The Boxer Guitar Intro Lesson- Exact correct notes, Simplified fingering
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- for lessons or live music: www.nickweissmusic.com
These are the correct notes of the Boxer intro, playes by Fred Carter Jr, converted to be played easier than the original recording was. Same notes, easier fingering. Fred was better at guitar than I am. I'm ok with that :)
This is his recollection of how he tuned this guitar fir this song, I’ve never tried it myself:
In the magazine Fretboard Journal, Fred Carter, Jr. recounts:
"I had a baby Martin, which is a 000-18, and when we started the record in New York with Roy Halee, the engineer, and Paul [Simon] was playin' his Martin - I think it's a D-18 and he was tuned regular - he didn't have the song totally written lyrically, but he had most of the melody. And so all I was hearin' was bits and pieces while he was doing' his fingerpicking . . . I think he was fingerpicking in an open C. I tried two or three things and then picked up the baby Martin, which was about a third above his guitar, soundwise.
"And I turned down the first string to a D, and tuned up the bass string to a G, which made it an open-G tuning, except for the fifth string, which was standard. Did some counter fingerpicking with him, just did a little backward roll, and Iucked into a lick. And that turned into that little roll, and we cut it, just Paul and I, two guitars. Then we started to experiment with some other ideas and so forth. At the end of the day, we were still on the song. Garfunkel was amblin’ around the studio, hummin’ and havin’ input at various times. They were real scientists. They’d get on a part, and it might be there [unfinished] six weeks later.
And updating a few years later, here’s a guy who seems to play it as recorded: • how to play "The Boxer...
Many thanks Nick for taking the time to share this, I've been trying to work that intro out for years, watching your simple to follow video, I've now got in 30 minutes. Top stuff, thanks again.
Thank you for making this intro so easy. I used to start with the C strum but this intro makes it so much better. Thank you again.
Thanks man! A huge help. I've always wanted to learn this intro an easy way.
good job man one of the best tutorial on the song..i will try it
Very good approach to notes and patient, well explained tutorial!
Thank you so much for this 🥰 I have the rest of the song, but it’s not The Boxer w/out that sweet intro. You did a great job. Can’t wait to impress my teacher.
Lesson starts 1'23". Best teaching video of this ive found. Original version ive read was tuned down a semitone so it may not sound exactly like the original.
Thank you for your patience. You are kind guitar teacher
Thanks for this - I've been messing with the alternate tuning suggested by others and this is a great compromise that sounds close enough to me!
Right, who's gonna care or notice any difference anyway. No need to re-tune or switch guitars this way. Played it at a gig the other day and right after the intro, somebody in the audience says "oh this is a good one" before the vocals even come in. Mission accomplished :-)
Nick Weiss à
Thanks man! Saved me a lot of time.
Thanks, always been looking for a cheat for this and thanks for not waffling for 10 minutes before you showed how to play it (like most youtube teachers).
Good job Nick, Chris could not have said it better!
Thanks. That was helpful
Awesome lesson.. revisited my guitar in pandemic and tried to figure this out.. finally did it! Thank you!!
I played around w open tunings.. e and g.. and was a to get that harp like sound.. same notes.
..with a capo-
Thanks so much! So simple but I couldn't figure it out. Great!
Thanks so much for this helpful video!
Thank you very much. Was trying to learn it from Tab and was not convinced that the tab was correct but wasn't sure whether it was just my playing. This way works and - as I doubt that Paul Simon will ever watch me play it - I couldn't care less that the notes are played on a different area of the fretboard. If he ever does come to watch me play and he hauls me over the coals for it I will point out that he could have saved himself a whole load of hassle over the years by playing it this way!
Beyond that, Paul didn't even play it! Fred Carter Jr. did, not that Paul's a slouch but Carter was in a different league, he was a Nashville studio guy/producer. The part that he plays in the song is remarkable subtle and nuanced, there is a comment below with Carter recounting how he did it. I haven't tried myself but he says the tuning was GAGDBD, certainly won't be doing that at a gig myself.
This is just awesome
Brilliant video and he shows you slowly which is great for learning.I can now play it.I changed the song to G, as I prefer it and it sounds great. Many thanks and may " your" god go with you!
Thank you!
Excellent!
Good lesson thank you nick
merci beaucoup Nick
That's great. Thank you!
Excellent tuto..
Thank you. Good Lesson.
Thank you!
Nice job!
Very well bro good job thanks
Great teaching bro
Awesome!!!! Thanks!!!
Ignore all the negative comments - none make sense in the light of your careful explanation. Brilliant tutorial for which many thanks!
Just go to the original score intro, the 16th notes are all written out!👆👍
Good to know. thanks!
thanks!
Top mate
Damned impressive...
Hey that's not how it's played on the album! Haha! Thanks for the lesson. Very helpful
Great. Arthritic fingers require alternative fingerings..
The "real" left hand fingering is actually quite simple - and no stretching needed. Its all played on the 7th and 8th frets, with some open strings. the chord is a C9/E. Grab the opening G on the 8th fret of the B string, then open e, followed by D on the 7th fret of the G string and back to the open e string.... and so on. Its simple; left hand doesn't move and the only finger change is the last 16th note of the 3rd beat, remove middle finger from the 7th fret of the G string and play it open. Anyway, that was probably a complicated way of explaining something that is fairly simple. The only challenging part is that the right hand fingering bounces around a bit and plays the strings in an order doesn't feel natural at first (ie: playing a higher note on a lower string) - it takes some time to wrap your brain around it. Its a great little exercise to practise actually.
