Fortunate Son (John Fogerty) Guitar Lesson
Here’s a good old classic rock tune for today’s lesson: Fortunate Son. It’s got a great intro riff that will be instantly recognizable by anyone you play this for. Did I mention its also easy-peasy? Most of the riff is built on inverted third intervals (whew that’s a mouthful!). What I mean by that is the root note is on the B string, and they’re adding a third up from that root note (4 semitones), but dropping it an octave, thus inverting it (normally the lower note is the root, but in this case the lower is).
Take a look at the Em7 chord (barred, root on the 5th string -- 7th fret) and ignore the bar part. That is the first formation in the riff, right? The notes that are being played are B (4th string, 9th fret) and G (2nd string, 8th fret). The root note is the G, and we’re in the key of G. If you count up from G 4 semitones (G#, A, A#, B) you hit B. B is therefore a major third of G.
If you can figure out the theory behind this, you can start to see broader applications for the patterns that are being used in this riff (different keys, songs, etc). Let me know if you’d like to know more and maybe I’ll do a whole lesson on this topic.
You can also check out Blues Guitar Secrets as I know that course gets into the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of blues guitar, as opposed to just the ‘what’ which is pretty cool.
One other quick note. If you want to see the video larger, don’t forget you can click the button in the bottom right corner of the video player for full screen. You can also click on the HD for high definition (much better quality picture and sound).
Thus, without further ado, I’d like to present Fortunate Son (drum roll please….)
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of this lesson. Do you like learning songs & riffs? Prefer something else? Have a favorite song you want to learn? Remember, GuitarTipsWeekly is very much a work in progress and I’m experimenting with different things to see what works best, but in order to do that I need to hear back from you as well.
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Hey I like the way you’ve added the fingerings for some of the chords. That helps!
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I cant thank you enough for your lessons, they are helping be learn guitar so much better that going thru books, I am switching fron Bass to guitar and you are taking me along on a great path that has been easy and quick learning.
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Jonathan Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Thanks Tracy! I play bass about half the time myself as well – together they’re an excellent combination!
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Jonathan, I’ve been trying to play acoustic for around a year now. I can play some songs with the most used chords including bass stroke and alternating bass. My problem is that when I change chords the neck of the guitar shifts around making it hard to change chords quickly and accurately. I remedy this by actually wrapping my strap around me and then sitting on it. It helps alot but I want to learn how to play in all postions, standing or sitting. I appreciate you videos. I watched the one on all the chords in the frets and really learned something useful. I think it will help when I try to learn to read music. Any advice on how to control the neck of my guitar?
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Jonathan Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Hi Wayne – that’s an interesting one to diagnose without being able to see how you play.
Here are a couple of ideas, hopefully one helps!
- Get a real grippy strap (ie, a leather one, or something with a grippy part). Some of the nylon ones are super slippery and make things worse.
- How hard are you gripping the neck? Your left hand shouldn’t be used to position the guitar very much – rather your hand should just be cradling the neck, not trying to hold it up.
- Try practicing with bar chords and move them up the neck, one or two frets at a time. For instance take an F major chord (barred) then play a G, then an A, and a B, C, D, E etc. Moving up the neck a little at a time will help you practice the movements.
That’s all that comes to me right now… but if you can describe it a little better I’ll try again =).
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thanks for the lesson,good song choice
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Thanks so much Jonathan your a real inspiration….I’m learning more every time i see your clips on line, one question do you honestly recommend “Learn and Master Guitar” i love the blues and will learn to play them clean and crisp someday …Dean
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Jonathan Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Thanks Dean!
In regards to the Learn and Master question – I just recently did a review on the course. You can read the entire thing here: Learn and Master Guitar Review
Everyone’s situation is different, and the guitar course that you choose to learn with should line up in some way with your goals. Learn and Master could be a good starting point to learn the guitar, from which you could get more specific towards blues… Most of the blues courses I’ve seen so far don’t deal with the guitar in general as much as they do the blues specifically – ie you already need to be at a certain level to take advantage of them.
Hope that helps!
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Reminds me of my early bass guitar deays, as we used to say ( thats cool man.
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Good lesson man. Playied an acoustic for a couple of years. You got me to by an electric. Now I practice two hours a day. peace.
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Jonathan Reply:
January 14th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Sweet! What kind of electric did you get?
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great lesson but brick joke got go better then standings behind bars
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it was great lesson been playing since was kid was taught proper way such as cage system im drilling that know and getting there as i learn it i see the real importants off u can read music but not understanding thoery doesn t get u far have great day love lesson
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Great song Johnathon, all of CCR stuff was amazing. I believe I learned the notes in the opening riff to be called thirds, and are used to embelish a lot of guitar songs. (ie the opening in Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison). So a lesson on thirds would be an excellent idea. As you said they can be applied to so many songs and keys. Thanks and keep up the great work!
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Hi Linda, yeah the opening riff is based on thirds, but the way I’m playing them there they are actually inverted thirds, because the root note is the highest note, rather than the lowest note.
Definitely doing a lesson on these is on my list… stay tuned!
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Thanks so much. I have enjoyed and learned from your lessons. any Bob Dylan Like A Rolling Stone Again Thanks Tom F
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Jonathon;
thanks for the help. I can honestly say that you’re the Real Deal,i.e. calling no names,but there are sites, such as, ” learn 2 play the Blues with 4 notes”(!) ect. They send you Some free lessons,lightly touching on the subject, THEN proceed to pitch the For sale,No weasle clause ect. YOU,on the other hand seem to have a desire to TEACH, primarly,secondary,2 make $$,which is cool,but you keep it real,simple yet detailed. Thanks
Peace FreddyD. NYC
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Quick and easy and sounds great! Thanks
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Jonathan,
Nice insight into some of the great CCR stuff!! If I may offer a suggestion on how you shoot videos, could you please move your camera to your right some (viewer’s left) so that the view of your finger placement on the fretboard is not obscured by the knuckles of your hand and/or fingers. Or, maybe just raising the camera and angling it down some would help too!
Otherwise, I think your doing a great job, and who cares about the bricks in the background! We are all after the content, not the packaging.
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Jonathon…thanks much! I really enjoy your video lessons and appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge and techniques. I also like your guitar; what kind is it?
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Thanks Tim! It’s a Hagstrom Super Swede…
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Hi Jonathon,
Thanks for the lesson. I was wondering about the strumming pattern. I seem to be struggling a little with it. Can you go into some detail. Thanks again!
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Hay man sell the bricks to sponsors so they can put there logos on
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Haha, NOW we’re talking. Nice idea Graham! I heard about that kid who did that with his bedroom. I think he made $1 million or something ridiculous? Cheers.
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Thankyou, That’s a great song! I am following your lessons and doing good. I practice my scales(Penta tonic, Major, and minor blues)almost every day. Up and down. I’m surprising myself. I still am not sure how to apply the scales in a solo. I am working on Samba Pa Ti(really like Santana). Got it pretty much down.Thankyou for all you do! I hope others appreciate it as much. At the present, I am in school(Digital Media Prod.)and am starting all over in life.The guitar is something I began in 1968 with an SG, then put it down. I am regreting all those wasted years but am HARD at it again. I’ve always knawn the barre chords and basicsfortunatley. I’m working on learning songs and riffs now. Thanks again! Sincerely,Chris
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Jonathan Reply:
August 31st, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Hi Chris – great to hear you’re enjoying the lessons! There’s lots more on the way…
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