Description
Notes From John
This is the shared Rhythm/Lead chart, the same guitar part that’s sold on the Lead page. For a rhythm player, it lays out the full waltz harmony at BPM = 172. Every section, from the intro through the 1:16 outro, runs the same nine-chord loop: A, D, B, E, C♯, F♯m, then D and E sharing a bar, and A. Mostly one chord fills a bar. Some chords change type from section to section. The intro has B/F♯. The 0:09 and 0:26 choruses use B and C♯. Verse 1 at 0:18 and Verse 2 at 0:43 use B and C♯7. The 0:35 and 1:00 interludes, the 0:51 chorus and Verse 3 at 1:08 use B7 and C♯7. The outro goes back to B and adds E7. The picking rhythm in 3/4 is mostly a quarter note on beat one followed by eighths and quarters. The A that closes the sections is barred at the 5th fret, with one string muted. In the outro, marked rit., the F♯m bar ends with muted strums, and the last A is rolled.
For the player
Learn the nine-chord loop first, then watch for the B, B7, C♯ and C♯7 changes between sections. Serve the riff, don’t thicken it: play the picking as printed and don’t add strums. Mute the strings for the F♯m strums at the end, then roll the last A as marked. At BPM = 172 the job is the feel.
Rhythm Guitar Sheet Music for “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” by John Denver.
