Despite what you may think I didn’t write this post because of the new trailer for the sequel to the first hangover movie. I know I really need to get over to Youtube and check it out, but I’ve been consumed by this idea of making an arrangement of “Stu’s Song” from the first movie.
After testing it out with a few friends I think you’re going to be excited with the results:
So why make an arrangement of this song in the first place? Well for a number of reasons:
- Open chords get boring after 8 years of guitar playing
- It’s a fun song that many so called “serious” musicians wouldn’t think much about in the first place
- It’s actually really fun to play! Which is the reason you should be playing guitar in the first place…..
So first, some info for any beginners that come to this page. By all means, play this song with open chords if that’s all you’re going after, but go to this link from Ultimate Guitar.
Of course all the same chords will be here in some form but there is where you can find all the basic info.
Enter The Intermediate/Advanced
Now for all my intermediate/advanced guitar player friends out there I’ve got four riffs for you that entail the entire song. It’s very short and relatively simple compared to many arrangements that you’ve probably seen in the past a la Chet Atkins or Tommy Emanuel.
Because I’m mostly a rock guitar player at heart I like to keep arrangements as simple as possible. So I focus on finding the melody and key center first (which is in C Major with this song), find the appropriate chord shapes to put on top of them, and then find any implied chords or little fills necessary to keep it in a solo guitar style.
And with a song that uses very basic chords like the ones you’re about to see, all that’s really needed to do the task I just laid out before you is a well-developed technique, knowledge of the fretboard, and a sense of melody and harmony.
Riff No. 1:
What Do Tigers Dream Of When They Take A Little Tiger Snooze
C Cmaj7 C F (C) F
-8---8-8-7--7----3------0--1--1-11-1-0------ -8-----8-8--8----5--3------1--1-11-1-1---1-- -9-----9-9--9----5---------2--2-22-2-0---2-- -10----1010-10---5---------3--3-33-3-2---3-- -----------------3---------3--3-33-3-3---X-- ---------------------------1--1-11-1-----1--
Here we are at the first part of the song. At the core it’s just a C to F chord change, which I’ve adapted to the melody and my rock guitar style of fully strummed chords. It may help to play the top notes, which consist of the melody, first.
This way you’ll see why I’m playing which chord shapes as well as where you’re going as the song progresses.
The only thing that’s tricky is the C to Cmaj7 part. For that part I play the barre chord of C as normal but focus on landing my 1st finger on B. Sometimes I’ll cheat and just play the 1st to 3rd strings in order to give myself time to play the C on the D string.
Afterward it’s just the familiar barre chords that I hope you have the skills to play already.
Riff No. 2:
Don’t You Worry Your Pretty Striped Head We’re Gonna Get You Back To Tyson And Your Cozy Tiger Bed
G Am F C C
--7-7--7-7--7-8--8--8--8-8-8-55-55-55--3-3--0-0-0-- --8-8--8-8--8-10-10-10-10101066-66-66--5-5--1-1-1-- --7-7--7-7--7-9--9--9--9-9-9-55-55-55--5-5--0-0-0-- --9-9--9-9--9-10-10-10-10101077-77-77--5-5--2-2-2-- ---------------------------------------3-3--3-3-3-- ---------------------------------------------------
This next one is real easy as the melody consists of singing one note for each chord change. I know this isn’t the prettiest tab you’ve seen but I wrote out every chord so that you can see what I’m playing exactly at this part.
There are several ways to approach right hand technique with this piece, though I just apply simple up/down strumming in order to give the chords a more vocal-like quality.
Another great thing about this part is it’s riff-like quality, which is very suitable for a guitar piece.
Riff No. 3:
Doug Doug Duh-Uh-Ug Duh-Ug Dougie Dougie
G Am F
--10--10--10-12-8---15-8---8--10--8--8--8--- --12--12--12-13-10--13-10--10-10--10-10-10-- --12--12--12-14-9---14-9---10-10--10-10-10-- --12--12--12---------------10-10--10-10-10-- --10--10--10---------------8--8---8--8--8--- --------------------------------------------
C
--3-3--0-0-- --5-5--1-1-- --5-5--0-0-- --5-5--2-2-- --3-3--3-3-- ------------
The only thing about this part is the Am chord. I wanted to leave the melody in the same position but going back to the 8th fret makes a better contrast for the ear in order to hear the melody.
If you want to, experiment with playing just one note instead of going all the way back to the 8th fret.
Riff No. 4:
Now this next part is great!
If He’s Been Mur-dered By Crystal Meth Tweakers
C Dm Em F
------------1-0-1-----3---3-----5--5-- --3-1-3-----3---3-----5-6-5-----6--6-- --0---0-----2---2-----4---4-----5--5-- --2---2-----0---0-----5---5----------- --3---3------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Then We’re Shit Outta Luck
F G G7 C
--5---5----3--1-0----- --6---6----3--0----1-- --5---5----4--0----0-- --7---7----5-------2-- -----------5-------3-- -----------3----------
And that’s it!
Now I’m bound to get responses from people saying something along the lines of “This is not a real arrangement! You suck!” to which I’ll answer that my only goal was to find another way to play this song besides with open chords.
Pursuing a Chet Atkins style arrangement of this song is doable, but not necessary in my perspective. I have no doubt that you can ornament this piece further, but I think it’s fine to leave it as it.
If you’d like a pdf of this arrangement click here: Stu’s Song From The Hangover.