Steely Dan - Black Friday guitar tab
Black Friday - Steely Dan
---------------------------
From the album Katy Lied
Transcribed by Howard Wright
Howard@jmdl.com
This is another of the Steely Dan "blues with a twist" style of songs.
Apart from drums and bass, the rhythm section in this song is made
up of two keyboard parts and one guitar. During the verses, the two
keyboard parts play almost identical patterns, but are one bar out of
step with each other. The guitar plays something similar - a fairly
standard shuffle/blues idea in E, alternating with a trill on the
minor/major third (G/G#).
Although the two keyboards and guitar all play very similar patterns,
the combination of the three (along with the left/centre/right panning
in the stereo field) gives quite a powerful backing. To get the full
breadth and depth of the rhythm backing effect you really need to have
these three parts working together, but as always, it's possible to get
pretty close on just one guitar.
Below I've described the three individual parts, and then written out
a single-guitar arrangement that gives the right overall sound.
Intro:
-------
One keyboard fades in with a repeated, triplet note pattern on E,
alternating low and high notes an octave apart:
E----0---0---0---0---0---0---
B----------------------------
G----------------------------
D--2---2---2---2---2---2-----
A----------------------------
E----------------------------
The second keyboard starts with the same triplet-note idea using
just the lower E:
E-------------------------------
B-------------------------------
G-------------------------------
D--2-2-2--2-2-2--2-2-2--2-2-2---
A-------------------------------
E-------------------------------
As it fades in, the first keyboard starts to alternate its octave E
triplet pattern with two triads (F# and G):
E-----------------------------------
B-----------------------------------
G-------3---4--------------3---4----
D-------4---5--------------4---5----
A-------4---5--------------4---5----
E-----------------------------------
To get these ideas arranged into a single guitar part, it's easiest
to move the triplet E pattern down an octave so we can use the bottom
E string. The single-guitar version of the intro then becomes:
(...fade in)
E---------------------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------3---4--------------
D----2---2---2---2---2---2---2---4---5--------------
A--------------------------------4---5--------------
E--0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-0-0--0-0-0-
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-------3---4---------------------3---4---------------------3---4-------------
D-------4---5---------------------4---5---------------------4---5-------------
A-------4---5---------------------4---5---------------------4---5-------------
E-0-0-0---0---0-0-0--0-0-0--0-0-0---0---0-0-0--0-0-0--0-0-0---0---0-0-0--0-0-0
To allow the triads to sustain nicely, you have to switch to a single
E note for the triplet pattern, rather than the octave. If you prefer,
you can simplify the pattern on the bottom E string and miss out the the
2nd triplet note in each group of three. What matters is having a steady
triplet/shuffle feel played on the note E.
Main Riff:
-----------
After the drum fill, the main riff starts. The keyboard and guitar parts
that make up this riff are:
Left keyboard part:
E-------------------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------------
G------3--4------2--0h1p0h1-----------------------
D------4--5-----------------2-2-2-2--2-2-2--2-2-2-
A------4--5------4--2-----------------------------
E-0--0------0--0----------------------------------
Right keyboard part:
E----------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------3--4-----2--0h1p0h1---
D--2-2-2--2-2-2--2-2-2--2-2-2--------4--5---2--------------
A------------------------------------4--5------------------
E------------------------------0--0------------------------
Gtr:
E--------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------2--0h1p0h1--
D--------------------2-----------------------------
A-------4--5------4---------4--5-------------------
E--0--0------0--0------0--0------0--0--------------
(during the verse, the note on the 2nd fret D string is often
changed for a note on the 2nd note A string).
Putting the three parts together into a single guitar part gives
the following as a basic verse-riff for the guitar:
E-----------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------------
G-------3--4------2--0h1p0h1----3--4------2--0h1p0h1--
D-------4--5--------------------4--5------------------
A-------4--5------4--2----------4--5------------------
E--0--0------0--0----------0--0------0--0-------------
This riff just repeats throughout the whole verse. On the last repeat
before changing to the chorus, leave the two triads to sustain and
don't play the final trill (--0h1p0h1--) on the G string.
Playing the above part will work pretty well for the verse, giving the right
kind of sound. Note that the above part (and the 3 individual keyboard
and guitar parts) constantly alternate their use of G and G#. Since
this is a blues in E, this is a natural thing to do, but it means that
the "overall harmony" is neither E7 nor Em7. I have seen some songbooks
incorrectly write E7 for the entire verse, and others have it as Em7.
Neither will sound right! The best compromise, if you have to come up with
a single chord, is to play E7(no 3rd), but you really need the alternation
of the minor and major 3rd (G and G#) in the verse riff to give it the
right sound.
Chorus:
--------
For the first four chords, you can leave out the bass note on
the bottom E to make the chords a little easier, but I think the
notes on the bottom E give a more solid feel (use the thumb to
fret these notes).
A G6 F#7 G6 D#m7 A/D A/B
E-----0------0------0----------0------------6-----5-------
B-----5------3------2----------3------------7-----5----5--
G-----6------4------3----------4------------6-----6----6--
D-----7------5------4----------5------------8-----7----7--
A-------------------------------------------6-----5-------
E-----5------3------2----------3-----------------------7--
When Black Friday Falls you know its got to be
E---------------------------
B---------------------------
G---------------------------
D---------------2-----------
A---2-4h5p4--2--------------
E-------------------3p0--0--
don't let it fall on me
(you can also use slides to change between the 4th and 5th fret notes)
That's basically it for the whole song - just keep repeating the verse
and chorus sections (see below for one variation used in the 2nd verse).
The solos are played over the same verse/chorus changes.
2nd Verse variation:
---------------------
In the second half of the second verse (from the line "Gonna do just what
I please" onwards) the rhythm pattern changes. On top of the the triplet
E-note with F#/G triads:
E-------------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------
G-------3--4----------------3--4------------
D-------4--5----------------4--5------------
A-------4--5----------------4--5------------
E--0--0---------0-0--0-0--0---------0-0--0--
On top of each G triad a D major triad is added which, on top of the
E bass, gives an Em11 feel. This Em11 chord (E bass + G triad + D triad)
is accented strongly.
Playing this on one guitar, there is no easy way to switch smoothly from
the F# triad to the Em11 chord, so it's best to just miss out the F# triad.
(If you're playing with another guitar or keyboard, one person can play the
above part, with F# and G triads, and the second can add the D triad).
The single guitar part below works pretty well for this part:
E----------5-------------------5------------
B----------7-------------------7------------
G----------7-------------------7------------
D----------5-------------------5------------
A-------------------------------------------
E--0--0-0-------0-0--0-0--0-0-------0-0--0--
^^^ ^^^
accent these chords strongly
This same variation is used during the guitar solo, and during the 3rd verse
("I'm gonna let the world pass by me...").
