How to Play Here's To The Night by Eve 6 (Guitar Lesson)

"Here's To The Night" is an excellent song to practice if you wish to develop fundamental musicianship skills and your ability to play with other musicians. The song is quite effective as either an acoustic guitar duet or a solo guitar and vocal performance.

Most sections of the song feature basic guitar language, making it an ideal choice for beginners who want to try their skills at playing songs. It is in the key of G and uses basic, open position chords. The original version of the song includes an orchestra and does not have any acoustic guitars to speak of. So, I thought I would do my own rendition. Instead of arranging the song around an orchestra, I arranged the song with two acoustic guitar parts. One guitar plays in open position using standard, basic chords in the key of G. The second guitar is capo'd at the 5th fret and is played with chord forms native to the key of D major. During certain parts of the song, the two guitars harmonize with each other. At other moments, they play slightly different strum patterns so as to compliment each other rhythmically. Each part has been fully tabbed out in the supplemental content section. I recommend you learn both parts. Then, perform the song with a friend.

In terms of tone, I used a variety of different delay effects on the electric guitars. The song opens with a unique, pitch-altered reverse delay. The main lead guitars are played with a distinct dotted 8th note delay pattern. As you will see when you examine the tab, none of these lines are hard to play, but when combined with the other parts and played with the right emotion, they add a great deal to the song. Really, any old delay pedal will work, but it is handy if you have one that you can set note divisions and at least a tap tempo. A volume pedal added before your amp will help with some of the delay swells, but the volume knob on your guitar will work fine as well.

As usual, I have included a full backing track with tons of variations for your practicing and listening pleasure. With this package of tracks, you'll be able to practice with just the bass and drums, no electrics, no guitars (so you can add whatever you want along side the drums bass and vocals) and a number of others. As you're going through the material, pay careful attention to how the parts blend together. Since the song is comprised of a combination of rather simple lines, the textures and implied chord harmonies are quite interesting from an arranging perspective.

If you're able to learn this song and perform it with some sense of accuracy and style, you are ready to try your hand writing your own music. You don't have to be a seasoned musician or know a ton of chords to write effective songs. This song is a perfect example of simplicity and a great sense of melody. Take these chords, the idea of dual (differently capo'd guitars) and simple layers with a few effects and see what you can create for yourself.

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