Play acoustic like Jeff Buckley

California-born singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley was one of the most exciting talents to emerge in the nineties, with his plaintive vocals and bold but beautiful guitar playing. However, his life was tragically cut short, when he drowned, mysteriously in 1997.

From the angst-ridden strumming on the anthemic Grace, to the intricate fretwork on tender numbers, he was a deeply charismatic guitarist.

Although most commonly pictured with a blonde Telecaster, he also played a Yamaha FG-470S for the acoustic moments, which we have tried to capture in this dropped-D tuned example. Notice the block chord shapes moving up and down the neck, and ringing open strings to add weight.

Gear

Jeff's main acoustic was a Yamaha FG-470S. We used a Welker 000 on the recording.

Click 'see all pictures' in the picture box for full-sized tab.

Audio - Tutorial track