New Frontier - Donald Fagen --------------------------- From the album "The Nightfly" Transcribed by Howard Wright [hakwright (at) gmail (dot) com] and Chris Davis [theaceofbass (at) hotmail (dot) com] Notes: ------- Many thanks to Chris Davis for sending me his transcription of this song and getting this started. I've made some changes here and there to chord voicings and names, but a lot of the chord shapes are as Chris sent them. Most of what I've done is to expand out what Chris sent to fit my usual format. I've also added some tablature for the superb solo by Larry Carlton (some of his finest guitar work is to be heard on this album). Nearly all of the chord sequences in the song translate comfortably over to the guitar. The main exception is with the first two chords at the start of the intro - the chord shapes themselves are easy enough but it's hard to change between them at the required speed. Pretty much all of the other chord changes work fine on the guitar. The chord names G#m/B, F#m/B, Bm/D, Am/D etc describe the required voicings nicely, but you'll probably hear these chords as 6 and 9 chords. For example G#m/B is a B6 chord (with no 5th) and F#m/B is a B9 chord (with no 3rd). So the opening sequence is essentially B6 B9 D6 D9. Using the "minor triad with bass note" name makes this sequence of 6 and 9 chords a bit less obvious, but it does give a fairly neat way to specify the correct chord voicings without having to write (no 5th), (no 3rd) etc.. In the intro and outro sequences there's an extra chord squeezed in between the F#6 and A/B. The chord is an E/F#, but the change from this to the A/B is too quick to be manageable on the guitar. I've just left this E/F# chord out, though you could try playing just the top G# note before the A/B to give a hint of the change. The usual tab symbols apply: b = bend up r = release bend p = pull-off h = hammer-on / = slide vib = vibrato Intro ------ G#m/B F#m/B Bm/D Am/D C#m7 F#6 A/B A/E E7(no 3rd) A/E E7(no 3rd) G#m/B F#m/B Bm/D Am/D C#m7 F#6 A/B Em7 E7 E7sus4 E7 This last sequence of Em7/E7/E7sus4 is played as: E------------------------------------------ B--------3-----3----------3-----3---------- G-----0-----1----1-----2-----1----1-------- D------------------------------------------ A------------------------------------------ E--0-----------------0--------------------- Verse ------ F#m/A Em/A Yes we're gonna have a wing-ding Em7 E7 E7sus4 E7 A summer smoker underground F#m/A Em/A It's just a dugout that my dad built Em7 E7 E7sus4 E7 In case the reds decide to push the button down Amaj7 D9b5 We've got provisions and lots of beer C13sus4 C7 C13sus4 A/E E7(no 3rd) The key word is survival on the new frontier A/E E7(no 3rd) Verse 2 -------- (chords as verse 1) Introduce me to that big blonde She's got a touch of Tuesday Weld She's wearing Ambush and a French twist She's got us wild and she can tell She loves to limbo, that much is clear She's got the right dynamic for the new frontier Bridge ------- Db/Eb D/E Dmaj7/E D/E Eadd9#5 Amaj7* Well I can't wait 'til I move to the city Amaj9/E Dmaj7 D#7b9 G#m7 'Til I finally make up my mind C#7#9#5 F#m7 C9b5(no 3rd) A6/B To learn design and study over - seas Bb9b5(no 3rd) Do you have a steady ... Verse 3 -------- (chords as verse 1) ... boyfriend Cause honey I've been watching you I hear you're mad about Brubeck I like your eyes, I like him too He's an artist, a pioneer We've got to have some music on the new frontier Solo ----- (chords same as verse except for Em7/E7 section) This is probably one of Larry Carlton's finest moments. A superb solo, built on simple blues phrases - but what phrases! The solo is also a great example of how to use dynamics. It's really worth listening to the solo a few times over while just focussing on the dynamics used. A lot of the solo is played at a soft dynamic, which makes the small number of strongly accented notes really have an impact. There are also quite a few places where a rapid slide up the fretboard is used to finish a note off. These are marked in the tablature as a slide up with no end fret noted (e.g. --14/--). Quite often the note is held for a short time before the finger is zipped up the neck. These aren't played very loudly, but they give a nice end to some of the notes. F#m/A Em/A hold bend.....| E--------------------------------------------------------------- B---------------------------------------------------10---------- G-12b14-14--14--14r12p9--------------------------------/14--14/- D------------------------12b13-12-10----9------9/11------------- A------------------------------------12---9-12------------------ E--------------------------------------------------------------- Em7 E7 vib..... E--14b15b16------12-12-12-12/------------- B-------------15-------------------------- G----------------------------------------- D----------------------------------------- A----------------------------------------- E----------------------------------------- ^^^^^^^^^ Bend this note up in two stages - the first semitone bend is fast, then you hold the bent note for a while, then bend up another semitone