Description
Notes From John
Tab only, 4/4. The tempo starts at BPM = 117, marked “gradually speed up”, and the chart prints new tempos as the song goes: 126 at the 1:36 bridge, 139 at 1:55, 141 “hold at this tempo” for the 2:15 solo, 128 “slower, gradually speed up” at the 3:09 interlude, 145 at the 3:52 chorus, and 76 near the end of the outro. A swing mark is printed before 1:55 and again late in the interlude, with a straight-eighths mark at the start of the interlude. The guitar rests through the intro and the first verse and chorus. It comes in at 1:13, marked clean and mf, with let-ring arpeggios over C, F(add9)/C, G(sus4), Am, Dm7 and G7(sus4). The 1:36 bridge keeps the arpeggios over Gm, C, Fmaj7 and F, then moves to D and G. At 1:55, marked f, the part switches to 8th-fret barre chords in swung eighths, with “distortion” printed going into the solo. The solo has hammer-ons, full and half-step bends, slides, muted grace notes and vibrato. The 2:35 bridge is marked “clean (strum down)” with let-ring triplet strums, then “strum normal” eighths on a D chord at the 10th fret. The 2:52 verse has arpeggios over C, B♭, F/A and Fm/A♭ before the barre chords come back. After rests, the interlude brings the arpeggios back at mf with a cresc. The 3:52 chorus is barre chords at f. The outro slows with rit. marks through C, Am7, Dm7 and a held G(add9sus4), and ends on a rolled C at mp.
For the player
This is the E Street Band’s 1975 C.W. Post performance. Count the rests: the guitar doesn’t play until 1:13, and it rests again at the start of the 3:09 interlude. Stay under the vocal: keep the let-ring arpeggios at mf where marked, and play the full barre chords at f only where the chart marks f, at 1:55 and 3:52. The tempo rises through the song, so follow the printed tempo changes rather than a click. At BPM = 117 the job is the feel.
Lead Guitar Sheet Music for “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” by Bruce Springsteen.
