Creep is an excellent tune to help beginners learn basic chords and rhythm. Additionally, this tune demonstrates how changing keys can dramatically alter the character of a song.
Your strumming technique of choice should be called pulsing; each down strum should aim for the root of a chord while each up strum targets three upper strings of your chosen chord.
1. G Major
Creep by Radiohead is one of their signature tracks and its simple four-chord progression is an ideal way to learn guitar. No matter your level, this song will elevate your abilities as an artist or musician and bring out their best!
This song’s chords are all major, making the key of G Major an easy one to learn and play. Additionally, its flattened seventh makes it a go-to chord choice in many rock songs.
The G-B-C-Cm chords in this song serve as a great example of how mode mixture can make even complex chord progressions seem easy. To break it down further, think of B as being similar to V of VI while C represents Phrygian half-cadence; this technique can be found in many popular songs, such as Sweet Home Alabama and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
2. B Major
Radiohead created their hit song Creep by simply looping four chords over and over, creating an incredible amount of musical variety despite simply repeating four chords over time – the intro, verse, chorus and bridge all contain this same chord progression: G maj – B maj – C min.
The opening two chords are in G major (Ionian mode). The third and fourth chords borrow from E harmonic minor as its relative minor of G major; this phenomenon is called chromatic relationship and gives this song its energetic feel.
Jazz musicians frequently utilize chromatic substitutions to give their songs a dramatic flair, typically by switching out vi chords for those of scale degree 4 (ii or iv chords) which share two notes with that triad – although Radiohead takes this technique one step further by borrowing an entire B major chord from another key; Bartok took this concept further by employing it extensively within his compositions as polymodal chromaticism.
3. C Major
Like any chord progression, Creep chords offer multiple ways of being played on guitar. Experimenting with different versions of each chord on the neck will open up different tonal options while simultaneously minimizing finger movement on the neck. For example, playing two open C chords back-to-back will have no finger movement whatsoever when swapped out for barred Cs on the 8th fret; or experiment with adding either a minor seventh (Cadd9) or major seventh (Cmaj7) to create jazzy sounding chords!
This C voicing can be slightly harder to play due to its half-barre shape (finger three on top of finger two). Still, learning it shouldn’t be too challenging and sounds amazing! Just beware when playing it live as its bass note may cause feedback issues on electric guitars.
4. C Minor
C minor is a complex chord with numerous possible voicing options, one being its popular barred version which requires three fingers to fretboard to play (an “X” above low E string indicates this should not be played).
One way of creating an interesting sound with open position Em chords is to add minor thirds by placing your index finger on the fifth fret of the 2nd string and middle fingers on 8th fret of 1st string respectively, adding minor 7ths with middle fingers placed at 8th fret of first string (both are optional). This creates a chord without barring all strings – an option suitable for players who find barred shapes difficult.
Creep by Radiohead features four chords that run throughout its opening acoustic guitar intro, so mastering them will prove beneficial for anyone interested in listening to or learning the song. Plus, practicing different fingering patterns and learning how to play octaves on guitar will only become easier!