~ Musical Number - “Riptide” by Vance Joy ~

This issue we feature a very popular Indie-Pop song from a few years ago; “Riptide” by muggle singer and guitarist Vance Joy. It’s one of those great songs that never gets old, and it is guaranteed to get everyone singing along! With its catchy rhythm and lyrics, it’s very easy to learn and the guitar/ukulele backing is great for beginners looking to practice their quick chord changes (scroll down to see the guitar tutorial).

Music Video: 

Karaoke Video: 

Lyrics:

I was scared of dentists and the dark

I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations

Oh, all my friends are turning green

You're the magician's assistant in their dream

Oh, oh, and they come unstuck

Lady, running down to the riptide

Taken away to the dark side

I wanna be your left hand man

I love you when you're singing that song and

I got a lump in my throat 'cause

You're gonna sing the words wrong

There's this movie that I think you'll like

This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City

This cowboy's running from himself

And she's been living on the highest shelf

Oh, oh, and they come unstuck

Lady, running down to the riptide

Taken away to the dark side

I wanna be your left hand man

I love you when you're singing that song and

I got a lump in my throat 'cause

You're gonna sing the words wrong

I just wanna, I just wanna know

If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay

I just gotta, I just gotta know

I can't have it, I can't have it any other way

I swear she's destined for the screen

Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh

Lady, running down to the riptide

Taken away to the dark side

I wanna be your left hand man

I love you when you're singing that song and

I got a lump in my throat 'cause

You're gonna sing the words wrong

Oh Lady, running down to the riptide

Taken away to the dark side

I wanna be your left hand man

I love you when you're singing that song and

I got a lump in my throat 'cause

You're gonna sing the words wrong

Oh lady, running down to the riptide

Taken away to the dark side

I wanna be your left hand man

I love you when you're singing that song and

I got a lump in my throat 'cause

You're gonna sing the words wrong

And I got a lump in my throat 'cause

You're gonna sing the words wrong

Guitar Tutorial

“Riptide” was the first proper song that I learnt to play on my guitar, and it doesn’t take a lot at all to make it sound pretty much exactly like the original version.

If you have a capo, then you can put it on the first fret to make it sound exactly like the original version, though it sounds just as great without one. You can also fiddle around with the capo if you find the key hard to sing in; it sounds fine with the capo on pretty much any fret, as long as you sing in key!

The entire song onlys uses three basic chords; Am, G and C. You can see the fingerings below:

The chord pattern throughout the whole song is is one bar of Am, then one bar of G, then two bars of C, and this stays the same all the way through.

The strumming pattern is relatively simple: DDudu or “down, down,(pause), up, down, up”. If you struggle with up strokes, then you can leave those out and just play “down, down, rest, down, rest”, and it sounds fine. One round of this equates to one bar of chords; so you play one lot of DDudu in Am, followed by one lot in G, then two lots in C, and so on.

You can use the same strumming pattern throughout the whole song if you wish, but I like to change it up a bit in the chorus by adding an extra up stroke, and so changing the strumming pattern slightly to DduUudu. If you’re a beginner, I’d recommend starting off with the same strumming pattern the whole way through, and then you can add the little change in the chorus in as you get more comfortable with the song.

I’d say that the trickiest part of learning to play this song on the guitar is the chord changes. If you’re attempting to play at the speed of the original version, then the chords are pretty quick, and the changes between them can be difficult to master, especially if you’re just starting out on the guitar. My advice would just be to play it very slowly at first, and gradually speed it up as your fingers become used to the change. After a while, muscle memory will mean that your fingers will know where to move to without you having to work it out, which will mean that you’ll be able to make the chord changes a lot quicker. Don’t worry if you struggle at first - practice makes perfect!

- Grace Waterson