The Smiths - Cemetry Gates Guitar Tutorial (Open G like Johnny)

I just learned this the correct way today when Johnny Marr posted a video on Instagram of him playing it. I appreciate the awesome tabs and covers online in standard tuning but Open G gives a much fuller sound especially if you’re playing alone. I did my best to figure out the fingerings just like the video I saw. This is my first time doing a tutorial and I just learned it today (it’s not as smooth as I have not practiced much. Also, there’s one part where say D string but mean the G but you’ll understand. I hope this helps you and all credit goes to Marr. Again, I had not seen the correct tab anywhere online or youtube. Feel free to give tips if you figure out the exact fingerings (I think i’m close though).

[@dstone3241]

What a partnership they had. Marr’s amazing chord progressions and voicings, and Morrissey to flesh it out with melody and lyrics. They created magic.

[@victorymansions]

I had a big stupid grin watching you nail this. Thanks for the meticulous lesson, I'm gonna enjoy learning this with your vid, all the best

[@Adam_Barrett]

Greg, if it's okay I'm thinking of doing a cover with this arrangement. I will of course give you full credit for coming out with it!
You've done such a fantastic job with it as I said before and I think it elevates the sound completely compared to what I used to play

[@greglewis209]

I got this from Johnny’s video so no need unless you want to let then know how they can learn the chords. Thanks!

[@G.Lopes.96]

Hey, Adam! Love your covers, man! Greetings from Brazil!

[@dermot51]

Keep up the good work Adam

[@naughtydotdot1232]

You're a literal life saver, i was waiting for an accurate tutorial of this song for LITERALLY YEARS.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, truly

[@TimothySteffes]

Same! So happy!

[@mrduuud]

Same - it brought tears to my eyes.

[@RyRaddatz]

Dude. This was great. So helpful. The internet is magic.

[@u_righi]

Thank you so much for taking the time to create this tutorial! This is my favorite Smiths song and I've always had trouble learning how to play their songs, so you can imagine how happy I feel now that I finally learned how to play it. Thank you!

[@ManilvaRS]

Good to see a Smiths fan all the way over the other side of the pond.

[@monkeysgone2heaven1]

There's always someone, somewhere...with a big nose, who knows

[@chroniclesofbap6170]

You say "Ere thrice the sun done salutation to the dawn"... and you claim these words as your own. But I'm well-read and I've heard them said a hundred times. Maybe less, maybe more.

[@slinkycrown8757]

Johnny marr has a bigger nose

[@tiedyemanatee9291]

Who trips you up and laugh when you faaaall

[@coryinthehouse5734]

@@chroniclesofbap6170 this went clean over your head as it was a smart comment reference the song alongside a video of someone who knows how to play it, it wasn’t an opportunity to just splurt out the rest of the lyrics

[@joeh527]

Thanks Greg believe it or not I'm sat in my car in Manchester England the times 12.10am and flicking through you tube and I'm literally parked up opposite Southern Cemetery which is the cemetery the song is about and you pop up it's a small world!

[@greglewis209]

I got to visit from the USA last year right before Covid hit. Can't wait to get back!

[@leedredd8505]

I am now sat on my accoustic going through a fender amp with chorus and slight delay... playing the music of heaven. So glad you did this lesson. I can finally play this song properly!!!! Thanks to you ! Top man ! Thank you so much !!!

[@dermot51]

I play through a Roland cube with chorus and delay, sounds ok but this open G tuning sound's fantastic

[@Pjh80]

From a man now in his 40s thank you so much for this.. i will spend days and months learning this👍

[@nelsano3]

Thankyou so much Greg this lesson is the best I've found. Greetings and love from the grim dark north of England 🙏😎

[@jordanbailey9531]

Greg thank you so much for this, great tutorial and I’ve been dying to learn since I saw the Instagram video come out! Top man

[@dga7364]

I just want to say thank you for doing this video. I really appreciate it it always been a song I wanted to lean.
You’re a great teacher and clear to understand. 👍

[@andycatmilne]

I only came across Johnny Marr playing this yesterday and wanted to learn it. Now found this… wow thanks!

