Mr Brightside - what is so difficult about it?

Danny1969

I don't think it was written on a piano as every shape change on the verse and bridge use's the ringing open E string as a pedal tone even when there's a fretted note the same value and you can's do that on a keyboard, you can't play 2 off the same note on a keyboard. 

robinbowes

Best tutorial I've found so far:

hotpickups

I had to learn this tune for an audition once too. Friggin' played it perfectly too but still didn't get the gig. Sometimes ones face just does not fit My hands ain't that big though. Maybe that was the problem

Danny1969

robinbowes said:

Best tutorial I've found so far:

Lol .... at 4 :56 he fucks it up ... the Brightside curse strikes again ...:)

meltedbuzzbox

I never really thought it was that bad a song to play personally. 

Once you get used to that shape at the 17th its all good. 

We used to play it in standard tuning (up a semi)

ICBM

I have to admit I really don't understand the love for this song at all, and I'm quite a Killers fan. It's probably my least liked of all their songs with the possible exception of Glamorous Indie Rock'n'Roll - and it's not due to overexposure, I've never liked it since the first time I heard it... it nearly put me off the band in the first place.

hotpickups

ICBM said:

I have to admit I really don't understand the love for this song at all, and I'm quite a Killers fan. It's probably my least liked of all their songs with the possible exception of Glamorous Indie Rock'n'Roll - and it's not due to overexposure, I've never liked it since the first time I heard it... it nearly put me off the band in the first place.

Probably more about us guitarists' ego and the want to be worshipped by other guitarist in the crowd than about the song quality really LOL

guitarcookie1

ICBM;574445" said:

I have to admit I really don't understand the love for this song at all, and I'm quite a Killers fan. It's probably my least liked of all their songs with the possible exception of Glamorous Indie Rock'n'Roll - and it's not due to overexposure, I've never liked it since the first time I heard it... it nearly put me off the band in the first place.

You're not alone, I've never even wanted to try to learn it.

John_P

Strangely i think it's better for playing it.    It does very little for me as a song to listen to but I don't mind playing, although past the tricky parts it's a bit routine but it does go down so very well.

close2u

I don't like it either. I have played Human ... Loved it, so many tasty overlays and fills. Also All These Things ... Simple yet effective.

Bod

I threatened myself with having to use the drummer's sample pad to kick it off.  That did the trick and I can play it reasonably well now...

stickyfiddle

I'm not a big Hot Fuss fan, and I don't think Brightside is anywhere near their best, but I really like playing it live. 

Danny1969

I love Hot Fuss, not fussed about the rest of their output. 

Brightside has the tried and tested semitone drop off a major chord. It's a  melodic trick used by hundreds of songs over the years. 

mellowsun

I find it difficult to play with a pick with all string skipping and crossing over stuff, much easier fingerstyle.

Serratus

Have played this in several covers bands over the years - not a nice riff to play in the heat of the moment!

One thing I have found is that playing it on a guitar with an Evertune bridge makes it sound loads better!! For people who don't know, the Evertune passively keeps the guitar perfectly in tune all the time, but it also corrects for all those times where you slightly pull a string sharp, or push slightly too hard on a fret and bend the string a touch sharp, etc, etc. So the riff sounds much more 'in tune', as if the guitars' intonation has been perfected just for that riff, and you've fretted it perfectly, etc. Definitely makes it sound better when you have to launch back into the second verse!

Grunfeld

This is just a random thing to do when you're bored but the intro to Brightside goes really well over the D chord in the chorus of "Sweet Child O' Mine".

"Whoah oh oh sweet love of mine...." [mr brightside, chuckle chuckle]

TheOtherDennis

close2u said:

I don't like it either. I have played Human ... Loved it, so many tasty overlays and fills. Also All These Things ... Simple yet effective.

Whereas I'm the opposite - I quite like Mr B but if I even suspect that Human is about to be mentioned, let alone played, I'll leave the room. I do like All these things, tho.

rsvmark

Love this song as a punter, hate it as a guitarist. Completely get it when punter go nuts for it.

I have to sit down to play the opening riff- I simply cannot contort my hand into fretting the notes accurately if it's on a strap. The picking is simple enough but when you fret the lower note and have to start skipping I find that hard.

The transition from riff to pre chorus is a tough one to get right - ie keep it flowing, without mini pauses and then there's the 5 fret stretch and keeping it all nice and smooth. 

The chorus is ok and a really nice part but then you have to go back into the verse riff it without the ability to check it so its right. Just one bum note and it sounds dreadful. If anyone has a simplified tab of the opening riff I would really like to see it!.....

Grunfeld

rsvmark said:

If anyone has a simplified tab of the opening riff I would really like to see it!.....

Here's a little one-note alternative to the real note which I use as get out of jail version if my fingers cramp up.  There are 3 shapes in the four bar intro sequence.  The third shape gets played twice

The little simplification is the use of the Open D note (I've shown it in red) -- play it instead of the real D16 (F#} as you change between shapes.  You can even play the open D instead of the D16 at the end of the first phrase too if necessary, but that change sort of flows easier on the fingers.  But the point of the substitution is that it buys you a bit of time to make the shape change,  and swapping the F# for a D won't be noticed by anyone other than another guitarist.



E-------------------0---------------
B--------15-----------17-15---------
G-----------------------------------
D-----16----16--------------16------
A--17-------------------------------
E-----------------------------------


E-------------------0---------------
B--------15-----------17-15---------
G-----------------------------------
D-----16----16--------------0-------
A--16-------------------------------
E-----------------------------------


E-------------------0---------------
B--------15-----------17-15---------
G-----------------------------------
D-----16----16--------------16------
A-----------------------------------
E--15-------------------------------


E-------------------0---------------
B--------15-----------17-15---------
G-----------------------------------
D-----16----16--------------0-------
A-----------------------------------
E--15-------------------------------

Roland

ICBM said:

I have to admit I really don't understand the love for this song at all, and I'm quite a Killers fan ....

Punters remember MR Brightside and Sex on Fire and because of the lyrics