Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash, Gimme Shelter & the Open E tuning | Guitar lesson

Ever tried to play these two classic songs but something just didn't sound quite right? Try the open E tuning, and you'll find it sounding WAY more like the record. Want to really wow your audience with these? Tune to open E and let 'em rip. You'll thank me!
Anything you'd like to request me to do a video on? Drop me a note at [e-mail]
Shout out to Tommy's Guitar Shop, Everett WA. / tommysguitarshop
00:00​ Intro
01:21​ Open E Tuning
02:01​ Jumpin' Jack Flash
06:26​ Gimme Shelter
14:47​ Parting words - You have a tone knob on your guitar - use it!
Also...
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[@daluidi5923]

This is the most enigmatic song ever. I saw it in open D, open G, open E, with clamp, 5 strings, 6 strings….dozen times live performance and x times in studio…all are different versions that somehow sounds always with something missing. Long live for Keith that make the world sounds better. 🇧🇷

[@freeelectron8261]

Gimme shelter is a masterpiece! And that quiet dark opening riff is like the tense calm before the wild storm hits, like dark clouds gathering.

[@georgewidmer7818]

Your advice on the tone knobs hit me today... I've always had everything at 10 and today it finally clicked... Thanks

[@czopko1]

"It's not right ,something not right" happened so often over the years for those with a good ear....until wonderful guitar compatriots like yourself bring us the REAL DEAL .With appreciation from your fellow Guitar Players....THANK YOU

[@thetoolmat8632]

Gimme Shelter...just hearing that riff makes my blood chill! this is great stuff!

[@12footchain]

thanks - I also updated this a bit and made a dedicated vid on Gimme Shelter recently you may enjoy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH_Pp3hql5Jlf8k

[@paulkramer9666]

You're on it! 👍 Ron Wood used open E too. All the rockers from "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink". And whip out your Dan Armstrong Plexiglas!

[@dphipps3631]

Excellent lesson and tips. Thank you so much. Back in the seventees when I first started playing, computers and KZbin where pipe dreams away. It was a slow slog to get the tunings and cords ect. Unless someone explained in the flesh.Stamina and patients were a must. Love It...

[@Lamb3011]

Excellent

[@jbels41]

love the comment about "sloppin' in". always thought the worst thing a cover band could do was play "can't ya hear me knockin'" just like the record!

[@matttautz231]

Thank you for the most useful quarter of an hour I had all day. You nailed it for two of the best Stones songs in record time! Also a massive thanks for the volume and tone pot advice. Have a drink on me! Matt

[@12footchain]

Thank you very much

[@hansallgaier2519]

Great lesson! Thanks. Now Jumpin`Jack flash sounds like the record!

[@Osobearrr]

Definitely played it in that open E tuning , sounds good!

[@sweetpain67]

There it is. 💥

[@chilledmonkeebrains]

Jack Pearson said the same thing about the tone and volume knobs😎…u guys are right

[@thesibs2145]

I love the fact that most, if not all, Rolling Stones lessons say that you don't need to be too precise haha. Great lesson, thanks for sharing it!

[@james-gang]

Love that holy Cow! Epic Sounds!!! And the holy Truth about Tone Knobs.... Love it!

[@Scrabnor-Mudflap]

Hey Chain: Just stumbled across this. Whoa Sounds right! Had to run get out the Tele in E. Big Fun, HAH! You're the best, man...

[@eggman1732]

Greatness! Gimme Shelter has such a mood; never learned that tune...thanks for the hack!

[@philfrank9226]

3 chords!

[@MYSTEREFLYER]

You got the right sound; that Keith sound. Thanks.

[@davidlind3237]

Thank you ! Your awesome.

[@jengleexemailcomau]

great lesson 12 ft.

