A Frank Zappa Rock Guitar Primer - How to Play Some of His Greatest Riffs - with Tabs
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- #Zappa #Rock #Guitar #Riffs
Learn to play the riffs from:
01:05 Muffin Man
02:07 Willie the Pimp
03:27 Ms. Pinky
04:00 Bamboozled by Love
05:29 Cosmik Debris
06:17 Brown Shoes Don't Make It
07:01 Dirty Love
07:47 Magic Fingers
08:40 Advance Romance
09:44 Yellow Snow
10:42 Outside Now
12:19 Florentine Pogen
14:25 Zomby Woof
Frank Zappa was one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century. The music he wrote was wonderfully clever, funny and inventive.
This week I'm introducing the uninitiated to some of Frank's more accessible songs that feature rock guitar riffs.
This is a great place to start appreciating Zappa's music, as opposed to wading straight into the deep end of his oeuvre.
On Hot Rats, it's Sugarcane Harris on violin rather than Jean Luc Ponty.
Damn, so it was! Thanks Colin.
they both played on hot rats!
@@dannyeddyguitar yes Danny, he is right
@@dannyeddyguitar he is right, Danny!
But Jean-Luc Ponty plays on the song It Must Be A Camel
I just remembered when I was 15 and my mate gave me a cassette of "Overnight Sensation" in the 90s. The next day he asked me what I thought and I said (not knowing anything about Frank) " yeah it's great, the guitarist in his band is incredible". Both mates jumped up shouting "THAT'S HIM!!". Of course I've been listening to Frank ever since.
Haha! Great tale, Tom!
Watermelon in Easter Hay is another beautiful guitar piece.
It truly is! Thanks.
Man, thanks for dusting off the Zircon Encrusted Tweezers to extract these gems. I enjoyed it so much, I was gonna offer you a Forty Dollar Bill.... :-) I always feel the love and respect and passion in your videos.
Bahahahaaa - love this! The forty dollar bill doesn't matter any more mate!
I can't believe I only just came across your fabulous video. Every one of your 14 choices was excellent. Your renditions are spot on. This video should have a million views and it would change world music. I have been listening to Zappa for over 50 years and never bore of him. But I can't play guitar. 😢
You can't play guitar? Don't worry, that's how Zappa makes us all feel.
As musicians we always tend to dive into Frank's complex works but to hear and see you perform some of Frank's straight up rock riffs ( kinda straight up ) is just magic!
Thanks Chris. That's exactly what I was thinking. If a person's only listen was Jazz From Hell, or the Kent Nagano album, or Truck Driver Divorce, they might not venture further - unless that was their thing of course.
That outside now riff is just genius love it!
Cheers, Matt!
Hey thanks for the Outside Now lesson. That makes things a lot easier.
Welcome! So clever isn't it?!
I particularly like the way you manage to capture the tone of each riff. You have a great ear for detail.
Thanks so much! Yeah, that's part of the fun - trying to capture the tone.
My thoughts exactly ;-)
I constantly listen to frank- especially in my car- I added this video to my catalog- listening to someone define some of his work and play it at the same time is phenomenal. Also for anybody new to frank/ I would love to tell you another great song to check out but too many- right now I have “watermelon in Easter Hay” on deck- great headphone piece…..
Thanks for your comment. Really glad to hear that you got something out of this!
Every band I’ve ever been in has covered Magic Fingers. The solo from the 200 Motels version I think is one of the most perfect “short” solos ever performed. The phrasing is just perfect.
Great call, Nick! I always overlook that one when thinking about Frank's solos. But you're right, it's fantastic!
totally agree.
…a Frank Zappa fan and a Gibson
“The Paul” how could I not “Subscribe” and 👍!!!!! Brilliant playing, brilliant topic and brilliant “The Paul”. Cheers Danny.
Oh my!!!! Did you just hint to being born in 1970???? You may be my long lost twin? Or maybe you’re me if I made better life choices…
Thanks, Tommy!! I was actually born in 1969. But due to the mysterious complexities of quantum entanglement, we may indeed be twins!
@@dannyeddyguitar I’m cool with that. Im happy to have found you here on UA-cam. You are doing brilliant things here. Thank you for sharing your talents.
Danny: Thank you so very much for this incredible video! FZ was (and remains) a huge influence on me, but there have never been any tutorials on how to play his music. I can't emphasize enough how wonderful this video is. Thank you!
Great to hear, John! You're very welcome mate. Enjoy!
Ah man I wanted to like this again 😂 Nice to have the reminder and thanks for the tabs on patreon Danny 🙏🏼
Cheers Mark, my absolute pleasure mate! Must be time for some more FZ...
