"The King" is an extremely easy song to play. There is literally nothing to it...
It's in the key of D.
The guitar is tuned as follows: DADGBE
It only has three chords: D G A (in different variations)
It only has one riff-esque part at the end of every chorus...and it's only four notes played on one string
Easy, easy, easy
Let me take you through it:
At the bottom of this post you'll be able to download a hand written sheet that includes all the chord shapes that I play in this song. The sheet looks a little chaotic but it's basically divided into three sections:
(1) Intro and Chorus
(2) Verse
(3) Pre-Chorus
These chords will successfully get you through the whole song. I won't spend much time elaborating on each of the sections described above. I'll just have you refer to the sheet with the chords on it.
Section 1: Intro and Chorus
The intro and the chorus share the exact same chord pattern. If you refer to the chord shapes on the hand written sheet that you can download below you'll have all the information you need to play those chords as I play them.
Section 2: Verse
The verse is played with the D, A, and D strings open. The B and the E strings should be deadened. All the action on the verse happens on the G string...yeah yeah yeah....go ahead and chuckle....Here's what you do:
On the handwritten sheet you'll notice that I've placed four dots on the G string and then a note below the whole chord box that essentially says this, "The notes on this string are played in descending order. You should play each note in this fret order - 14 - 12 - 11 - 9. You will also do a mixture of palm muting and open stringing.
Section 3: Pre-Chorus
The pre-chorus G is played in a relatively common drop D position. Make sure you catch the note that indicates the first fret in this diagram as being the 3rd fret. If you miss that you'll get some undesirable sounds and immediately begin cursing my existence. The A chord sounds really nice. Again take note of where the top fret is indicated on this diagram (the 6th fret). For a variation in tonal color on this A chord you should add your ring finger to the 7th fret on the G string every now and again. It helps the chord move a little bit.
That Thing at the End of Each Chorus
Each chorus ends with a single note riff that is really easy to play. The notes all happen on your drop D string. The actual notes are D, F#, G, and then back to D. Let me attach fret numbers to each of these notes...remember this is all on your drop D string:
D (open)
F# (4th fret)
G (5th fret)
D (open)
The Part After the 2nd Chorus
After the second chorus the music shifts gears into a more mellow section which leads into a recap of the first pre-chorus. The chords to this are simply the pre-chorus chords over and over again. It's easy to hear that all I did was simply pick out these chords rather than strum them out like before.
That's pretty much it. Any questions? Don't hesitate to email me. I've also included a lead sheet for your downloading pleasure.
I have to say it Chad...If there is "Literally nothing to it", then why do I see chords and lyrics?
I'm gonna work on learning this song tomorrow sometime. It is awesome! Thanks for making it available to all of us!
Posted by: Kenny McKnight | March 17, 2008 at 12:37 AM
So I thought it sounded easy when you said it was only D, G, and A. But then you go into these long paragraphs explaining each section of the song. Then it didn't sound so easy anymore! haha
Posted by: Brad Ramsburg | November 22, 2009 at 01:02 AM