When I look out my window Many sights to see
And when I look out my window So many different people to be
That it's strange, so strange
You've got to pick up every stitch You've got to pick up every stitch
You've got to pick up every stitch Mmm, must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch, yeah Must be the season of the witch
Season Of The Witch by Donovan Of course a whole slew of people have done it since then.
This isn't standard tuning and it's really a pretty easy song.
The strumming might be a little tricky but I'll show you a few versions.
We're going to use just three chords and maybe a fourth optional, completely optional.
We're going to use the A7 chord, a D7 chord and then the chorus part, an E7 chord.
Now in that same chorus section, we could use an A instead of an A7 A major just to
sound more like the recording but really the sound is so different it's completely optional.
I'm going to show you in more detail the fingering for these chords but if you already know them
you can go ahead and skip to the practice walkthrough section.
First we have the A7 chord.
I'm using a two finger version.
I'm using the second finger and my third finger that's on the second fret of the fourth string
and the second string.
I'm leaving the third string and the first string open.
Now it's common to use the first and second fingers just as well but you see I'm going
to D7 so it's kind of a nice change.
I like the finger chords in a way that makes the changing easy but if you're used to a
certain way sometimes that kind of trump's worrying about the change.
So here's what the A7 sounds like and the A is the bass note, the low E could be a part
of the chord so don't worry if you hit that.
Next comes the D7 chord and you see I'm taking my two fingers and just moving them over to
the third string and first string second fret and putting the first finger down in between
on the first fret second string.
Sounds like this...
Now the bass note for this is on the fourth string not much of a bass note just as a point
of interest on the recording.
It sounds like they're using the F sharp in the bass so that would be fingered like this.
If I were playing this song I just wouldn't worry about that.
I just play a regular G7.
By the way if you happen to hit a low A string in this chord by accident don't worry it's
part of the chord but you want to avoid that sixth string if you can.
Again, don't stress over it but it's not really part of the chord.
Then we have the E7 in the chorus.
The E7 uses the second finger on the fifth string and the first finger on the third string
first fret.
The bass note is this low E so you can strum all the notes.
Now in case you want to play an A major in the chorus I play it like this - my two finger
version.
You can tell if I play A7, it's not that much different and by the way a common way to play
A is also like this with one, two and three all together on the second frets that's the
fourth third and second strings.
Okay I'm going to show you basically where the chords fit with the words.
Now we're going to leave out the strum and I'm just going to go along and show you how
the words and the chords line up.
We'll do a play-along a little bit later.
So to start out, you're going to start with A7.
Usually when you start the song, you'll start out with a little groove and you know play
the chords a few times - - like that.
Do that a few times and then come up with the words.
For the first words you'll be on A7 so it'll be when I look out my - he uses his low voice
Donovan for this part window.
When you get the window it's D7.
A7 again huh, just back and forth.
Many sides too and back to D7 - In the back D7 and when I look in my window back D7 so
many different people D7 to C. A7.
His voice goes up here.
That's strange and then D7 and then back D7 so strange and then back to D7.
Now here comes that chorus part three times.
You got to pick up every and D7 on stitch.
Again.
You've got to pick up every D7, third time you got to pick up every stitch.
I have no idea what that means but I digress and then it's A7.
It just starts um something like that and then the rhythm changes here.
We're just going to do straight down starting on D7.
Must be the season E7 of the witch.
This is the optional A chord.
Feel free to use A7 just and again it's a small difference so I'll do that again.
Must be the E7 of the witch and again D7 must be the secret of the witch while repeating
huh and then one more time must be the season of the witch and you go back to A7 this last
time because you're gonna go back to that original groove that thing and that goes into
another verse.
There's you know a couple back and forth before the verse and then comes into verse number
two.
Now the structure of the song is pretty basic.
It's verse chorus verse chorus verse chorus.
So we're going to focus on that first verse and chorus because the rest of all the exact
same chords same rhythm everything you just swap out the words and if I were learning
this song... this is a recommendation.
I would just work on the first verse and chorus so you don't get too hung up in all the different
words and you actually get the groove right and the strumming and get the chords in the
right place then it's much easier to just add some new words later.
