That Don’t Impress Me Much (Shania Twain) Guitar Lesson with Backing Tracks + TAB

That Don't Impress Me Much Guitar Lesson + TAB

In this guitar lesson, we look at the intro melody using TAB, focusing on the intervals to better understand what makes great hit writing - Try it with the Backing Tracks!

That Don’t Impress Me Much | TAB

A serious lesson in modal interchange and hit songwriting, That Don’t Impress Me Much’s chord progression has so much to teach us. Let’s start with the intro melody.

The money notes in melody writing are the 3rd, and the two resting notes are the 5th and the root. So, as the chords move: Am (VI) – F (IV) – C (I) – G (V), the melody lands on those notes. Here they are in TAB:

Notice how the m3, R, 3, and R are the “money” or release notes, while 4, 2, and 6 are the tension notes. As we repeat, the only change is the final note: instead of being 2 (tension), it’s 5 (release). Genius, right?

Also, the placement of these notes is crucial:

Beat 1: Money
Beat 2: Tension
Beat 3: Release
Pure genius!

That intro and the following verse, which follows the same chord progression, are in the key of Am—A Aeolian. Compare this progression with Save Tonight‘s chords and the ones in Wake Me Up.

Now, as we move to the bridge, the chords shift to D (I) – A (V) – G (IV), signaling a key change to D major, or a modal interchange to A Mixolydian.

In the chorus, the chords are F (IV) – C (I) – G (V), with C major being the relative major of Am.

What Shania has done here (though I’m sure her husband and producer, Mutt Lange, had a hand in this) is move from Am to D to C, which feels incredibly uplifting!

The most powerful thing about these three classic progressions:

VI – IV – I – V in Am/C
I – V – IV in D
IV – I – V in C

The beauty lies in the fact that nothing else happens. This is the key to writing a hit: zero hesitation. If that doesn’t impress you much, I don’t know what will!

Try all this with the backing tracks above, I’ve made 4 of them with and without vocals and capo!