GUITAR DUET INTRO, "WOULDN'T IT BE NICE"

www.last.fm/music/The+Beach+Boys/_/Wouldn't+It+Be+Nice+(stereo+mix)

here's a transcription of the guitar duet intro to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys's classic "Wouldn't It Be Nice." aside from being a stellar piece of music, the high part (guitar 1 in the transcription) is a great picking exercise for both hands. sort of like my perpetual motion etudes, except of course much better. both guitar parts are way up above the 12th fret, but the top part is written an octave below where it should be, with the designation 8va up. this means play an octave higher, but it's written this way to make it easier to read. (it's always wise to avoid leger line "snow blindness" if you can.)

TIPS--
guitar one--
first bar is all in 14th position.
2nd bar, reach up with pinky for the high B note, ring for G 17, index, pinky, ring, index, pinky, then reach down with index to move back to old position on last note of the bar.
3rd bar, same as 1st.
4th, middle on G13, then index, pinky, index, middle, pinky, index, middle.

guitar two all in 12th position.

IMPORTANT-- the eighth notes here should be played in the manner of "swing eighths," which is the way jazz musicians generally interpret eighths. the feel here is not exactly swing, but it's sort of a stiffer kind of swing. the first of a pair of eighths should be interpreted as two eighth note triplets tied together, and the second of the pair is a single eighth note triplet. the attack should also be extremely clean, and I recommend alternate picking-- each pair of eighths is played with a downpick followed by an uppick. listening to the Beach Boys recording is essential here.

historical note-- the guitarists listed for the session, according to the notes in the Pet Sounds box, were Jerry Cole, Barney Kessel, Bill Pitman, and Ray Pohlman. if anyone out there knows which guy played which part, I'd love to hear about it. (if you're reading this, Pete Kennedy, get right on it!)

if you're looking for Pet Sounds info, check out this blog, which even includes podcasts about Pet Sounds.
http://petsounds40.blogspot.com/