How to Play Zero Hour by Mark Lincoln (Guitar Lesson)

Chapter 1: (23:59) Zero Hour In this lesson I'm going to teach you how to play my song entitled "Zero Hour." This is a song that I wrote when I was around the age of twenty-three when I was inspired by the loss of my girlfriend, a girl who suffered from a severe eating disorder and whom I cared for deeply. The song took me about a month to write as I composed it in pieces, and then assembled and reassembled it over that period of time. We'll go over the song in that same fashion as well as there are three distinct parts to the song that flow fluidly into one another. But before we begin, there are a few topics that we should cover in order that the learning process will go as smoothly as possible (Zero Hour is also available for your listening enjoyment on my website which can be found at www.myspace.com/markslincoln).

Palm Muting
Palm muting is a very subjective term that can describe actions taking on a number of different forms. Some guitar players use the inside of their hands on the side of their pinky fingers in order to control or mute certain strings and produce the desired effect. Other players mute strings using their left hands (on a right handed guitar player) and may use the effect to mute strings within chords as they are playing. But to achieve the desired effect in Zero Hour, I would like you all to use your right hand (assuming you are a right-handed guitar player) or your strumming hand to mute the necessary strings. The way in which I palm mute is this: holding the pick between your first finger and thumb, use the meaty area beneath your thumb ( also known as the opponents pad) and/or the flats of your fingers to mute the strings as you strum. I'm using the expression "and/or" because depending upon the orientation of your hand to the strings, as well as the manner in which you have become accustomed to strumming you may or may not be in close proximity to the fret board as you strum. Subsequently, using both the opponents pad as well as the flats of your fingers may be more difficult for some than others. Regardless, try to use both as this gives you a broader area to use in which to mute the necessary strings. If you are finding that you are simply not making contact with the fret board with the flats of your fingers then simply use the opponents pad to mute.

Strike the strings in a percussive manner with the opponents pad after the strum and avoid quelling all of the sound coming out of the sound hole. This portion of palm muting is possibly the most difficult as it takes some time to learn how to control exactly how much you are muting the strings. Not enough muting and you are, well, not muting! Too much muting and you won't be allowing the guitar to produce sound. Watch me carefully in the video for much more detail on this phenomenon as I'll show you how to palm mute as well as how to control the volume of what you are muting. As I delve into Zero Hour, I'll show you how to apply palm muting to produce the sound that I am in the tune. The chords we'll be using for this song are as follows:

Em7
E_0_
B_3_
G_0_
D_2_
A_2_
E_0_

G6
E_0_
B_3_
G_0_
D_0_
A_2_
E_3_

G
E_3_
B_0_
G_0_
D_0_
A_2_
E_3_

D
E_2_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_X_
E_X_

C add9
E_0_
B_3_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_X_

C sus4 (with 3rd)
E_0_
B_1_
G_0_
D_3_
A_3_
E__X_

C
E_0_
B_1_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_X_

C (no 5th)
E_0_
B_1_
G_0_
D_0_
A_3_
E_X_

C/G
E_0_
B_1_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_3_

Fmaj7
E_0_
B_1_
G_2_
D_3_
A_X_
E_X_

Am
E_0_
B_1_
G_2_
D_2_
A_0_
E_X_

Please get a feel for all of the above chords and get comfortable with moving about freely between them. The change between the three C chords can be a little tricky and should be played as C sus4, C and C (no 5th), C in that order. Again, Watch me carefully in the video for exactly how to play this integral series of chords.

Slingshotting
This technique describes the necessary action to make the changes in the verse chords: Em7, G6, D, C add9. I call it "slingshotting" because I leave the pinky in place for all four chords and in essence, use the pinky to bounce around the chords. The pinky allows smoother changes as well as quicker transitions between the chords. Try this technique with the four chords listed above and get a feel for how the placement of the pinky facilitates quicker chord changes. This technique also gives way to my next topic.