[@junglecat000]

Great job!!! Thanks Greg, definitely the best video I could find on this song.

[@cmaddox1020]

Well, Greg I think you pretty much nailed it. I worked out most of it but I picked up some nuances from you I had missed so thank you!

[@ithemeparkOFFICIAL]

Awesome tutorial and playing!

[@TheHolty76]

Do you know how many years I been looking for this? when I saw Johnny's video I was hoping to find a tutorial. Thanks so much, you should do some more videos was pretty easy to follow

[@greglewis209]

Same here. Thanks!

[@grantrmiller]

Excellent. I had about 80 percent in open G. This put me over the edge. One of the few (only?) open G tutorials on YT. Well done.

[@7EvilExesToGo]

Thanks for uploading this, was really shocked to see there aren't any tabs online for such an iconic song like this in it's original tuning. Somehow it sounds even better acoustically than in the original imo.

[@tactikzzF1R3]

Nailed it, man....absolutely superb!

[@josephthompson8948]

Absolutely gorgeous and you're so humble about it

[@andrewbranscome7612]

Thank you for such an awesome tutorial, Greg. Peace and love

[@rowanbarfoot5683]

This is fantastic Greg!
Thank you so much

[@robsheen11]

Great video man, really liked the pace. I’m not exactly at the level to play this yet but I look forward to learning this in time.

[@daiglep]

Thanks for posting this, it was extremely helpful!

[@bentaylor3989]

this is amazing mate, helped so much

[@007wars6]

Thank you! I could exactly find out how Johnny was playing it in his Instagram video, so this helps a bunch!!

[@dermot51]

Fantastic arrangement. I play in standard but this tuning is pure class

[@AndoNagasaki]

That’s awesome mate, thank you very much. Great work 👍🏻

[@louis893]

Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for

[@tdmusic8219]

Great job. Thanks! I was trying to understand why Marr looked like he had the same chord shape in the verse walk down. But you nailed it.

[@user-dj5wk4sm9s]

Fantastic tutorial. I hope you post more videos

[@Adam_Barrett]

Sounds absolutely gorgeous. Great job with this and I can't wait to try it out

[@greglewis209]

Adam Barrett Thanks! By the way your covers are fantastic!

[@Adam_Barrett]

@@greglewis209 thanks a lot Greg! Just listened to your Heaven Knows too and it's amazing!

[@bencook4720]

Beautiful rendition! Probably my favorite Smiths song - I am a fledgling beginner but this is inspiring to try

[@Beanoismycat]

That was outstanding!

[@CherryPhosphate70]

Mystery solved!! Many thanks, Greg. great stuff!

[@spread7]

Thanks Greg, that was perfect!

[@brycesterling947]

Thank you greg for the lesson!!!! you play it perfect.

[@pl0xyserver]

thanks for the vid! this is so much fun to play

[@callistoo2016]

thank you this is great !! :) exactly what I was looking for

[@markparker9787]

Excellent work ! More please !

[@danpriestley9218]

I've always wanted to play this and now I can! Thanks

[@markctaylor4747]

Fantastic sound. Thanx for posting.

[@dylan9784]

is so nice for you to show this newcomer some love

[@maxheadroom3000]

You got eagle eyes my friend. Thank you for sorting it out. Keep cracking ... Keep them coming.

[@ClayAsbury122]

You’ve solved a decades old mystery for me, my friend. Thanks for this! I thought this was witchcraft for years. Lol

[@jcomm120]

Lovely version! Bravo☆

[@rjdmccarthy]

Well done mate, really great 👍

[@meadish]

Great playing and very pleasant sounding guitar.

[@meltorment5152]

Thank you Greg! Great lesson 👍

[@154chairsmissing]

Great job. Many thanks for going to the trouble of unlocking this song. I’ve Wondered for years how it’s done.

