How to play I Got You by Split Enz
I Got You by Split Enz is the breakout hit from their 1980 album True Colours. Following a series of brilliantly quirky albums and singles this sharper power-pop style produced success for the band outside of New Zealand and Australia. The distinctive intro and contrasting rhythms of the verse and chorus make I Got You a great chart for electric players.
Chords: D5 D+ (D augmented) B♭ A5 G5 G A Em D E F
Do I have to play the B♭ the way it’s written? If you want to sound like the original, yes. All forms of B♭ are perennial problem chords for developing guitarists and there are no easy alternatives. Use your middle finger in the D5 then change to the B♭ with your little finger on the 3rd string and 1st finger on 5th string. This is the easiest way to play it.
Pick or Fingers? What you hear, clearly in the intro is the sound of plectrum downstrums, lightly palm-muted on an electric guitar. The strong rhythm work in the bridge sections are all produced by pick strumming.
Acoustic or Electric? Electric is best but I Got You can also work on steel-string acoustic. Nylon strings don’t have the tone to project the sharp attack of the New Wave / Power-pop style.
What’s going on with the rhythm? The first bar of each verse is in 2/4 ; it only has two beats. This also happens in the middle section with two beats on D leading to two bars 4/4 bars of E. Don’t forget to count!
Is there Lead guitar on I Got You? : the instrumental section features the keyboard work of Eddie Rayner but this can be partly emulated on electric guitar by playing the chords indicated and then adding some embellishments on the E.
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : to learn more about the chords and suggested rhythms in I Got You see pages 5, 8, 10, 14 - 15, 20 - 21, and 34. For an excellent introduction to Electric guitar playing, and to learn more about the TAB presentation used in our charts, check out the very helpful Electric Guitar Solo Style 1
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