a little before the note finishes. F#m/A Em/A E-------------------------------------------- B-------12b13--10-------10-12b13b14--10------ G-----------------12b14---------------------- D-------------------------------------------- A-------------------------------------------- E-------------------------------------------- E7sus4 E7 E------------------------------------------ B------------------------------------------ G-12p9----9------------------11b13-11p9--9- D------12----10h11--12b14------------------ A------------------------------------------ E------------------------------------------ Amaj7 D9b5 E------------------------------------------- B--------------------10b12r10p9------------- G--11b13r11p9--11--9------------------------ D--------------------------------9b10r9----- A--------------------------------------(10)- E------------------------------------------- C13sus4 C7 C13sus4 A/E E7(no 3rd) vib... E---------------------------------------------- B-----------10----10--------------------------- G--------11----12----12-11b12--9--------------- D-----12-------------------------12b14-14/----- A-(12)----------------------------------------- E---------------------------------------------- A/E E7(no 3rd) E-------------------------------------12------------ B--------9-10-11-12--------------------------------- G--11b13------------9--11b13-11b13--9---9-9-----9-9- D--------------------------------------------12----- A--------------------------------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------- Bridge ------- (chords as before) Well I can't wait 'til I move to the city 'Til I finally make up my mind To learn design and study overseas Verse 4 -------- (chords as verse 1) Let's pretend that it's the real thing And stay together all night long And when I really get to know you We'll open up the doors and climb into the dawn Confess your passion your secret fear Prepare to meet the challenge of the new frontier Outro ------ G#m/B F#m/B Bm/D Am/D C#m7 F#6 A/B A/E E7(no 3rd) A/E E7(no 3rd) (play 4 times) Repeat 2 more times with extras: (the octave jumps aren't really designed for the guitar but I've written them in anyway). G#m/B F#m/B Bm/D Am/D C#m7 F#6 E---7---5--5------7---5--5----4---16--4--2---14------- B---9---7--7------7---5--5----5---17--5--4---16------- G---8---6--6------7---5--5----4---16--4--3---15------- D-----------------0------0---------------4------------ A-----------------------------4----------------------- E---7------7------------------------------------------ A/B A/E E7(no 3rd) A/E E7(no 3rd) E--2--0---0-0--------------10------------------------- B--4--2---2-2----2--3-3----8h9--3-----2--3-3---------- G--3--2---2-2----2--4-4---------0h1---2--4-4---------- D----------------------------------------------------- A-----2---2-2----------------------------------------- E----------------0--------------------0--0-0---------- G#m/B F#m/B Bm/D Am/D C#m7 E-------------7---5--5----7---5--5----4---5--4-------- B-------------9---7--7----7---5--5----5---5----5------ G-------------8---6--6----7---5--5----4---4------4---- D---6---7---8-------------0------0-------------------- A-------------------------------------4--------------- E-4---5---6---7------7-------------------------------- F#6 F#aug A/B E--2---2-----0----7------14--12----------------------- B--4---3-----2-----7---------------12--10----7--5----- G--3---3-----2------9----14--13----12--11------------- D--4---4-------------9-------------12--12----7--6----- A------------2---------------------------------------- E----------------------------------------------------- ^^^^^^ This bit should be played one octave higher, if you can manage it that high up the neck. Chord shapes ------------- G#m/B F#m/B Bm/D Am/D 7xx897 7xx675 xx0777 xx0555 C#m7 F#6 A/B x46454 2x4342 x2x220 ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ You could leave out the D-string note in the C#m7 chord and just play x4x454. Similarly, you can simplify the F#6 shape by leaving out the F# on the bottom string. A/E E7(no 3rd) F#m/A Em/A 0xx22x 0xx43x x0x675 x0x453 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Best to use thumb and two fingers to play these two chords. Em7 E7 E7sus4 Amaj7 0xx03x 0xx13x 0xx23x 5x77xx D9b5 C13sus4 C7 x54554 8 x 8 10 10 x 8x898x Db/Eb D/E Dmaj7/E Eadd9#5 x6666x x7777x x77779 x7657x Amaj7* Amaj9/E 5x665x x 7 11 9 9 7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^ This chord is a bit of a stretch, though it does give just the right sound. It's easier to use a slightly different voicing to make the chord change more manageable, so try x7x697 or x7x657 instead. Outside of the context of this song, these chord shapes would probably be called E6. But coming after the Amaj7, they function as a kind of extension and inversion of the Amaj7 sound, hence the name Amaj9/E. Dmaj7 D#7b9 G#m7 C#7#9#5 x5767x x6565x 4x444x x43455 F#m7 C9b5(no 3rd) A6/B Bb9b5(no 3rd) 2x222x x3x332 x2x222 x1x110 ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ You could add the third (2nd fret/open D string) to these 9b5 chords, but I prefer the slightly cleaner sound of the 4-note voicings.