Tumbling Dice - Rolling Stones | Guitar Lesson

More ways to support the channel:
Super Thanks (see below the video screen)
Patreon: / 12footchain (tabs and chord charts on patreon)
Learn how to play Tumbling Dice, as performed by The Rolling Stones released on their Exile on Main Street album from 1972. What a great song and a joy to play. I had no idea there were as many layered guitar parts going on as there are. It all sounds like a bunch of guys jamming, staying super loose and having fun with a great melody.
The lesson covers the different layered rhythm guitars as well as the lead guitar section. Some Open G, some standard, some slide, it's all in there check it out.
00:00 Demo intro/solo
00:35 Introduction / What to expect
02:17 Open G Tuning
03:27 Lesson - Keith intro riff
04:23 Lesson - Verse chords
06:43 Lesson - Chorus riff
07:42 Lesson - Outro riff
08:40 Lesson - 2nd Rhythm guitar
11:40 Lesson - Mick Taylor slide parts
14:35 Guitar solo construction
15:59 Lesson - Guitar solo parts
19:44 Final thoughts
Gear used in this video (if you purchase via these links I will earn a small commission):
Boss EQ: imp.i114863.net/AoOO0o
Boss Blues Driver imp.i114863.net/rnPQLB
TC Elec. Hall of Fame Reverb: imp.i114863.net/5bdEX2
Gibson Les Paul Classic imp.i114863.net/Vy5mAk (mine is actually a 2011 R8)
Fender Telecaster sweetwater.sjv.io/q4DjRb
Fender Deluxe Reverb Tone Master: imp.i114863.net/XxaayX
Also...
WIN FREE GEAR:
imp.i114863.net/9WoMd3
DEALS ON MUSIC GEAR:
imp.i114863.net/a1dxGM
USED GEAR:
imp.i114863.net/3P19aB

[@HoneyTone-TheSearchContinues]

For folks that are pedantic about the 6th string in open G: just pull the string off the nut and place it along the neck. Then you can put it back and retune for the next song in your set list. Been doing this for 40 years.

[@soulrebelno1]

A pub full of drunk people aren't really gonna notice-but you never know-there's always one! 👍

[@HoneyTone-TheSearchContinues]

@@soulrebelno1 Well, it’s for me not them!

[@ewanchalmers9498]

Gonna try that!

[@MikeWh]

Or…. If the guitar will always be in open G, you have other guitars and it feels weird playing only five strings, get another string that you normally use for the 5th string and tune it to G. That way the two lowest strings are G unison, you can’t hear the difference from the 5 string setup and it retains the familiarity of playing 6 strings…. 🎉😊

[@WinstonOBoogie007]

Great tip! Never thought of that

[@Dreyno]

I can play this song for half an hour. One of the most satisfying and calming things to play.

[@GaryBook]

Exile on Main Street & Sticky Fingers are their masterpieces. Great choice, great video. LOVE IT!

[@richardlynch5632]

😎👍 Agreed. But Beggars Banquet is an acoustic feast that is right up there imo😉👍

[@slaterslater5944]

​@@richardlynch5632 Beggars to Sticky Fingers is an amazing string of records. Keith was so innovative, especially with the way he played around Nicky Hopkins. Shame they hit such a rut afterwards.

[@Dubravko_Sabolic]

Man, you're THE best KZbin guitar tutor. Period.

[@12footchain]

Wow, thank you for saying!

[@franklippincott8809]

You pick great songs that aren't covered much by other channels. Thank you

[@Foldisfitch]

That first 30 seconds is beautiful...seeing how the slide the rhythm and lead are played and seeing them all come together for that amazing sound...

[@shakeyblues5128]

Exile on Main Street. One of my Favorite Stones albums. Love the Mick Taylor Era. Great work 12Ft ♪♫♪♫♪

[@WScott-gd2mj]

Great lesson as usual...I really appreciate how you differentiate between the parts that need to be pretty prescriptive and those where you just need to find the groove and make it your own...certainly that applies to a lot of Stones stuff

[@ericmarshall4085]

Just to say a massive thank you for posting this lesson. Very much appreciated!

[@soulrebelno1]

Love this song, the opening is pure genius, and so laid back!

[@markdesod561]

It's really confusing trying to get these later Stones parts in songs, but as usual Doug does it!! Great Job and thank You!!!

