Shut Up and Dance | TAB
Walk The Moon’s smash hit Shut Up and Dance has a very intricate arrangement that must be played exactly as is, or it will be a car crash on the night, trust me!
When playing riffs and power chords like this, there really is nowhere to hide, you must have done your homework so the tune can be performed with absolute confidence. Let’s go over each section using TAB.
The intro, which becomes a chorus, and also later comes back, is based around chord I being suspended up and down, like this:
What is going on here rhythmically is called a 1 2 3 – 1 2 3 – 1 2. Count along and you’ll hear it.
Next, the verse uses a similar concept, now over 16th notes grouped in three, starting on the upbeat.
Even though the syncopated riff is static, the bass is moving around and I feel it’s important to know how, so this has been included, like this:
The bridge is where most bands clash, that initial Gb5/F chord is difficult to hear. Later, during bridge 3, we repeat the first two bars three times.
The chorus (not the first which has the same chords as the intro) is a common I – IV – VI – V progression played using power chords reminiscent of Green Day.
Finally, the solo. Here we’ve got the same chords as the chorus, we just switched the order around to VI – I, IV – V. Both these movements are triumphant. The reversed minor fall is uplifting, IV – V is uplifting.
The final stabs move the IV chord back. This is also the end of the tune.
Overall, Shut Up and Dance is a great lesson in how to arrange a hit. Perhaps the producer Tim Pagnotta (Weezer, Blink-182, The Strumbellas) had a thing or two to do with it!
Shut Up And Dance TAB | Related Pages
Shut Up And Dance | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn to play Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
||: Db Dbsus4 | Db Dbsus2 :||
Oh don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me…
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Walk The Moon tunes
After releasing their debut album independently, Walk The Moon soon gathered interest from major labels and signed to RCA in 2011.
Their best tunes include Anna Sun, One Foot, Shut Up and Dance, and a Talking Heads cover of Burning Down The House.
Walk The Moon on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This guitar lesson by Dan Lundholm features TAB and covers Shut Up and Dance. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.