Grey St.?????

dannyboy · Post by **dannyboy** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 3:28 pm

Hey there guys.
I'm currently trying to tackle Grey Street but I'm running into some problems. I'm not having any problems with the chorus, but the intro/verse is giving me one heck of a time. I've checked the videos here on the site and have also watched videos of Dave playing it himself, but I just can't figure out how to get the muting down. I see many poeple claiming that Grey Street is a good song for beginners to try to learn, but the movement along the fretboard and the muting just isn't working for me.
Is there a "secret" to playing this part of the song? Or is it just practice?
I noticed that on many of the other tabs on this site there are indications of which fingers to use on which fret, etc. and I found these VERY helpful. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks

Kukini · Post by **Kukini** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 3:57 pm

Lay your fingers flat so they fret the strings you're trying to play but mute the others. I suck at helping...

DMBTabs... welcome to it.

Duffman · Post by **Duffman** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:05 pm

also, it might interest you to know that the A (5x06xx) is on an upstroke.

Sort Of A Protest Song · Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:08 pm

Duffman wrote:also, it might interest you to know that the A (5x06xx) is on an upstroke.

Really? I never noticed that.....

Thanks

Duffman · Post by **Duffman** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:23 pm

i just made an mp3 of it. http://lax4mike.myftp.org:2580/greystreet.mp3 (right click, save as...)

you just want to consistantly strum with your right hand the whole time.

improv · Post by **improv** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:24 pm

Are you trying to play it like Dave and using four fingers are you just using two and sliding up and down the neck?

If you are using the two finger slide method of playing it (which I would recommend for you), check out the post "For the beginners" on muting if you havent already. There are different ways of tackling the muting issue and to each his/her own...but they all, indeed, require practice. hang in there...

Grandpagotgame · Post by **Grandpagotgame** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:44 pm

Don't mute it just yet, that's how I learned. I just played 7x07,3x04,5x06,
and so on. After you get comfortable playing this get your fingers just a little lower to the fret board and you should be able to mute the A and D strings. It will take a little time.

Duffman · Post by **Duffman** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:47 pm

i'd say don't bother with muting the D string. the song is in the key of D, so it doesn't hurt having it ring in the background.

Tranman66 · Post by **Tranman66** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:10 pm

try to get the rhythm. the muting makes no sense if you dont really get down the rhythm and beat.

Kukini · Post by **Kukini** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:11 pm

Duffman wrote:i'd say don't bother with muting the D string. the song is in the key of D, so it doesn't hurt having it ring in the background.

to me it sounds like shit that way.

onid41 · Post by **onid41** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:59 pm

Kukini wrote:
Duffman wrote:i'd say don't bother with muting the D string. the song is in the key of D, so it doesn't hurt having it ring in the background.
to me it sounds like shit that way.

i let the D string ring...especially on a 6-string

Coldchillin · Post by **Coldchillin** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 7:11 pm

onid41 wrote:
Kukini wrote:
Duffman wrote:i'd say don't bother with muting the D string. the song is in the key of D, so it doesn't hurt having it ring in the background.
to me it sounds like shit that way.
i let the D string ring...especially on a 6-string

Ranting Thespian · Post by **Ranting Thespian** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 1:27 am

Duffman wrote:also, it might interest you to know that the A (5x06xx) is on an upstroke.

Just don't touch the high E and B strings. The A string easily mutes. Dave often leaves the D open. Also, you would have to have incredible fingers to mute the whole guitar on his big fat 12 string. On most 5x06 like chords, the D string is left open (billies, too much, liog, sdl, granny).

Dave doesn't always strum the full guitar too, expecially when he plays a 12 string. It only looks like he strums it full because you can't see exactly where the pick goes, just the back of his hand. This goes for a lot of his songs like Warehouse, Billies, Rapunzel, ect. There is muting, but not the whole guitar. Warehouse is tricky on one point, learning to strum portions of the guitar as you fret the next string.

improv · Post by **improv** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 11:41 am

ok, this is a little of the subject discussed currently but from another post recently there was a discussion on why Dave plays Gray St. with 4 fingers instead of 2. Well, some people said it sounds bad to use 2 fingers and slide, where I actually prefer that sound. BUT, I always play GS on a 6 not a 12. I think I might have played it once ever on a 12. So maybe the slide sounds to messy on a 12 string and the 4 finger is just a crisper-cleaner sound Dave prefers? Maybe it still a matter of opinion...I dunno why this even matters really but i've already typed it out I suppose..

Ranting Thespian · Post by **Ranting Thespian** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 10:31 pm

improv wrote:ok, this is a little of the subject discussed currently but from another post recently there was a discussion on why Dave plays Gray St. with 4 fingers instead of 2. Well, some people said it sounds bad to use 2 fingers and slide, where I actually prefer that sound. BUT, I always play GS on a 6 not a 12. I think I might have played it once ever on a 12. So maybe the slide sounds to messy on a 12 string and the 4 finger is just a crisper-cleaner sound Dave prefers? Maybe it still a matter of opinion...I dunno why this even matters really but i've already typed it out I suppose..

I used to play Grey Street with just 2 fingers when I learned it. When I learned Dave's way, I just found it more of a challenge. I like to do things that are harder rather than simpiler, just because I enjoy it and it's more fun. If you want to use 2 fingers, go right ahead, it's all your preference (maybe your fingers aren't long enough, like my mom's, in which the 2 is mos tlikely prefered).