[@r.llynch4124]

Great memories of this song when it first came out as a young kid. Also, all down the line. Exile on Main is by far my fav stones album. Accurate lesson. thanks

[@muggins57]

Another accurate and clearly explained lesson. Thnx!

[@laughlinerlaughliner]

I started late and always liked the Stones so once I found out about open G. I just started playing at it with no advice just playing different chords discovered certain chords that sounded good and now I see they were all the right chords that Keith used. Then after seeing your video's I said yea, I can do this I need to be serious about my playing it is doable !!

[@jimmyfrombrooklyn8550]

Dig the deep dive- thanks! Over the years I approximated all the parts in standard tuning, no capo, no slide and all strings left on! Keith always made me crazy with all his Keef-isms. Thanks for taking the time to put it all in context!

[@JohnJames-kw5de]

Keef isms! Exactly 😂

[@warwicksmiley]

Such a loose feel which makes this song so good.

[@markfahey3921]

Nice lesson, thankyou, and thankyou for just speaking at a calm level to us all!!

[@TeleCaster66]

Good real-world lesson. I knew most of this but picked up a few good parts, like the Jagger licks and the Mick Taylor parts, I always played the straight rhythm on this song. Well done.

[@basileus8038]

Another brilliant lesson! Thank you!

[@sterlingmcvay2469]

Wow!! Thanks, one of my Favs, I've wanted to Learn. I definitely Hear the Slide Parts. Love The Open Tuning aspects as well.

[@Kirk1914]

I love you cover ALL the guitar parts

[@ThomasNorthener]

Excellent! Man, you're an amazing guitarist. To make it sound just like the record. Well done indeed 🙂👍

[@12footchain]

Thank you!

[@HardToBeSomeone]

Thank you Doug - Righteous lesson 🤜🏻💥🤛🏻

[@johndodson4527]

Glad to see your channel growing .

[@Mineiro426]

Amazing lesson... a pleasure to watch.

[@12footchain]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@FranklinJenkins-gf9mb]

The beauty of spontaneous slop swing timing, with a touch of Oz, with never the same thing twice. As for MT, his talent for understatement, and knowing when not to play, is one of his greatest strengths.

[@ix-Xafra]

They really are england's greatest ever country and western band...

[@ragnarlothbrok3067]

Thanks! Always learn cool stuff from you.

[@listairgin]

Fantastic lesson and demo! 👌🏻🌌🌅🌠

[@micahmaresca9763]

Thank you again for all your time and teachings.

[@12footchain]

Thank you so much Micah!

[@jimmiphaze5785]

I'm subscribed I love all the lessons you provide they sound just like what they're supposed to sound like you do an extremely great job you can tell you love music by the good job that you do so I want to say thanks

[@12footchain]

Awesome, thank you!

[@peterolsson3662]

Concerning the 6th string. I tune it up to G so it doubles the 5th. Works fine for me. Great Video, thanks.

[@jamescraig5299]

You give great lessons I always learn a lot from them.

[@12footchain]

thank you, glad they help!

[@FMorgigno1]

Another brilliant lesson Doug. You are a master at teaching the absolute most rocking music. You ALWAYS teach classics and articulate them so well! Thank you and Happy New Year. Keep em coming.

[@12footchain]

Thank you, Happy New Year to you!

[@DaveG.-qv3iu]

Id like to sit down with you and just jam and learn, your the best. Better not get any hate mail!!

[@user-re9wd3re5o]

Great lesson!

[@jessethomas6694]

So great Thanks

[@marksherrod5624]

Great job man! Thanks!

[@jasonbrooks5828]

Who in the world has an issue with the low E string on? Sheesh, just play the tune. Great lesson, as always!

[@donaldshidal851]

"vaguely in the key of B" - great assessment👍

[@mairenared]

Great lesson. You get all the different parts perfectly. I used to play Keith's part in a band a few years ago but had forgotten It so this serves as a great refresher. Also just subscribed to the channel as I see you have many other songs I'd like to learn.

[@12footchain]

Welcome!

[@WinstonOBoogie007]

Excellent! Thanks very much

[@CAP21]

Not sure how I just barely found your channel but this is awesome!👍 Love the breakdown of the song. Now I need to go through all of the other songs you have😀🍺

[@12footchain]

Welcome!

