Digging Deep #7: Nothing New Guitar Tutorial
... it's easier (and harder) than you think
Before I say anything else, let me first admit that I have been behind in my Substack writing. I will, of course, be writing deep dives into every track on the album (expect Digging Deep #8: Nothing New later this week), but it has been a hectic few weeks since the album dropped.
With THAT out of the way, let’s learn how to play Nothing New. I’ve done a short video on how to play the intro/interlude riff, so I’ll put that below, but I’ll also give you a written part so I can ramble even more.
In addition, I’m running a cover contest this week for two lucky winners to receive an exclusive bowling shirt. Pretty cool stuff. Information below.
The Chords
I’m sure it goes without saying, but chords are the meat and potatoes of guitar playing. Let me rephrase (because I’m realizing how dumb that actually sounded): being smart about your fingerings AND being attentive to the transitions between chords can help you a lot when it comes to fingerpicking. My high school guitar teacher, Len, taught me many things about the folk guitar, but one of the most important lessons was about anchor fingers. That’s how you get smooth, baby.
I’ll show you all the chord shapes I’m using throughout the song before we begin. Spoiler, it’s just D, G, A, Bm(ish), and the occasional Em7 and D/F#.
Note: every chord here except for the A7 uses the ring finger on the third fret of the B string – this allows you to use that as an anchor finger to get smooth and fluid with it.
The RIFF
This is the hardest part of the song for sure. Obviously, I am a big James Taylor fan, so you can find a lot of his idiosyncrasies as a guitarist scattered throughout my guitar parts. Nothing New is definitely the one where it comes through the most. He plays most of his songs in D (or with a capo in D), which allows for a nice range of ornamentation with the different chords used.
Here is the tab for the intro/interlude riff:
The key to this is keeping the motion fluid, getting that creamy feel on the guitar. The hammer ons/pull offs are essential to that motion. Remember your anchor fingers! Take this one slow, piece by piece, and feel free to use the video above to help you get through it.
Chords (With Lyrics)
You can find the Ultimate Guitar chords/tabs (which I also edited lol) here. For your convenience, I’ve added them below as well. Listen through with the song to hear when the Bm walks down! Simply lift your index finger up. Also, listen in the end of the chorus for the G walk down to the Em.
D G
The first time I got drunk,
A7 Bm Bm/A G
Henry swapped his parents vodka with some water,
D A7 A7sus4 A7
We got wasted on the street,
D G
Maybe six months later,
A7 Bm Bm/A G
Met a girl, she let me date her, broke my heart,
A7 D Dsus2 D
Made a romantic out of me.
G A7 Bm
Well I gave it all a try,
D G
I got low and I got high,
D G A7 A7sus4 A7
And I swear I almost died outside Seattle,
G A7 Bm
I met you somewhere in between,
D G
My useless liberal arts degree,
D G A7 A7sus4 A7
And switching out the Spirits for the Camels.
G
Well I know one day I will find,
A7
That nothing happens for the first time,
D G Gadd9 G
And this world ain’t got surprises left for me,
G
When the coffee tastes the same,
A7
And my bones ache when it rains,
D G
And I got no tricks up my sleeve,
D G
And I’m all I’ll ever be,
D/F# Em D/F# G A7*
Well it won’t matter when one day there’s nothing new,
D
If I got you.
[Interlude]
D G
The first time that we kissed,
A7 Bm Bm/A G
I admit it was complicated and kinda dangerous,
D A7 A7sus4 A7
Do you think that played a part,
D G
And somewhere down the line,
A7 Bm
Tequila shots turn into red wine,
Bm/A G
And we’re still killing bottles,
A7 A7sus4 D Dsus2 D
Laughing ‘bout the start.
G
Well I know one day I will find,
A7
That nothing happens for the first time,
D G Gadd9 G
And this world ain’t got surprises left for me,
G
When the coffee tastes the same,
A7
And my bones ache when it rains,
D G
And I got no tricks up my sleeve,
D G
And I’m all I’ll ever be,
D/F# Em D/F# G A7*
Well it won’t matter when one day there’s nothing new,
D
If I got you.
[Interlude]
G A7 Bm
Well we give it all a try,
D G
We get drunk and we get high,
D G A7 A7sus2 A7
And we get hit on by the swingers at the dive bar,
G A7 Bm
I met you somewhere in between,
D G
New York and Tennessee,
D G A7 A7sus4 A7
And I know that this will work if I play my part.
G
I know one day I will find,
A7
That nothing happens for the first time,
D G Gadd9 G
And this world ain’t got surprises left for me,
G
When the coffee tastes the same,
A7
And my bones ache when it rains,
D G
And I got no tricks up my sleeve,
D G
And I’m all I’ll ever be,
D/F# Em D/F# G
Oh it won’t matter when one day there’s nothing new,
Em D/F# G
Oh it won’t matter when one day there’s nothing new,
Em* D/F#* G* A7*
Oh it won’t matter when one day there’s nothing new,
D Dsus2 D
If I got you.The End
That’s it! Feel free to comment here or message me on socials if you want some more help with it. Tag me when you post your covers!
Love,
Teaky