Bryan Adams - Run To You

Music Lesson: Riff from "Run to You" by Bryan Adams

Overview

Today, we're going to look at an excerpt from another song, really briefly. You may know this one, this is the riff from Run to You by Bryan Adams. It's another excellent exercise for your right hand, and we will also ask a little more of our left hand with some position shifts. We'll be slowly advancing what we're doing with our hands and what we're asking of them.

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Introduction to the Riff

I'm going to briefly play you the riff. The original key for that is actually slightly higher. If you want to play along with the song, all you need to do is grab a capo, strap it across the second fret, and play exactly what I just played. For now, we don't need to have a capo; we can just practice it.

Left Hand Positioning

1. First Finger Placement
   Take your first finger and place it on the second fret of the A string.

2. Riff Strings
   This entire riff is based on the E, A, and D strings with our right hand, so we can kind of forget about the top three strings, we're not dealing with them at all.

Bar One

• Count in 4/4
  That's bar number one. We're back in 4/4 here:

  • 1 and 2 and 3 and 4.

• Adding the Second Finger
  For the start of the next bar, we're going to add our second finger. We kind of build the top half of a G chord there. We'll pick straight down the E, A, and D strings.

1. Moving Up the Fretboard
   Next, we will take that shape and move it up two frets, so we are on five and four on the E and A strings now. We'll pick that pattern:

   • E, A, D, A, D.

2. Repeating the Pattern
   Then we'll repeat it down. Use this string as a rail for your first finger, it never needs to leave the string. You can release the pressure off the fretboard for the position shifts, but it shouldn't actually come off the string. This is more efficient movement for your hands.

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Picking Pattern

Let's take a closer look at the picking pattern. We have this:

• Pattern Sequence
  • Down, down, up, down, down, up, up, down.

This pattern is mostly dictated by the direction of the next string that we're coming to. That's why we've chosen this picking pattern for that section.

Consistency

• Same Picking Pattern
  Even though we're moving chords, the direction of the string stays the same.

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Practice Tips

Good luck practicing that! Remember all the things we've talked about:

• Try not to push down too hard with the left hand; keep it nice and relaxed.
• Think about the minimal amount of pressure you can apply with your left hand fingertips.
• Overall, keep the right hand on the bridge for accuracy, and make sure not too much pick is showing.

Good luck with those, and I'll see you in the next lesson!