So with that said, we're going to go on to the strum.
Now I realize this strum might be a little tricky especially if you're early in your
guitar journey.
I'm going to show you a few different versions that all build up to the more complex version
so anyone you choose is really fine and I hope you can even just start from the beginning
one Even if you've been playing for a while and see how by learning a simplest from and
adding to it, it's much more efficient than trying to wait and get the strum and get the
words and get the chords in the right place.
Now I really recommend you start off just kind of mapping out the words and strumming
straight down just to get the chords in the right place.
This is usually what I do when I'm learning a new song and that's my recommendation.
So the next step would be a little more groove to it that sounds more like the song and here's
what I'm going to choose.
We're going to do three versions.
So the first version of the strum that I'm going to recommend sounds like this ...
So it's down down up down up down down down up down up down so the tricky part there is
on the up after the second down so it's down down up.
It's a fast up.
If you were to technically look at it would be on the very last quarter of the beat so
it's one three end of three and that's how we count.
Divide the beat into four one E and the two E and the one E and two E and the E and up
four and.
I'm gonna try that with me.
Come on, just quickly.
I'll even count just for fun but you don't have to count.
Like this.
Ready A7, go.
It's different than one and two and I'm dividing it equal.
It's sort of like three quarters on the first part and then the last quarter on the up part
and again together it sounds like this one two E and A three and four and the next big
one two E and A three and four and.
Getting that in the groove there even when you add a little to it that is actually one
of the harder parts so you'll have that under your belt and it sounds fine.
Let me show you.
You got to pick up every stitch.
You got to pick up every stitch and so on.
So try it with me.
We'll go nice and slow starting with A7 and I'll just do an A7 then we'll try switching
chords and again this is a good stepping stone even if you want to do the more complex strum.
So let's try it one, two times.
Hit it.
Down down up down up down.
Again.
Ready, go.
Down down up down up down.
Spend some time doing that just so you start getting the groove.
Let's do it on D7.
Ready, hit it.
Again.
Down down up down up down.
Again.
Down down up down up down.
One more.
Down down up down up down.
Let's go back and forth.
I'll go slow.
We're going to go A7 to D7 because that's like the main thing of the song.
The strumming and those two chords.
Start with A7.
Ready, go.
Down down up down up down.
Now go to D7 down down up down up.
Try it again A7 and again A7.
One more time and change.
You know if you get that much I think you're about 80% through the song.
Really with the words and that groove pattern.
You know the strumming on the chorus we're just going to go like this right.
No big thing.
So you don't have to practice that too much.
It's that groove.
I'm gonna take it up a notch.
Are you ready?
No.
Let's do it anyway.
So now I'm gonna add a mute to this.
It's gonna be down down up down up down and what I'm doing is palm muting.
I'm using the strings and hitting them at the same time so it's one two and a three
and four and yeah I'll show you add a little more at the end there but for now that's the
rhythm down down up down up down.
So try that mute with me right quick just mute like that.
Like that?
See how it sounds.
You might have to practice it.
It might be easy for you.
I'll try it with a strum now A7.
Ready, go.
Down down up mute up down.
You see I'm muting at the same time I come down.
Again down down.
So if I put it into the groove it sounds like this now.
Down down down to D7 and back, back and forth.
Okay we did that so I'm not gonna practice that right now but I am going to show you
version number three which is a little fancier just a little more movement.
Watch.
I'm just adding this at the end down up down up so it's down down up mute down up down.
Okay so there's not much to teach there.
It's just down up down up instead of down and I really would encourage you to practice
starting from the beginning of those.
Get comfortable and then add a little bit if you want.
This number three I would consider completely optional and I just would not stress over
it to keep you from playing this song.
When I look out my window so many different people to
be strange so strange You got to pick up every stitch.
You gotta pick up every stitch.
You got to pick up every stitch after which Must be the season of the witch, yeah
Must be the season of the witch
So that's it for this song.
If you found it made you smile even a little bit give me a thumbs up.
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I look forward to seeing you again.
Soon bye.