Always!
This was a lovely find. FZ is my absolute god and has been since my childhood. Some lovely choices here, and you play them really well.
Thanks so much. Really glad you enjoyed it!
This is legendary. Such a great format to run through some iconic riffs that's are accessible enough to learn
Thanks James. Easily learned Zappa music = Slim pickings! Lol
Ahh you missed The Torture Never Stops and Apostrophe -- /jk; Nice selection; I always wondered what the chords for Outside Now were. Cheers
Thanks! Yeah, Torture is one of my all time faves. Love the creepy vibe on the original and also love the various crazy live versions, such as The Best Band You Never Heard.
I upvoted 10 times but UA-cam only registered one.
Bloody UA-cam!
Cool video! Love the enthusiasm 😊
Thank you! 😁
Great video video! Wish you had added Inca Roads, But such is life.
Thanks so much, Samuel! Re Inca Roads, I did this...
ua-cam.com/video/MB4GCGwQuOA/v-deo.html
Thanks Dan the Man! - What a Cool Drink of Water! - I'm currently Banging my head against Uncle Remus which brings a tear to my mind's eye. Maybe someday? Thank You Buddy!
Thanks kindly Gerald! I have plans for a clip including Uncle Remus. Keep watching!
Excellent
Thanks, Glyn!
Thank you for the lesson and links, what about wonderfully wino , haha 😄, rock on man and R.I.P frank zappa
Thanks man! Yeah, I actually had Wonderful Wino down to include...
@@dannyeddyguitar wonderfully wino is some tune and the video with the two lads trying to lift a tree ontil there biycle haha priceless 👍🏻
@@dannyeddyguitar your welcome
Watching this nearly a year after you’ve published it. 25 years old here, for the past year I have not been able to put this music away. Awesome stuff here, such an easy video to watch. Cheers!
Wonderful feedback Captain! Thank you so much, and I'm very happy that you're deep into Zappa!
Brilliant video! Thank you so much
You're very welcome!
Eat That Question is another good one
Thanks Jim. Yeah! I really want to do another of these, but the Zappa trust doesn't really dig covers :(
surprised you didnt add "I'm the Slime" that riff is so fun
I'm surprised I didn't just do every song off Overnite Sensation!
Thanks for posting, it was fun trying some of the riffs.
Thanks Mike, glad you gave it a crack!
Fantastic Zappa tone and omg you got Gizzard too, I'm now subscribing lol ;-) mnt!
Yes! Thanks heaps mate.
cool i enjoyed it thanks
Thanks heaps!
Brilliant. More please 🤞
Thanks. Looking into some more Zappa...
Absolutely superb!! Thank you
You're very welcome!
Excellent, thank you for this
You're very welcome! Say Hi to Clyde for me.
Amazing!
Thanks!
This is simply the best and still one of my favourite guitar lessons. You nail it.
Thanks heaps Ulrich! So glad it hit the mark. They are such great riffs!
Amazing video mate! Deserves more views!!
Thanks heaps Findlay!
Hi Danny, this is very helpful, thank you so much! Love, Hans.
Thank you Hans!
Nicely demonstrated Danny...great job..
Thanks again... ummm... "S".
Can I call you S? Your full name is quite a mouthful. ;)
@@dannyeddyguitar it's Dave.. the UA-cam name is just the serial number of my Fender...it was the first thing that came into my head when I initially set up the account...& there were so many Dave's already out there..😂
Frank was definitely a trend setter. His motto is the best.
Shut up and play your guitar 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
Point taken, Threeshocks. ;)
Wow! That was awesome- you really nail the licks, tones and vibe of Frank! You need to be in a Zappa tribute band!
Thanks Dave!
thanks you
Thank you too!
Great stuff man.. thx..
You're very welcome - great fun stuff to play and talk about and listen to!
Thank you sir everybody needs to hear more Zappa
This is true. So very true.
Hey Danny. Giving the love to Frank gets a big thumbs up from me. Really well rendered. Enjoying your channel.
Thanks very kindly Philip!
The most underrated rock guitarist in history In my opinion.
His musical visions including xylophones, horn sections, wind instruments, and even his eclectic lyrics all overshadowed his guitar playing to most casual listeners. Which is a shame.
We lost Frank WAY too soon.
Couldn't agree more.
First stop by on your channel… thoroughly enjoyed your abilities and spirit.
Thanks SeaLisa, Welcome aboard!
Danny, you are doing god's work, so nice to hear your passion for Frank. Cheers from Brazil
Thank you kindly Renato!
thank you sooooooo much
More than welcome!
