Before You Play Your First Song (Tuning)

Hey guys, Mike here. Quick one today.

This is the opener I always used when I performed live. It sounds beautiful enough that the crowd loves to hear it, and they think you really know your way around the instrument lol.

Once you're tuned up, just play around in E. Start with that open E, run through it a few times, and feel it out.

From there it's all about moving the E shape up the neck. Skip the third fret, go to the fourth (you'll land around an F sharp), and let those open strings keep ringing underneath. Then take that same shape to the seventh fret, then the ninth, then the twelfth - thriteenth and finally back to the 14 or the octave of the original E.

The tricky part is the pinky at the end there. You're stretching it to the eleventh fret and keeping everything ringing clean while you shift it into place. Finish with a big full strum and let it ring out.

Back then I didn't really know how to play, not the way you'd think a performer should. I knew my chords, but theory? Not even close. This was my trick to give the illusion like I did. And it worked every time while actually helping me move across the entire neck.

Give it a shot and tell me how it feels. Record a clip if you want, I'd love to hear it. Thanks everybody!

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