[@diarmuidsheehan4927]

Thank you so much for this tutorial!

[@nicholas19644]

Thank you. The rhythm is the challenge. 1:56

[@jefft5854]

That's a great tutorial for a great song. Thanks a lot.

[@drXabaras666]

Great work! Well done

[@skellyngton]

fantastic tutorial! cheers man 👍👍

[@garyrobinson3967]

Great tutorial, thanks for uploading.

[@kerrigooney]

Thanks,mate. Cool song to play in Open G. Sounds much better this way.

[@lexusuk7901]

Thanks so much for this. Really helpful.

[@penniesonoureyes3436]

Brilliant. Learnt a few inverted chords using the standard tuning but this one sounds much more like Johnny. Must use that G tuning for my next song...

[@izagrau]

Thank you Greg! Great job!

[@rotabush]

Great work!

[@h.a.8756]

Thanks for the great lesson!

[@LouisHillJ]

This was amazing, thanks

[@xiscogg]

You did a great job!

[@niteshnmehta]

Super fun to play!

[@user-oy2dt3fb9v]

Thank you for this! I couldn't have figured it out on my own!

[@Fazzat333]

Boom ! Getting it done.
Thank you 👍

[@adamriggs2698]

Thanks so much for this! You are awesome.

[@jimmy2sticks]

nice work, Greg!

[@richardproano8629]

Great tutorial!

[@user-ye2yr6ym3g]

Well done!!

[@lhovis9401]

Thanks! Comparing to the Marr video, this is pretty much exactly what he's doing. It's funny how people are afraid of open tunings, when the whole point of them is to make things really, really easy.

[@dancehallc]

This is great, thanks for getting me started. I think he is actually fretting the D string on most of those chords, for example x55050 instead of x50050. It does work both ways, and I can't 100% tell from his video but sounds more Marr-ish to me with the D string fretted.

[@greglewis209]

dancehallc Yeah I think you’re right. It was tough to figure out his hands on those parts. But you can adjust and and add on stuff too. I cannot believe there was not an open g tab or video on this.

[@IrishBog]

Damn - it’s so much easier on my thin nut 67 acoustic without the D so I might just stick with that but yeah sounds better with

[@Fazzat333]

dancehallc Agreed, more prominent when you hit the 10th fret (bit of of a squeeze for my big hands).

[@pdog2715]

Great stuff. Thst's the icing on the cake. Well done both.

[@mijadreams3486]

you killed this !!! thanks for helping me learn it , weird lover wilde is on your side

[@ckallaher]

Whoa. Just, whoa. I’m learning this immediately. Like The Wizard of Iz, going from black and white to color.

[@rossendoperez]

Great video, thanks a million!

[@dennisofficial1408]

You Rock!!!!Great playin!!!!

[@sarazamet8609]

great tutorial thanks for this!!

[@stevewilliams8556]

Thanks friend - great job

[@colinimray3682]

Great vid well done, hopefully you do more smiths

[@jacobstokes7611]

Main man great vid👍

[@brianbrooks6336]

Great tutorial 👍🏻

[@leftfield70]

superb tutorial. thank you..

[@conort5943]

cheers mate, very helpful

[@andrewjohnson1199]

Ha you rock man. Thank you for sharing this. Cheers!

[@cjbono1]

Love it!

[@niitsukid]

Sounds great

[@Isahiyella]

Woah, awesome! Thank you!

[@Jxmiecole]

Brilliant man thanks

[@ToniFustel]

Amazing!!!

[@dippydaday]

Lock down fun, thank you !

[@TimothySteffes]

Thank you! I have been wanting to play the song since it first came out, but could never figure it out. I’m in heaven right now!

[@dermot51]

I have it sussed in standard now to try and learn it in open G

[@jdunn101ify]

Great tutorial and love your accent 👍

[@757flyer]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@willbanks5626]

so so good

[@ntr222]

Well done thank you!

[@shogdite1636]

Very good !