The Pretender | TAB
There are a lot of sections in The Pretender, so plenty to memorise. What’s more, there are loads of overdubs, so the biggest challenge here is how to arrange all this into one guitar part that you can play in a band.
Intro + Verse 1 + Breakdown
Let’s start from the top. Below is the full part, exactly as on the record.
What Dave is doing here is playing an Am in a Cm shape, using the open A and E strings.
In bar 2, we manipulate the bass note in between an open top string (E). The final note is an F#, which, when combined with an Am, creates an F#m7b5 chord.
In bar three, we hold this new chord (F#m7b5) before more bass notes take us to an F, which, when combined with an Am chord, creates an Fmaj7—clever stuff.
Dave has admitted that the main idea for the chorus is a tweaked version of Sesame Street’s One of These Things Is Not Like the Others. I’d like to add that I feel this intro was inspired by Stairway to Heaven.
Instrumental 1 + Verse 2 (guitar 1)
Next up, the band kicks in without bass, and we play using a distorted sound. After listening and transcribing this for quite a while, I believe this is how Dave plays it:
I can hear open strings and pull-offs, but not all the time. To be sure, I also tried using only pull-offs when possible, like this:
As much as that was fun (and reminded me of Thunderstruck by AC/DC), it doesn’t sound quite right. Here’s what it looks like if you play without pull-offs:
This, again, doesn’t sound quite right and reassured me that my first example is the correct way he plays it. With all that said, you can design your own approach. To begin with, maybe slide into the first note.
Verse 2 (guitar 2)
Let’s be honest—you can’t just play that lick throughout verse 2. At some point, you have to switch to what the second guitar plays on the record. When you do this is up to you.
Perhaps the bass player can play the stabs at first, then when you start them, he moves on to pumping. Later, you can both join in with pumping eighth notes.
Here’s the full verse 2 guitar 2 part, custom-made by taking into consideration all the layers on the original recording. I’m especially impressed with the little variations before the repeat—again, well done, Dave!
Chorus
On the record, the chorus is a feast of layered guitars. Here’s what I came up with for a one-guitar-in-a-band situation (should you hit the third string, make sure you hold down fret 2 so it blends well):
Instrumental 2 + 3 + Bridge
Clearly a nod to Chuck Berry, Instrumental 2 will later be modified. Here’s the starting point:
The next instrumental develops that riff and then goes into a bridge which takes it even further. Allow the chord names to help you remember the intervals so you can later read this from a chart.
End
Lastly, the ending is a greatest-hits version of most of the parts we played.
When you think you’ve got all this TAB down, play along with the backing tracks and the chord chart to find out if you’re ready to play this modern classic with a band.
The Pretender Backing Tracks + TAB | Related Pages
The Pretender | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn how to play The Pretender by Foo Fighters using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Amadd9 | Am /B /C Am | F#m7b5 (/G) | Fmaj7 |
Keep you in the dark, you know they all, pretend…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