Just came across this, great job! I also have a 79 Gibson The Paul & love it. Very under the radar.
Thanks! Yeah, lovely bit of gear.
Great stuff brother. I loved zappa ever since I heard apostrophe for the first time. And freak out was one of my favorites.
There has never been nor will there ever be a musician/ composer. Innovator that could rival FZ and I heard him on an interview saying that he was having problems and had gotten checked by a doctor. Finally the fourth time I think he said the they found the cancer. By then it was too late. Very tragically sad the man was an absolute genius. Taught himself music theory just by reading books like modern musical notation by gardner read. Thank God he recorded everything he did.
Thanks David! My first first experience was Man From Utopia. Which, whilst I love it, is far from his greatest. His catalogue is truly a lifelong journey!
Love your Firebrand,had the older one with branded logo
Thanks Olaf. Do you know, I had NO idea that model was also badged as a Firebrand! Far better name than 'The' Paul.
wow man.. I flit an eye here today and... you are simply perfect, let me tell you! I love Frank more than myself, believe me I feel the passion in your DNA! Zombie and Florentine you played ..woah! amazing!
Thanks so much! I'm desperate to bring MORE Frank appreciation to the world. I appreciate your support.
Jeez !!!! You rock, man !!!!
Thanks so much Víctor!
Great video thanks. I used to have a guitar exactly like that one. One of those that I wish I'd kept..
It's an amazing guitar! Although it needs some attention. A few notes above the 12th are starting to fret out.
wow this is good, man.
you are the brother I never had.
Welcome to the family, Tim. Love the profile pic too!
@@dannyeddyguitar just joined your patreon for the tabs!! I am a big Joe's Garage guy. I think its his finest work!
@@dannyeddyguitar PS....
this guy from England is a great teacher like you.
Watch him dissemble the intro to Just my imagination live by Prince
ua-cam.com/video/hAXoM7iqUbE/v-deo.html
I love Frank Zappas music listen to a track every day this is so good keeps the good man alive I'm gonna learn these riffs then go to San Francisco and be a flower punk
A Zappa track a day keeps the Dr. away!
More Zappa please !!!
As much as I LOVE Zappa, his publishing company are very strict about UA-cam clips. It's difficult to not get blocked or for clips to be completely demonetised. I'll do more... One day...
@@dannyeddyguitar Yes I know that and it sucks, but I understand why Frank Zappa and his family had to be very protective of the 'name' and the legacy in order to get some respect and not get f√¢ked over ! But come on man, for the love of music 🎶🎸!!!
@@dannyeddyguitar Frank would be so p!ssed off at what Gail and especially Ahmet did in the way they treated Dweezil over the Zappa Plays Zappa tours. Hopefully they are now reconciled.
Frivolous copyright strikes are ruining UA-cam.
BTW..Saw ZPZ at the Melbourne Arts Centre with Steve Vai...Only wished he had played Watermelon in Easter Hay...one of my favourites,
Keep up the good work.
Excellent lesson! You are a first class guitarist and educator. By the way,my main guitar is a 1977 The Paul,strung with 11's and is my main guitar. Subscribed!
Thanks so much, Charles! Yeah, The Paul is a great unit!
I really enjoyed this. You have an infectious enthusiasm for the music backed up with great tone! I'd like to know...Do you have full backing tracks for these songs available? I'd also like to see you whip out some soloing over these tunes 🙂
I just made those backing tracks for the specific sections. And yes, that's always a temptation! Thanks Ged.
i would be as happy as you if I could play like that
Hahaha! Robert, we all aspire to play better than we currently play. I just try to find joy in life in general.
Danny, I really loved your interpretation of muffin man, not only for the technique but also for your soul. Could you share your guitar tabs please? Cheers from Chile.
Thanks you so much, David! Lovely praise! The complete Tabs may be found via my Patreon site - patreon.com/user?u=50184983
In Willie the Pimp it's not Jean-Luc Ponty playing but Don Sugarcane Harris.
Yes, apologies - can't believe I presumed that without double checking!
Awesome this mate. I was interested to see what you'd do for the little flourish on Dirty Love. For years I used to attempt to play the super fast 6 note keyboard measure picking every note, but found it quite painful on acoustic.
Btw (sorry to correct), but is the Don't Eat The Yellow Snow intro riff 7/4? It seems to shift between that and 7/8 for the faster bit.
where the lyrics come in? "Dreamed I was..." Yes, I think you're spot on - 7/8 there.