[@monzajunior7337]

Your lessons are great, you have fun, we have fun and we learn things! You have haters?? Surely not?! What's not to like? Ignore them, please.

[@TheOlmecindian]

Thank you 🙏

[@jtbjr58]

Nice presentation, and thank you. I knew there were layers, but didn't get it all together until day. The sixth string thing is hilarious to me -- he discovered alternative tunings in the 60s and eventually went without E to make it that much more facile. It was part of his development, and that's all, not a holy relic. And I think you are right about Jagger on guitar -- the recording process with the mobile rig in France was chaotic and afterward he had to take all the pieces to London to mix. He could have introduced his own track since he was the last cook in the kitchen.

[@kevio6868]

pretty cool!

[@timsrecords7987]

PLEASE do more from Exile On Main St so much underrated playing on that record!

[@friedrich1957]

Thank you! Learned much. Love the blonde blackface bassman behind you. Wish I still had mine!

[@attiliosylvio2799]

Thanks!

[@12footchain]

Thank you!

[@richardlynch5632]

This tune makes you realize why Keef let his hands fly off the guitar and just let it ring...!😉👍 Great fun😎👍❤🖖

[@thomasrogers4534]

Brilliant breakdown of this classic Stones song. Subscribed instantly. I play fingers only and would love to play this in three piece scenario. Take some dining with all the layered guitars???

[@ziblot1235]

Hey 12 I like yer little show. ive been playing since I was 16 91965) I should be better. I played in garage band in 60s but then it got too xpessive, for the PA, etc. Ad I had to go in Navy. But Im never too old you kknoww. You tickle me how u switch guitars. Good stuff. man

[@ytwatcher8288]

haha "haters on the 6th string" Doug, love your style presenting these tunes and the break-downs. Thanks for doing the work and de-mystifying this stuff I've been listening to since it came out. Kind of thought open tunings were cheating, think the original blues guys worried about that? 🤣 My extra Tele lost the 6th string hardware and all Thanks again...liked, subscribed, notified and shared...commented 😎

[@12footchain]

Many thanks!!!

[@r.llynch4124]

I wanted to add that you can always keep the high E alone and that way you can cover the major parts of open G and do the standard solo stuff. That's what I do when using open G. I played in a Black Crowes tribute years ago. It worked great for me. Just some thoughts

[@alfatone2654]

Open G, unlock the groove

[@jimwalshonline9346]

Wow! A party indeed...

[@1rwjwith]

On the original recording MICK TAYLOR played Bass and it really sounds like a guitar player bass part with a pick. Of course he probably played some guitar but to me to tell you the truth all the other guitar parts sounds like KEITH, even the slide. So much layering is going on . Great job!

[@slaterslater5944]

Yeah, the slide definitely sounds like Keith too. Bit basic and sloppy for Mick (but Keith's basic and sloppy is the BEST basic and sloppy. Full of soooooooooul.)

[@mrnick5515]

I agree that’s Keith playing lead Taylor is just on Bass

[@user-bx5om1sk9k]

Standard tuning with capon at 2nd fret is a decent facsimile for the open g Keith part if you don't want to retune.

[@acousticshadow4032]

New Subscriber. Surprised I didn't find you sooner. Good job on "Dice", my fave R&R tune. The Hal Leonard book for "Exile" has four guitars on this number. If Jagger is in the mix (and I wish the heck he left the gits to the pros), I thought it might've been on an acoustic(?). Guess not.

[@studiobl]

Love this, and the channel! What is the fingering for the 2nd rhythm part @ 8:40?

[@ml503]

Great video, Thanks, ever thought about Daydream by Robin Trower?

[@kevio6868]

subbed

[@12footchain]

Welcome!

[@jonathangardner1005]

good stuff! If you could do some Kinks or maybe Neil Young

[@sage1682]

Love it, the outro part I was curious about is the little flick part when it's silent, he does the little slide and release but ends with a sassy flick twang. What is that part? If I type in Tumbling Dice it's the first clip on KZbin, the 80's tour with Mick wearing a Jersey

[@Reedc16]

I like your lessons and I got a song request can you do sultans of swing by dire straits

[@barrykeit9922]

What a cool fucking song

[@tone.1]

❤

[@henningbauer7617]

Another fantastic video... so fun to jam with this song! Btw, what capo are you using? I like the sleek look of it.