[@Gregorovitch144]

Both these tunes were absolutely in open E, as were Sympathy for the Devil, Street Fighting Man and YCAGWYW. Kieth didn't use Open G until Ry Cooder showed it to him during the Let It Bleed sessions. The secret source of JJF is that he used two accoustic guitars recorded through a Philips cassette deck (as he did with Street Fighting Man) one of which was in Nashville, i.e. the low E,A,D and G were replaced with octave 12Str strings which produces that crystalline menace to those big B chords. Secondly I believe he may have have tuned them to Eb and put a capo on 1 to make the E chord sound more like the B in tone, not ring so much. The secret source of the main rhythm part of Gimmie Shelter is a rare amp called a Triumph that had a unique in built vibrato which produced that particular sound which is virtually impossible to exactly emulate. Once Kieth switched to open G, Honky Tonk Women being his first recording with that tuning, he never used open E again. The reason I would guess, from my own experience, is that the shapes you use for both open G and E are mostly identical except the open E ones are all one string down so it really confuses your muscle memory if you try to switch between them, it's too easy to make a horrible mistake, especially live. As a result he has never played either JJF or Gimmie Shelter in open E live since the big switch to open G in 1969. Since then he has always played JJF transposed to open G, capo on 4. He never plays the original B-E-A intro since then either because of this change 'cos he has no access to the low E chord required for that, he goes straight in on the main verse riff, always. Again since the change to open G he has always played Gimmie Shelter in standard tuning live, again because would have no access to the bottom E in required for the chorus section in open G, not in his five string open G set up anyway. This is of course why live renditions of these tunes don't sound like the original recordings. It's also I believe why the Stones rarely play Street Fighting Man live. I haven't worked it out but I imagine it would be hard to transpose that satisfactorily to either open G or standard tuning, that's probably why.

[@12footchain]

Great information, thank you!

[@philfrank9226]

You know your Keith, but he said Open D not eb and in Sympathy there isn`t much guitar, except the solo, Gimme shelter has 6 guitar tracks in open and standard tuning.

[@Gregorovitch144]

@@philfrank9226 That would make sense as capo would go on two, less stress on the stings over the nut etc. There's a documentary film of them making Sympathy and Kieth was clearly playing an acoustic tuned open E - no idea if it ever made into the final mix, as you say it's not obvious. Gimmie Shelter may well have six guitar tracks but there's only one rhythm part that really matters, innit :)

[@philfrank9226]

@@Gregorovitch144 Yes 1&1 showed it. Do you know the book Rolling Stones gear. 4 me the best book about the Stones.Every song every instrument and amps. We all forget, that Brian Jones played in open G in 1962.

[@soulrebelno1]

@@philfrank9226 Keith Richards would've certainly known about open tunings before he met Ry Cooder, after listening to countless blues records and through musicians like Taj Mahal and Jesse Ed Davis. So, it begs the question, why wasn't he using it before he met Ry Cooder? Apparently, what Ry Cooder showed him was that open tunings weren't just useful for slide guitar, but you could use them for other things, like riffs and embellishments. And, after that lightbulb moment, the rest is history, as they say.

[@leewilson1368]

Super super lesson! Gimme shelter intro has been a mystery to me and you shed the light sir! Thanks

[@vanillacreem816]

Excellent lesson. I’ve tried every tuning with this song (JJJ) and I definitely agree open E comes closest to the original recording.

[@THillick]

Re; the knobs..first thing I tell budding electric guitarists of any age. Get an acoustic, learn to play that. Learn songs on your electric, unplugged first, get the notes and chords ringing or palm muting as called for, then worry about your amp, your effects, signal path etc. Biggest thing, unless you’re playing metal, no one is using as much distortion as you think you heard. Learn to listen Less is More! Thanks for another great video.

[@soulrebelno1]

Another great classic English rock song using the open-E tuning is 'Stay With Me' by the 'Faces', which is on their album, 'A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse'. Rod Stewart is on lead vocals; Ronnie Wood plays lead, rhythm, and slide guitar; Ian McLagan plays the Wurlitzer electronic piano; Ronnie Lane is on bass, and Kenney Jones on drums. A classic band if I ever heard one! Ronnie Wood uses a Zemaitis “disc-front” solid-body guitar that Tony Zemaitis custom-built for him in the early '70s. It's quipped with three Gibson PAF humbuckers, each with its own volume and tone controls and individual push switches that enabled any conceivable combination of the three pickups. The Zemaitis also features a distinctive circular aluminium “scratch plate” that enhances the guitar’s natural resonance. It also has a built-in battery-powered booster, which is engaged by pulling up the master volume control on the upper bout.

[@soulrebelno1]

A great song to cover, and you really have to get your timing right when the tempo changes!

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

It’s a great tune to play even on a 3string cigar box guitar as I do (tuned GDg) 💪

[@giovannifarinacci4533]

Holy cow! Love that saying. Just as I thought, another incredible eye-opening lesson. Thank you so much. Cheers from the great white north..

