Miss You Guitar Lesson (Rolling Stones)

Ever tried to explain a song real quick to some bandmates or fellow musicians for a jam?

Well, if you have, you’ll notice this cold truth I am about to tell you right now…

Songs with simple structures and not a lot of chords are best for this…

Think about it.

If your bandmates don’t know the song, is it easier to explain a complex tune with a bunch of twists & turns, and unexpected changes? 

Or is it easier to say, “Hey the chords are G, C, and D, and it repeats this same part over and over.”

The answer is the ladder.

Now today’s lesson is not quite as simple as that.  

But it’s pretty close… 

And that’s why this song is played at jam sessions and in cover bands all the time…

Because musicians can pick up the meat of the song pretty quickly.

And then just get to the PLAYING! 

So that’s what we are going to do today in the Miss You guitar lesson. 

Who Wrote Miss You?

"Miss You" is a classic rock song by the Rolling Stones, one of the most legendary rock bands in music history. The song was primarily written by Mick Jagger, the band's lead singer and frontman, and their guitarist Keith Richards. It was first released as a single in 1978 and then later appeared on their album Some Girls.

The song was recorded at EMI Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, France, and Electric Lady Studios in New York City, USA. 

This song marked a significant shift in the Rolling Stones' sound, embracing elements of disco and dance music, which was different from their typical rock and blues style.

"Miss You" was a hit. It got widespread acclaim at its release and was a commercial success. It topped the charts in various countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. The song's innovative blend of rock and disco elements, along with Jagger's distinctive falsetto vocals, contributed to its lasting popularity.

The main melody is based on a bluesy pentatonic riff, and then this is set over the funky groove.

"Miss You" has been covered by many artists, and is a jam band song for sure. Especially since the majority of the song is just two chords.

Miss You Guitar Lesson Chords 

The main progression to this song is based on just two chords Am7 and Dm7.

I play them as bar chords in the 5th position.

Am7 looks like a typical minor bar chord but I remove my pinkie finger. This creates the minor seventh. The root of the chord is on the 6th string. 

Bar chords, though tougher to play, give you more options as you can move them up and down the entire fretboard.

Plus when playing a funky groove like this song I prefer to use a closed-position chord. In general, I am trying to not play open-position chords because the strings are harder to mute. And a huge part of playing funky is the muting. 

For Dm7, I shift the root note down to the 5th string. But still remain in 5th position on the guitar. This again resembles another typical minor bar chord shape. But I have removed my pinky finger. This takes the chord from just a minor bar chord to a minor seven like this:

Minor seventh chords have a more sophisticated jazzier sound to them. Essentially they are jazz chords. But set with this groove and played on a telecaster is the essence of R&B.

Those two chords Am7, and Dm7 are played for 95% of the song. 

The only other chords you need to know come in later in the song during the Bridge. 

There are three more and they are F, Em7, and E7.

Again I’ll use all bar chord shapes. 

F is played with a root on the 5th string and up in the 8th position like this:

Em7 just takes the Dm7 chord from above and shifts it up 2 frets.

And finally, E7 is played in 5th position like this:

Miss You Main Progression

The main progression is just a 4 bar repeated phrase. It consists of 2 bars of Am7, and then 2 bars of Dm7.

Am7 (2 bars)

Dm7 (2 bars)

In music theory terms, the chords Am7 and Dm7 are both in the key of A minor. They are what we would call diatonic harmony. When you're working within a key, such as A minor, each chord is built using the notes of that key's scale.

In the key of A minor, the notes are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. 

Let's break down these two chords... 

Am7 (A minor 7):

• Root: A
• Minor third: C
• Perfect fifth: E
• Minor seventh: G

Dm7 (D minor 7):

• Root: D
• Minor third: F
• Perfect fifth: A
• Minor seventh: C

As you can see, the A minor 7 (Am7) chord contains the notes A, C, E, and G, while the D minor 7 (Dm7) chord contains the notes D, F, A, and C.

All of these notes are in the A natural minor scale. 

Both chords share common notes. In this case, the C and A notes are shared between the two chords, and this commonality creates a connection between Am7 and Dm7.

If we represented these two chords as Roman numerals in the key of Am we would get:

Am7 (A minor 7): This chord is built on the tonic or the 1st degree of the natural minor scale. In Roman numerals, it is represented as i7 (lowercase "i" for minor and "7" for the 7th chord).

Dm7 (D minor 7): This chord is built on the subdominant or the 4th degree of the natural minor scale. In Roman numerals, it is represented as iv7 (lowercase "iv" for minor and "7" for the 7th chord). 

The shared notes between these chords make for smooth voice leading when transitioning from Am7 to Dm7 and vice versa, which can be pleasing in chord progressions.

Miss You Strumming Pattern

The underlying rhythmic pulse for this groove is 16th notes. 

Sixteenth notes are a rhythm where you subdivide a beat into four parts. Four sixteenth notes in each beat.  

This can be counted as 

"1 e & a, 2 e & a, 3 e & a, 4 e & a" in a 4/4 time signature.  

The numbers represent the quarter notes. The "&" represents the eighth note subdivisions, and the “e” and the "a" represent the sixteenth notes.

For an example strumming pattern, I would recommend playing on the 1, and “a” of beat 1. And then the “&” of beat 2 like this:

1 e & a, 2 e & a, 3 e & a, 4 e & a

D      u         d

Down, up, down would be the strumming directions.

Also, I’ll add a short rest on beat two. If I put this altogether (on Am7) it would go like this:

(See the video above for a demonstration)

Miss You Bridge

The last part of the song comes in around 1:45 seconds, this is the Bridge. The Bridge section is 8 bars long and goes like this:

F (1 bar)

Em7 (1 bar)

Dm7 (2 bars)

Then it repeats again but the second time uses an E7 in the last bar instead of a Dm7 like this:

F (1 bar)

Em7 (1 bar)

Dm7 (1 bar)

E7 (1 bar)

Conclusion

There you have it! Remember, in the world of music, simplicity often takes center stage when it comes to quick jams or band sessions. 

While intricate, complex tunes have their place, there's something truly magical about songs with straightforward structures and just a handful of chords. 

The Rolling Stones' "Miss You" is a song that perfectly fits the bill for those impromptu musical moments.

So keep practicing and for more fun Rolling Stones guitar lessons. Check out this Beast of Burden guitar lesson or this Satisfaction guitar lesson next!