I have yet to find a video on UA-cam that actually shows it the proper way.... every tutorial has it played in the 1st position.
A quick google search turns up Fred Carter Jr.’s tuning for the intro in his own words:
It’s all well and good that you’ve come up with another way to play it, but mine isn’t particularly difficult, has the correct notes, and keeps me right in position to easily play the rest of the song. Beside, that, it’s in my muscle memory by now, so I’m going to stick with it.
yes
Hey V-Sauce! Michael here!
Regarding the second position for the intro, you can capo at five and play in G, putting you in C. The lick is much easier that way than by anchoring with the index finger at the fifth fret.
Yeah I usually play it that way except I play in with a capo on the 4th fret (B) as it suits my voice better.
Yep, those are the correct notes; but...
that fingering scheme doesn't allow the fingers to be held down so that the notes will sustain while the next is plucked, and so on.
So what ends up missing is that unique & delightful mix of sustained notes accumulating in the air. For me personally that is a juicy musical plus...
I'm sure that the sustain effect has to be the only reason for the alt tuning on the original recording. We probably could agree that most people's ears aren't that trained to pick up such subtleties, and for those that do, most probably wouldn't even care if the song is done well. So your fingering will definitely get one by in a pinch.
Yep, playing melodies on separate strings is called “Campanella” style. High G Ukuleles are actually well suited to that since the strings cover a lot of the same range, it generally works better, at least easier, with open tunings. Oh yeah, banjos too. And indeed, this ain’t quite it, but I’ve never had a complaint, quite a few complements, and I can actually play it, not to mention I don’t need to tune to drop c at a gig lol, so I’m stickin with it ;)
I thought Paul tuned his guitar down a 1/2 step for boxer
Yes to play with the recording you would tune down a half step. Btw, Paul didn’t play the intro.
Thank you most guys on UA-cam won’t tell you that it’s dumb
Of course it's possible, to play the intro that way, but I am pretty sure it is here not played in the same position as in the original. I think Fred Carter jr. uses the campanella style of playing with absolutely NO pull off (while tuning the instrument one half tone step downwards, so that the whole song sounds in B major!):
the 4th finger on the 2nd string in the 8th fret (G),
then the open 1st string (E) followed by
the 3rd finger on the 3rd string in the 7th fret (D) ---
again the open 1st string and
the 3rd string on the 7th fret and
then changing the the 4th finger to the 4th string in the 8th fret (Bb) ---
and then again the open 1st string (E) followed again by
the 3rd string on the 7th fret (D)
and then the 1st finger on the 4th string in the 5th fret (G)
(while leaving the the 3rd finger constantly on his position from before for the next two triads)
and finally making a part barré on the 5th fret fret with string 3 and 4 (C + G)
playing at first the 3rd string(C) followed by the
4th string on the 8th fret (Bb)
and afterwards the open 3rd string (G) followed by
a position change to the 1st on the 2nd string fret (C)
to catch the C note on the 2nd string before the actual song starts.
Greetings from the silverfox, David from Germany ;)
David Nolte I definitely agree the original is not played this way, but the pitches are 100% accurate. I also agree that there are no pull offs in the original, but in my version, the pull offs sound more like the original than flatpicking each note. On a typical gig, no one will notice the difference, it's much easier on your hands, and more importantly, it's easier to play without screwing up ;)
I can understand that quite easily, Nick!
My version is not the official as well - the original is in tuning G - A - D - G - B - D and all the stuff in the 4th fret. So anything is allowed that pleases! ;)
@@maturefox1 And, according to Carter, played on a 000-18, which has a slightly shorter scale than the typical dreadnought.
I want to see someone who can actually play it like the studio fingerings
Truman Sharp me too! Not gonna happen for me, but please comment back if you find it.
@@NickWeissMusic ua-cam.com/video/h1KHWQJcnHs/v-deo.html
guitarvocs looks good, thanks! I put the link in my description. Actually not very hard but would obviously change all the fingerings for the rest of the tune, so I’ll be sticking with my version for gigs.
What kind of guitar that you are playing on this video? I would like to know
Charlie Glynwoods it is a godin multiac Sa Nylon, I love it!
Do you know anything about resonator guitars?
Charlie Glynwoods Not much, I’ve played a couple that have come and gone from guitar stores that I used to work at, but I’ve never owned one. I’ve never found one compelling enough to buy, but they are pretty cool pieces of engineering.
Can you play Black Diamond by KISS?
Charlie Glynwoods Probably, but I don’t know the song offhand. Feel free to contact me via my website, it’s in the description, to set up a video lesson, or I can tab it out for you, whatever you like.
3:50 Bb pull of to G (not D)
Darn, had to goof something up :) I got it right in the next sentence, hopefully not too much damage done. I'll put a note on the video, unfortunately I don't think they show up on Mobile devices.
YOU DID NOT CONVERT IT ,, IT IS ALREADY THAT SAME CHORDS EVERSINCE,, OK
It would’ve been nicer and a lot easier by just naming the strings by number and the frets by number instead of explaining what the note is
No, for an advanced lesson like this you should know your notes on the fretboard already. This is not paint by numbers.
There's over 100 hours of guitar work on this song. It's real difficult to pinpoint what's being played on one guitar vs multiple
Thank you !
thanks!