[@12footchain]

Think it's closest to this www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NSTriActionBLK--daddario-planet-waves-pw-cp-09-black-ns-tri-action-capo

[@henningbauer7617]

@@12footchain Thanks so much for the quick response!

[@TheAnarchitek]

Duane's dual-guitar riffs with Dicky Betts would find no better imitator than Keith Richards playing over Mick Taylor's tasty slide licks. Probably the best they did until Time Waits for No One. Then, Mick had the temerity to ask for songwriting credit. Gasp! On a Rolling Stones record? Nevah!

[@wooferdevlin3571]

I think MT also played bass. I saw you play that 6th string, and why not?! Taking the string off and putting it back on is a pain, and the string core can be damaged and it sounds dead. If you put a new string on, it sounds too bright with the older strings that have some grit on them. Good ear , great lesson, Keeep awn!! 🐘

[@kennethmccann630]

Hey, great job breaking that song down. It's not always easy with the Stones, especially in those drug fueled days of endless layers and out of the blue punch-ins, but that's part of the charm lol It is a party of a song, for sure. So much so, that I'm not entirely convinced that Mick Taylor played the slide guitar part. When the basic track was laid down, M.T. was playing bass. So, if he did do it, he would have had to overdub it later. It's not really his style.... (The slide part pretty much follows the figure of the non slide part....) and neither is his style, weaving with Keef. I've not been able to find any definitive evidence that it's M.T. So, if anyone has proof, I'd love to see it so I can finally put the question to rest. I'd really like to know. But enough about the slide part. How about we talk about Keefs penchant for strumming over the neck.... For the longest time it seemed like a gimmick to me -- something he did for show, live. I started to take it a bit more seriously when I was trying to play Beast of Burden. I had a usable groove, but it didn't sound right to me somehow. It was too.... in your face?? Too harsh, too direct, too immediate. Too stiff. In the studio version, Keef's sound has this.... flick, to it. Very slurred and laid back yet articulate all at the same time. At first I thought it was a really thin pick, bending and slapping back as he strummed, like a baseball card in bicycle spokes. I tried it -- that wasn't it lol I couldn't quite figure it out. Then one day I was practicing it standing up with the guitar strap over my shoulder and I was mimicking some Keef moves to get into the feel, and I strummed it over the neck -- bam! There it was.... the sound I had been looking for! It wasn't a showy gimmick after all but a very important piece to getting Keefs sound and feel. Anyway, thanks again for another great lesson!

[@johnmaritato3587]

If memory serves, Mick T. plays the bass as well.

[@iamharnam]

💚🔥💚

[@1rwjwith]

I never saw the point of removing the low E in open G. I never have and it does not “get in the way” , Keith did it but you surely don’t need to and it can be utilized for other songs not Stones or even Stones songs, that string can be useful!

[@Joe-ce3wh]

My first foray into slide-woof! Any slide pointers? As always, awesome lesson. “Yes, I'm stumbling, and I know I play a bad guitar…”

[@Joe-ce3wh]

Safe to say that I won’t be able to pass myself off as an Allman Brother

[@12footchain]

Takes lots of practice. Some tips, choose an open tuning to learn on, either open E or open G. Try different slide options, metal, ceramic, or glass. Experiment with what finger to use your slide with. Middle, ring, or pinky. Focus on laying the slide directly over the fret wire on the front end of the fret you are playing, and most importantly keep your slide perfectly parallel to the fret wire. There's more, but those are among the most important. Keep at it

[@Joe-ce3wh]

Thanks a bunch! I’m excited to be able to learn this song. Your lessons are outstanding. Thanks for all of your effort. Take care!

[@motioninmind6015]

Leave the capo there and you can quicky go to jumping jack flash and midnight rambler, and I'm looking for more songs to add to the list. Sympathy for the devil is also possible

[@gb-bp1me]

What telecaster are you playing?

[@12footchain]

Mine. Haha. It's a 2020 70th anniversary Broadcaster.

[@jfkesq]

lol, relax.....

[@michaelblair2536]

That's a thin capo

[@johnlarkin1752]

Thanks!

[@12footchain]

Thank you!

[@johnmaritato3587]

If memory serves, Mick T. plays the bass as well.