[@scottythetrex5197]

Great tutorial. Been playing JJF and GS in standard tuning for years. And they never sounded right. They are so much more powerful in open E! Thanks.

[@adamlangdon2245]

Everett in the house!🤘🤘🤘Cool shirt. RIP. Thanks for the lessons. 👏👏👏👏👏👌👌👌🔥🔥🔥🌋

[@dontbakdown6015]

Great lesson. Thank you. Another great Stones blues track in the open E tuning is Prodical Son off Beggars Banquet.🙂🎸

[@straycatflauter5377]

Great job on those high riffs in JJ flash. That's been during me crazy. Thanks

[@WScott-gd2mj]

I find it easier to tune to open D -- no "up" tunings required -- and capo 2, which gives you open E.

[@afxtwinreverb]

I do open d minor so easy to play for example major chords

[@jimwalshonline9346]

It's certainly easier on your instrument's neck...

[@cdskipper32]

I read an interview with Keef and he said he did open D with capo. Said it sounds “tighter.”

[@TheMonolake]

What is position of capo

[@WScott-gd2mj]

@@TheMonolake 2

[@listairgin]

Another brilliant lesson/demo from 12 foot chain ! Thanks so very much 🌠🌅👌

[@TheMrbeasely]

Really helpful. Thanks!

[@MrJasdog107]

Stones invented a sound all of their own and Gimmie Shelter is probably one deepest darkest sounds ever produced by any rock band. You are giving us a look at whats going on under the bonnet so to speak thank you.

[@tonymartin7849]

One key bit of magic? They somehow constructed the bereaved from one unchanging chord. And somehow it still builds and builds in tension, looking to resolve. And how is it resolved? By beginning the chorus with the exact same chord.

[@thomasmorano7779]

I was big into the stones as a kid at 54 never playing rolling stones on guitar these lessons really rekindled fire ..these open tunings I wish I learnt many years ago there so much fun.I also got a Nashville tuned guitar.thanks bro for the lesson,love to see you do she's so hot n little T n A

[@tintintin7000]

Great .. my man..love it

[@pauldbrown1010]

Another awesome lesson. Knew about open G, but not open E for Keith. Your rationale for the record sound makes absolute sense. But the best is your parting admonitions regarding tone settings. As an electronics engineer I'm appalled that everyone just uses 10 for volume and tone (and 11 if they could!!) negating all the effort to give aural range. As a guitarist? On 10 every time 🙄🤣 and get my tone via amp modelling and effects (I have a Spark, pls no hate). But you're right, the sweet spot on every electronics curve is at 70-80% not 100%. Great "homework" teach, and great channel 🙏👏🎸🙂.

[@jxbusic]

Thank you - that was very interesting. Appreciate the time you took to produce and post the video.

[@edwardhall8113]

Awesome !!

[@gillespieQMA]

Just got my first electric guitar and these lessons are a godsend. Sounds just like the original recordings. You the man!

[@12footchain]

Glad to hear it! Good luck in your new guitar adventure!

[@jean-marcpetiot3794]

excellentes vidéo thank you

[@RickyPisano]

One of the greatest ever bro. I have a blast with it!!

[@douglasleon7793]

You are an excellent teacher. I’m so glad I found this site. Figures I found it trying to find instruction on an open E tune. My friend James who I’ve been leaning on way heavy can get a breather now I have two excellent mentors. I may command my second song start to finish here

[@12footchain]

Glad it was helpful! Welcome!

[@SullenMorbius]

loving this channel, digging these lessons

[@jtbkilmartin9110]

Love this stuff. Keep going man

[@gergemall]

great stuff . Please keep em comin.

[@Troy1g]

what great content, thanks for sharing your hard work!

[@danmayes4657]

Smiling ear to ear. Thanks so much!

[@ericmarshall4085]

Excellent lesson. Thank you so much.

[@tedtownsend8933]

Keef's main riff was played on an acoustic. It's key to sounding like the song.

[@mikesweeney1435]

Love this video and thank you, Gimme is such a great, fun song to play!

[@frederictreussard4045]

Great video. It's been a while i was trying to play these songs right. And now it really sounds great. Nice to have such explanation !!

