10---------------------- B-10b~-8~---------------------------13h15p13-12h13p12-10- G-------------------------------------------------------- D-------------------------------------------------------- A-------------------------------------------------------- E-------------------------------------------------------- Takuro E------5----------3--------0------------------------ B------5----------3--------1------------------------ G------5--------4----------0------------------------ D----7--------5------------2------------------------ A--0-----------------------3------------------------ E--------------------------------------------------- G C E---12-~~--10--/15--------------------------------------- B--------------------/17~~~~~~-----\\\\\let slide away--- G-------------------------------------------------------- D-------------------------------------------------------- A-------------------------------------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------------
The verse rhythm consists of Hisashi taking a break with Takuro coming into the forefront with executing the main rhythm figure for the verses. Here is the first verse:
E--------------------------------------------------------- B--------------------------------------------------------- G-----5------------------------5-------------------------- D-5h7----7--------7--------5h7----7--------------7-------- A------------7h8-----8-----------------------7h8--8------- E--------------------------------------------------------- Ikusen no deai wakare subete kono hoshi de umarete E--------------------------------------------------------- B--------------------------------------------------------- G-----5------------------------5-------------------------- D-5h7----7--------7--------5h7----7--------------7-------- A------------7h8-----8-----------------------7h8--8------- E--------------------------------------------------------- (with fill 1 once) Surechigau dake no hito mo ita ne wakariaenai mama ni E--------------------------------------------------------- B--------------------------------------------------------- G-----5------------------------5-------------------------- D-5h7----7--------7--------5h7----7--------------7-------- A------------7h8-----8-----------------------7h8--8------- E--------------------------------------------------------- Narenai machi no todokanu yume ni mayoisou na toki ni mo E--------------------------------------------------------- B--------------------------------------------------------- G-----5------------------------5-------------------------- D-5h7----7--------7--------5h7----7--------------7-------- A------------7h8-----8-----------------------7h8--8------- E--------------------------------------------------------- Kurayami wo kakenukeru yuuki wo kureta no wa anata deshita
The fill in the verse is a little break from the F, Am progression implied by the verse.
fill 1 (during verse) E---------------- B---------------- G--7b----7b--5~-- D---------------- A---------------- E----------------
In the second half of the chorus, we find power in the playing of Hisashi while Takuro strums full chords once on the 1st and 3rd beats. Hisashi plays power chord figures and hits them hard every 2nd and 4th beat with added palm mutes before the strum. This is the excerpt from the second chorus, in which the song breaks for a passing tone section before the song builds a ton of momentum in FOUR MEASURES! The little solo lead by Hisashi is backed up by choked strums from Takuro, a sure testimony to Takuro's song writing ability.
Takuro (strums full chords) Am G C Hisashi E-X-X-----X-X-------X-X----------------------- B-X-X-----X-X-------X-X---5-------5-------5--- G-X-X-5---X-X-4-----X-X---5---------5---5----- D-X-X-7---X-X-5-----X-X---5-----------5------- A-X-X-7---X-X-5-----X-X---3---3--------------- E-X-X-5---X-X-3------------------------------- [Deau no ga ososugita ne]to Am G C E-X-X-----X-X-------X-X-------------3-3-----3---- B-X-X-----X-X-------X-X---5-------5-5-5-----5b--- G-X-X-5---X-X-4-----X-X---5-------5-5-5--5--5b--- D-X-X-7---X-X-5-----X-X---5---------------------- A-X-X-7---X-X-5-----X-X---3---------------------- E-X-X-5---X-X-3---------------------------------- nakidashita yoru mo aru Am G C Am G C E-X-X-----X-X-------X-X----------------------- B-X-X-----X-X-------X-X---5-------5-------5--- G-X-X-5---X-X-4-----X-X---5---------5---5----- D-X-X-7---X-X-5-----X-X---5-----------5------- A-X-X-7---X-X-5-----X-X---3---3--------------- E-X-X-5---X-X-3------------------------------- Futari no toomawari sae hitohira no jinsei F G E7(on G#) E--1---1--1--1--3--3-3-3---0--0----0---0-0-0- B--1---1--1--1--0--0-0-0---0--0----1---1-1-1- G--2---2--2--2--0--0-0-0---1--1----0---0-0-0- D--3---3--3--3--0--0-0-0---0--0----2---2-2-2- A---------------2--2-2-2---2--2----0---0-0-0- E---------------3--3-3-3---0--0-------------- Kizu tsuketa anata ni ima tsugeyou (Am) F G Am E--1---1--1--1--3--3-3-3--0----0----0---0----- B--1---1--1--1--0--0-0-0--1----0----1---0----- G--2---2--2--2--0--0-0-0--0----1----0---1----- D--3---3--3--3--0--0-0-0--2----0----2---0----- A---------------2--2-2-2--0----2----0---2----- E---------------3--3-3-3-------0--------0----- Dare yori mo ai shiteru to... F (strum in choked quarter notes) E--------------------------------------------8brbr-8p5--- B----------------------------------6~-5h6-5-------------- G-----------------------------5h7------------------------ A---------------3--3h5/7--5h7---------------------------- D--------3-3h5------------------------------------------- E--5-3h5------------------------------------------------- G E-------------5-7-8-7-8-/10-/12-10----------------------- B-------5-6-8------------------------13~~~--------------- G--5-7--------------------------------------------------- D-------------------------------------------------------- A-------------------------------------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------------
The final example comes from the very end, where Takuro once again takes a break from normal chord formations and ends the song NOT with barre chords like Hiasashi, BUT by using your usual open position D formation and moving it up the fretboard to get F and G chordal tones.
Takuro E-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--------7----------8---------- B-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6------8------------8---------- G-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5----7--------------9---------- D-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-------------------10--------- A-----------------------------------10--------- E-----------------------------------8---------- Hisashi E-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--0---------- B-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--1---------- G-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4--0---------- D-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--2---------- A-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--3---------- E-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------- Yawaraka na kaze ga fuku kono basho de
This was very fun as usual... I hope you all enjoyed this as well s=)
Questions? Comments? E-mail Kevin at GuitaRock@aol.com s=)