Dave Matthews Band - What Would You Say - Guitar Lesson

Under the Table and Dreaming (Expanded Edition)

1994 3:42

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About What Would You Say

From the 1994 debut album that put Dave Matthews Band on the map, "What Would You Say" is one of the more guitar-friendly tracks in their catalog, sitting in E major at a steady 120 BPM in standard tuning. The rhythm part is where the real work lives: Matthews plays a syncopated, percussive style that blends open chords with muted strumming, and locking that groove in cleanly takes more patience than the tab alone suggests. The challenge is not the chord shapes themselves but the right-hand feel, keeping the strum loose enough to breathe while staying tight to the pocket. Getting that balance means slowing the rhythm pattern way down at first, and the Practice Toolbar is ideal for looping the verse figure at a reduced speed until the syncopation sits naturally in your hand. Once the strumming feel clicks, focus on how the chord changes land slightly behind the beat, which gives the song its relaxed but rhythmically alive character. This sits comfortably within the Alternative Rock world while leaning heavily on acoustic feel and rhythmic nuance.

• The song is played in E Standard tuning in the key of E major, so no retuning is needed before you start.
• The main challenge is Matthews's syncopated, percussive strumming pattern rather than any complex chord voicings or lead work.
• Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the verse rhythm slowed down until the off-beat strum accents feel natural in your picking hand.