Transcribing Notes From John Neil (Head Transcriber)
I Don’t Want to Be – Gavin DeGraw
Melody
This song is basically in Cm, though the verse chords are primarily C major. The melody hits an Eb a lot, giving it a Bluesy feel. Then things turn to Cm in the choruses. The range is C3-C5.
Download the Melody Music Here
Keyboard
The keyboards consist of what I could hear of the piano and organ parts of the recording. In the re-intro/verse 2, it sounds like they have 8th note delay on the piano, so I had it play the echos with a note to “simulate delay.”
Download the Keyboard Sheet Music Here
Lead Guitar
The guitars do almost the same thing with the exception of the lead doing the main riff in the intros/verses, and higher octave lines etc. The lead guitar has a cool phaser effect in verse 2.
Download the Lead Guitar Tab Here
Rhythm Guitar
Download the Rhythm Guitar Tab Here
Strum/Ukulele
I didn’t really hear an acoustic strum or ukulele in the recording, so I made up a part that follows the basic groove, which is similar to the rhythm guitar (and lead when it’s strumming).
Download the Strum Tab Here
Download the Ukulele Tab Here
Bass
A pretty busy part that does a lot of the 2-note riff, and lots of movement in other parts. It sounds like it’s probably played with fingers, and in at least 1 live recording, it is.
Download the Bass Tab Here
Drums
A nice basic sounding drum beat, though a closer look reveals lots of drags and bass drum work. It sounds like there is shaker layered in there too, as well as added hi-hats (or delay put on the hi-hats) particularly in Verse 2, which I didn’t include.
Download the Drum Music Here
Download the Lead Sheet Here
