Practice Log

Learning the opening chord to Neil Young's Old Man

Lesson #326

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Editor’s notes

Hey friends! In this video I’ll focus on “Old Man” by Neil Young – in particular, that opening chord (Dm9), and how to strum it and sound just like Neil. Even given an exact tab, this is by no means an easy feat. As such, I’ll share with you here the 5-6 exercises I created for myself when learning this opening chord – in the likely event they may be helpful to you. For context, this is an entry in my “practice log” series of videos, where I share with you tips & tidbits as I make my way through tougher sections of certain songs.

Timestamps for my video:

0:00 Lesson overview
1:45 1. Learning the two chord shapes
3:12 2. Understanding the basic timing
5:37 3. Fingerpicking & the role of dissonance
9:40 4. Learning the hammer-ons
11:26 5. The role the thinnest string plays
14:48 6. Putting it all together
19:00 Farewell & final advice

Video lesson for the full song

Coming soon – check back the weekend of September 12, 2020.

Watch Neil Young play it live

I have to recommend this video, where you can watch the Neil himself play this song live. Of course, he makes it look so effortless.

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