Goo Goo Dolls Style

Hi GMC!

Welcome to my new acoustic lesson! In this one I decided to cover the acoustic side of the popular American rock band called Goo Goo Dolls. They were formed in 1985 in Buffalo, New York, and had many radio hits during the 90’s, being “Iris” their biggest hit ever. They are not just an acoustic band but most of their hits include acoustic guitars instead of electric.

Music Style:
We can say that Goo Goo Dolls is a band that combines rock, alternative and pop. In their latest recordings (2013), I can also hear folk rock tendencies. In this lesson I recreate their ballad style which took them to the top of charts. I will help you to understand how guitars were arranged in those songs and the essence behind these hits.

Tonality, Chord Progression & Scales:
This tune is in B minor tonality and the chord progression is related with their song “Iris”. Their ballads have usually a melancholic feeling and that’s why they prefer using minor tonalities to compose them. As it usually happens with radio hits, there are not too many chords and progressions involved so you will notice that I’m most of the time around Im, VII, VI and III chords.

Techniques:
This is mostly a rhythm lesson that can be seen as a full song reduction. I composed an intro, verse, chorus and a musical bridge. In this lesson we have mostly strumming and some melodic lines built in the chords. It’s not a difficult lesson but it’s interesting for beginners that want to work 6/8 rhythms.

Sound:
I used my Yamaha acoustic guitar, a condenser mic connected to M-audio Fast Track. I recorded everything in Cubase 5, and used Trillian for bass and SSD 3.5 for drums.

Tuning: Standard

Tempo: 80 BPM