@@dannyeddyguitar Yeah. The tab book says 7/4 all the way through, but it's so much easier to count 7/8 on the fast bits and sounds right to me.
Thats great Danny , good to see a down to earth Australian tackling the wonderful world of Zappa. I'm not even a guitarist , your ability is bewildering to me.
How's Black Napkins Doreen and Deathless Horsie for a challenge. Keep it going these executives have plooked the fuck outta me .
Hahahaha Thanks Warren! Remember - bend that string like, Reen-toon-teen-toon-teen-toon-teenooneenoonee!
Happy birthday from Denmark 🇩🇰
Tak skal du have!
yeah!
Indeed!
What path should i follow to understand and solo like the solo you did on muffin man? That was just amazing
That's very flattering, Vitor. Thanks! It's mostly just C# minor Pentatonic with a couple of 'accidentals' thrown in to spice it up.
You Sir, are very funny... I turned 25 in january, how long do you think i can delay the magic finger thing?
Well, I'm 53...
La ostia !
Good onya mate !
Bamboozled by Love, Tab ?
Thank you!
www.soundslice.com/slices/bmfMc/?from=search
Damn. You featured two of my favorite obscure Zappa riffs: "Magic Fingers" and the boggie intro to "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which is the first Zappa tune I heard as a 14 year-old sitting in my bedroom on my GE Wildcat stereo. And you NAILED one of the greatest rock songs ever in "Florentine Pogen".
Thanks Mark. Great memories! "GE Wildcat" love it!
Bamboozled by one. I still cannot count it. Can feel it but once the bridge hits I lose it
Using the version on Tinseltown Rebellion as a reference, the bridge may be counted by noting that the single 'hits' the answer the vocal phrases land on beat 4 of each bar.
"I aint(1) the type(2) to holler(3) HIT!
Thanks for the tip. That helps. Unfortunately my brain stays on target for about six bars then switches back to putting the 1 on the wrong beat. BTW Tinseltown is also one of my favorites from FZ. It's got Vinnie C on drums @@dannyeddyguitar
This made like Zappa
Florentine is the most extraordinary composition for me…
So good!
i used to have a ‘78 the paul and traded it for a 24 fret sg. near instant regret
Damn! Yeah, this thing has accompanied me to some great gigs over the years, and never let me down.
I'm still working on Louie Louie. Yeah, but I have Satisfaction down.
Hahahaha love it!
If I had to learn playing the guitar, I would do it just to play Zappa's songs 😄 ( but I m so bad at it...)
You can do it!
its ashame that you have so few listners
Thanks. Lucky I love what I do!
@@dannyeddyguitar me too..am I a girl now..get on the bus!
said so many times..this triangular..ever listned to Wagner..he got outlokated beakause germans loved it
(big and sad story) but for us that love the fat and have the tech to do it listen to this...ua-cam.com/video/SRmCEGHt-Qk/v-deo.html
Yo' Mama the best.
Oh! What a tune!
I can think of soooo many songs and bands that ripped off Zappas riffs.
Hey, that would make an interesting video... Name some for me Greg!
@@dannyeddyguitar working on it ....its familiar but hard to pin down
black sabbath in muffin man..deep purple in willie...piggy sounds like a grunge riff..bam by love sounds like the doors .... brown shoes could be a white zombie riff...magic sounds like those fast rush lines...outside man ..(well played btw) could be some dream theater chording... Florentine...sound like Jethro Tull and Zomby Woof sounds like a pat travers type vibe
@@greg77hot Gold! That's clever mate. Looks like Zappa influenced EVERYONE! Thanks heaps.
@@dannyeddyguitar Everyone who was smart enough to listen and study Zappa
Rat tomago
Amazing track. Not really a riff, it's just straight into the solo.
Hey, great lesson. I know when I'm trying to learn a new piece I want someone to flash notation for 10sec and play a mediocre solo over it. Wanker. 😂
Sorry, mate! My tabs are all available for free at Soundslice.com - don't worry, didn't tab out my shitty lead playing!
Trying to sound different is one thing. His music mostly sounds confused and just don't make any sense at all. All in the name of sounding different
Thanks Chad. It's such a personal thing - our perception of art. And I can't help but wonder if the general 'dumbing down' of pop music makes it harder for us to digest anything more complex...
Wonder what kind of garbage you listen to lol
Hi. I woked up with OVERNITE- SENSSTION. AND APISTROPHE" This Misic changed my live and
other things. Krassr Musik Änderung im meinen MUSIK' COSMOS.
THANK YOU FRANK ZAPPA, FOR WHATS GOING ON......❤😢😢❤
Thanks for that Alexander!