[@12footchain]

Thanks - great to hear it was helpful!

[@alexbowman7582]

I DL’d a well known Stones bootleg called Obsidian and there’s an early Jumping Jack Flash recording and it sounds like Mick Taylor is playing lead guitar. It’s presumably recorded in the spring of 68 probably at Olympic studio. I know Mick Taylor didn’t join till summer 69 but I heard once he had previously jammed with the Stones before he joined. The lead guitar might be Richards but it’s got that Mick Taylor sound.

[@southerncrossvids]

What a fantastic lesson! Excellent channel, just subbed! Cheers and thanks bud!

[@stingray4780]

Great Channel and advice on the Tone pots! I am guilty as charged by you! Fantastic video and instructions! I've subscribed and rang that bell! Thank you!

[@Capillus]

"You don't have to be precise about that" is my favourite sentence in a guitar tuition video.

[@markginimalanaphy8963]

Pretty cool.. thanks 😎👍 keep the classic rock n roll alive 🎶🎶

[@jimbrown3511]

Your a very good teacher. And guitar player. Thankyou

[@stonz82]

great lesson!

[@koll789]

Makes perfect sense. Great video.

[@PaulMcCartGuitarTracks]

Well done man, I am a fan and follower for life!

[@JustinSmithPYRO]

I would say, personally. Spot on 🤘🤘 jumpin Jack is one of my favorite song's of all time. Thank you for this. Gave me new insight. Guess I gotta tune one of my guitars to the, Stones. Just like I have one of mine tuned to bon scott acdc

[@tgdkls5891]

Fantastic lesson thanks, subscribed! Totally agree it sounds way more authentic played this way. Never feels right in standard.

[@savffle]

Perfect lesson man, sounds great on my SG!

[@steriffguitar3175]

Great tutorial really! What I find amazing is that both songs you can play open E, open G and standard (ok this one is probably the less “correct” but not impossible). I hardly find another band whose some songs can be played in such a variety. Well done indeed!

[@cgrovespsyd]

So glad I discovered your tutorials!

[@12footchain]

Welcome!

[@vallanvhaylock6118]

Awesome 👍🏿

[@JohnPMusic]

Great explanation. I’ve been working on this one and everyone is all over the place, lol. I agree, this sounds like the record. Thanks!

[@12footchain]

Thanks, much appreciated. glad it helped

[@Oniweeki]

So coooool!

[@brads4606]

Love your comments about the volume and tone knobs! I feel like the volume knob (which should be called a gain knob) is like another tone control. The difference between “volume” and “gain” is huge because gain actually changes your tone.

[@markusferguson2985]

I believe you. Thanks a million my man

[@georgeprice4212]

Remember, they did have two guitars on the majority of their songs. So all the second guitar parts you hear in JJF are possibly done in real time, no overdubs

[@booooo666]

Top tutorial.. Gr8 songs. 🎶🎶💯

[@stevesteve1198]

Sounds great to me. I grew up with the stones and the Beatles and that sounds spot on. I hope you're in a band if you're not you sure as heck should be LOL

[@ix-Xafra]

Well thanks for solving an issue I've had since '76. Some editing and post-production with close ups and such, your channel will do well. I liked your presentation style. I wouldn't believe anything most famous guitar players tell about how they get their sound - telling misleading porkers is part of the 'myth'.

[@12footchain]

Thanks Vinny, much appreciated

[@ix-Xafra]

@@12footchain you're welcome. Kudos from Brisbane, Horsetrailier...

[@paulbadoo9326]

That's it. Jumpin' Jack Flash as played on the record.

[@tdichow]

This video was/is so valuable to me, cause I'm doing a Gimme Shelter cover atm. which I think is gonna be good and damn it saved me a lot of time with that intro 👍 Thanks!

[@12footchain]

Awesome, great to hear!

[@michelefrogan7150]

Thanks a lot

[@jimparker7778]

Back in the early 1970s I had an original Les Paul custom with PAF pickups and a crunchy little Fender amp. I always used open E in those days only to learn later on that Keith also did a lot with D tunings and open G tuning. All of these were augmented by his use of capo.