Finger Placement
Because we are keeping the pinky in place to play the Em7, G6, D and Cadd 9 chords, you have probably noticed that your "normal" finger placement for some, if not all, of these chords is different from how you might traditionally play them. Although Em7 is usually played with the pinky (or ring finger if you desire), the absence of a finger on the high E-string makes the G chord into a 6th chord. Most people don't play G in that fashion but because of the pinky placement, the G chord changes forms. The D chord which is usually played with the first three fingers is now played with the first two fingers and the pinky on the B-string, do you see this? The use of the slingshot requires a certain degree of flexibility both mentally as well as physically and will require you to be accommodating of potentially "new" chord forms.

Dynamics
You will more than likely notice as I play this song that there is a marked change in the dynamics as I change from palm muting into full strum, from the verse chords (Em7, G6, D, Cadd9) into the pre-chorus chords (the three C chords) and this is no accident. You should release the muting and give the guitar full strums as you enter into the C sus4, C and C (no 5th) chords and allow the guitar to ring out as it was intended to. This change in strum contributes to the overall change in dynamics as well as facilitates the build up into the chorus. Watch me in the video for more on this as well.

Song Lyrics and Chords
Please view the lyric and chord chart in the supplemental content section.

Stream of Consciousness
The pre-chorus (our lives were torn apart...) in this song uses what might be called "stream of consciousness" lyrics in that it seems to express thoughts but not in a traditional manner or obeying so-called "correct" grammar. The sentences, if you can call them that, are fragmented and indeed run into each other. This was intentional on my part as I was trying to get across a sense of how my thoughts were functioning (or dis-functioning rather) at that time in my life. Everything that was happening to me became overwhelming for a time and these lyrics seemed to express it appropriately.

The transition of each verse into the pre-chorus is another example of using stream of consciousness as well, as you might have noticed in this transition: "The clock is ticking down to zero...our lives were torn apart etc." Of course this is where I derived the title of the song from but it also works well as a representation of thought expressed in lyric form. Rather than having a clearly delineated form to each line of the song the lines run into one another and in a sense add to the overall momentum and dynamics of the piece.

Accents
When you hear me play this song, do you notice anyplace in particular where I'm accenting one chord more than another? Well, the fact of the matter is...you should! I am without a doubt consciously building the song as I go and accenting certain chords. For example, during the chorus I am placing emphasis on the Am as well as the lyric that accompanies it. Let's take a look at the chorus: I looked in your eyes, she's NOTHING LIKE you, where the lyrics in bold type are the ones that are sung over the Am chord. Both the chord as well as the lyric are accented within the song giving that point more power, more prominence, more weight within the song. Accenting in this manner can help to give a song definition as well as foster dynamics, high highs and low lows.

Call and Response
This technique is often used in rounds (like Row Row Row etc etc etc) and simple songs like nursery rhymes. But it can also be a powerful form of lyric as well. The chorus in Zero Hour utilizes this form as well and perhaps can be seen as an inner monologue. The chorus was derived from my own inner tortuous thoughts that every woman I met could never live up to the one that I had lost hence : "I looked in her (the other's) eyes, she's nothing like you." In a sense, I am calling out to myself and then answering in the only way I knew how to.

Call and response is a great technique that can be used in a number of ways including using the initial statement or "the call" and overlapping into "the response," and the response itself overlapping onto the next line of the call. Subsequently, each line blends neatly into the next making a seamless sort of montage of lyric.

Layering
This is a technique that is either achieved live or in a recording studio and will inevitably involve either multiple parts in the studio or multiple musicians in a live setting. Zero Hour employs the use of two vocalists, one male (me) and the other female during the pre-chorus as well as the chorus. Between the two of us, we used call-and-response types of arrangements as well as harmonies to make the vocal parts come to life. This was all done in a studio setting which allowed us the freedom to practice our parts as we went and make any necessary corrections as we saw fit. The combination of male and female vocals can provide a very powerful punch as well, especially when the topic of the song involves unrequited love. Regardless of the topic though, sometimes certain male and female voices work very well together and help to create a more beautiful composition.

Synthesis
Between the use of the various techniques listed above including slingshotting, palm muting as well as the other lyrical arrangements, a snappy lead break can help to bring the whole song together. The song reaches a peak when the lead comes into play and in a sense, helps the song to reach its pinnacle.

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Video Subtitles / Captions

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