Day 15 - Major Key Weaving
In this video
The perfect finale to your Rolling Stones guitar journey. 'Beast of Burden' brings together everything you've learned – but in a chilled, major key context that showcases the more refined side of Keith and Ronnie's weaving style.
What You Will Learn:
The 4 chords: E, B, C♯m, and A played in a shared fretboard position
CAGED system chord voicings for efficient movement
The signature riff using partial chord shapes
E major pentatonic embellishments in the "G shape" position
How to weave tastefully without playing a full solo
Hendrix-influenced chord techniques the Stones adopted
How to apply everything from this course to any song!
The Chord Voicings
Rather than jumping between full barre chords across the neck, the Stones play Beast of Burden in one compact position - pretty high level stuff for sure! These shapes are partial chords or borrowed from the CAGED system and this economy of movement is what makes the riff flow so smoothly.
The Signature Sound
The riff gets its character from one small addition – when strumming the B chord, flatten off your third finger to create that distinctive melodic movement. This technique of implying chords with minimal fingers rather than strumming full shapes is central to the Stones' sound on this track.
The Hendrix Connection
This chord-melody approach likely came from Hendrix's influence – think Little Wing. Before Hendrix, the Stones were far more blues-based. This style of stepping through partial chord shapes while weaving in melodic ideas became part of their vocabulary from the late '60s onwards.
E Major Pentatonic Embellishments
For lead ideas, use E major pentatonic in the "G shape" position and in some ways it resembles 'Minor Pentatonic Shape 1' here, frets 9-12/10-12 area. BUT! The goal isn't to play a solo – it's to embellish. You're adding colour between chord shapes, borrowing ideas from all the Stones knowledge we've gained so far and anything outside of that that gets you ear going!
Course Conclusion: Your Weaving Toolkit
You now have everything you need: open G weaving, open E weaving, rock 'n' roll standard tuning, and this Hendrix-influenced major key approach. Whether you're playing over Stones classics or applying this vibe to any song, you've built a complete toolkit. Remember – most songs in this course used simple chord progressions, but we never played them as basic cowboy chords. That's the Rolling Stones difference: familiar chords, transformed through position, feel, and that 'ancient art of weaving'.