[@Deliquescentinsight]

Nice work, I feel my life is enriched: I recall playing JJF wrong in many bands, ahh well

[@mikeoliver198]

Like Larry Bird, you talked confident at the beginning and then backed it up with ausome content.👍🙂

[@hubertdavis4284]

Love it! You sound closer to the studio recording than anyone else I’ve heard. Even The Stones(haha)! If you’ve heard them live you’ll probably notice they do not sound like their albums. What Keith Richards lacks in technic, he makes up in innovation. Very difficult to reproduce live!

[@daseguin]

What about the intro?! One of the best parts of the studio version !

[@Andre-si9lz]

Keith plays it live with the guitar tuned to Open G and a capo on the 4th fret nowadays

[@RickGuitarPRS]

Keith said he was tuned to E (or D, same difference) in an interview.

[@bartcrawford8462]

thanks

[@trevorsyversen9956]

Keith's Gimme Shelter intro one of his best. I think it was recorded in Open E but he plays live in Open G capo'ed at 4. Ronnie's Stay With Me [Faces] also has an awesome Open E tune intro.

[@philfrank9226]

GS is in c-sharp not B and live played always in standard tuning, as most on the album tune.

[@jonasisrael7158]

Merci....ça faitdu bien....(j'ai connu une époque où les guitaristes cachaient leur façon de jouer.)

[@tdichow]

Tak!

[@12footchain]

Thank you very much!

[@5150show]

Just subbed

[@koll789]

If you watch this video in full, by the end, you will understand the genius of Keith Richards.

[@bryanmbaka4938]

It would be really nice, if you do a video on Hotel California with the solos (preferably the live version, because it's very epic and interesting...) And I'm looking forward to a video Jumpin'Jack Flash

[@scatlizard]

If you didn't tell me to not play that note at 12:30 I would have played that note. Lol thanks!

[@dwombat2759]

Use open E quite often. Have recently done some open G also- definitely better for Honky-tonk Women. What about Street Fightin' Man? Would dig a vid on that tune. Great job with this one

[@12footchain]

Did one a while back, here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4bReX93j5mhrsU

[@michaelmisczuk1188]

Thanks. I've been practicing GS in std. tuning, but as much as I like it, it does not have that Stones sound. And you cannot replicate that chord sound that you demonstrated, which is essential to the song. Good job.

[@12footchain]

Thank you!

[@buckaroodeluxe]

I've noticed when attempting to play-along with the album version of Jumping Jack Flash, that the recording is somewhat between the cracks of Open E & E♭ ... I don't feel it's that The Stones tuned down, but instead slowed the tape down just a hair in the studio, which gives the song that murky, deep, dragging sound - which can be heard on Mick's vocals as well. I'm not 100% sure that's what they did, but seems like it IMHO. It would explain why the live versions sound slightly different from the original recording. 🤔 Cool lesson on the versatile tuning. I've always loved the Open E/D tuning. From The Stones to Replacements/Paul Westerberg to Dylan's Blood On The Tracks album. ✌

[@12footchain]

yeah - I know what you mean regarding being between the cracks. All analog tape, he recorded the backing track guitars on a portable tape player, played back into a microphone and recorded that to the main tape in the studio, who knows what speed it was playing at obviously off of A440 by a touch. Makes it that much cooler.

[@darylsavoie7472]

Honky Toink Women is a little off as well, open G doesn't quite mix with the original recording, i always thought they changed the tape speed.

[@SuperDouginator]

It’s actually true tuning. The E we call isn’t E it’s a few hz above. Hence why lots of old 60’s songs are between tones.

[@gusdupree2508]

Fun fact ,starting on the 69 tour up till recent Keith plays it in open g with a capo at the fourth fret

[@Melvorgazh]

On Live gigs Keith played it in Open-G most of the time I reckon

[@alexcorll90]

Yup, open G, capo 4th fret for a lot of songs.

[@westernrider100]

Nice video and great comments about the tone controls. Every once in awhile these questions comes up: Why do my knobs act weird with the toggle switch in the middle position? I never use the middle position. What good is it any way? Next up, how about digging for gold. There is sonic gold available when using the toggle switch in the middle position. Suggestion: How about doing a video showing what can be achieved with the volume and tone controls, and the toggle switch is in the middle position.

[@12footchain]

Middle position on any gibson/gretsch 2 pickup guitar (or tele) is my favorite tones by far. Good suggestion

[@ChrisJohnsonChannel]

Sounds excellent most garage bands might only have two or I guitar not like theeee lol