How to Play My Last Name by Dierks Bentley
Alright, another Dierks Bentley lesson. The song is called “My Last Name” I think it’s probably one of Dierks’ most underrated songs. But it’s been one of my favorite songs for years since it came out. So it’s called “My Last Name” and the tab we have here for it a standard tuning. The chords that I am going to over real quick that you may not have heard of, obviously, we have a D. There's a D slash, F sharp if you see that. What I want you to do is play your D chord but add your thumb to the sixth string, your low E and hold down to second fret.
If your hands are not been us and you can't reach your thumb around there, don’t worry about it, just take your pointer finger and put it on the second fret up here. Move your middle finger from the high E string to where you pointer finger would be on a regular D. So your middle finger will be on the second fret of your G string which is three string and leave the high open, that’s okay.
It’s not a big deal but I recommend if you can play it like this, just regular D with this F sharp note on the second fret of your sixth string okay. Then you have your G chord of course and your A. There's a place here too where you’ll see on the tab, it says an A chord to a B augmented to a B sharp minor. The big thing that you’ll here in the song from that is kind of walking on the bass line up. So on the A, your bass line is open, this right here. So that’s your bass note, the B augmented is like this.
[Demonstration]
So when you play your A chord you're going to play more on five strings. Then you’re going to take your ring and pinky and stick them, put them down first and put them on third fret on your two and three strings. Then stretch your pointer finger, put it on the first fret, your A, strum the bottom five strings, take them back, then your next chord you’re going to play is a B minor. For that one you’re going to take this ring and pinky which is on the third fret on this two and three strings and just slide it up one fret and then up each of this up one string.
Once you’ve done that you’re going to put your middle finger down on your two string, third fret and your bar it will be minor. Now if you don’t want to play that augmented which I don’t like to play it, you can actually just do when you’re in the A, you can go straight to D minor and just leave this note out. Leave that augmented B all out. It’s not a big deal, that’s what I do when I play it.
So that’s what the A, B augmented and B minor means. The rest of the chords Em7 is just this. So an E minor with these two fingers added on the third fret of your one and two strings or you just can add this one finger. This one matter, you need have this covered or both, Asus is just an A with some on the third fret as B strings. So this is the regular A and then you move this finger up to here or if you’re putting this when this is up to here. That’s your Asus.
[Demonstration]
That’s just a difference in these two notes. That’s all there is to that. The D slash A don’t worry about it just play a D chord. It just means the A note fifth string is the bass note, just don’t worry about it, just play it regular D. That’s it as far we’re in the chords. So, I am going to play it for you right now and see if you guys can get a little basis of the strum pattern. So you can also hear if you want to pick it instead. It doesn’t matter what picking pattern, just make sure you’re on the B notes or the bass notes so D notes is this.
[Demonstration]
For G, for A, but I am going to strum it okay. Intro is D.
[Demonstration]
E sharp, G, okay.
[Demonstration]
That’s the strum pattern okay, so the D chord is—
[Demonstration]
I’m going to play a different one while I start singing it because when I start singing you just kind of go with the flow. So that’s what I will do if I you guys is not much for a practice and perfect strum pattern but if you want to sing it, just go with it alright and you will get use to it, strum pattern that you like the rhythm and then you just speak.
[Demonstration]
You see right there I was doing the A. I am skipping that the A to B augmented, just going straight to B minor.
[Demonstration]
And the chorus is just G to A to D first time through and it’s G to D slash, F sharp, E minor 7, to A second tab through. And then you guys can just see much as going to play.
[Demonstration]
And at last Asus to A so you can hear that, that’s what you want to hear then. Let’s see that is it. There's a chorus again after the “Daddy always told me” in third verse and then the fourth verse is my favorite. So that’s really what makes the song. So, good luck, guys and try this and show for everybody and check out freeandeasyguitar.com for hundreds of lessons. They’re all free so check them out.
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