http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSh9WnEYWzo
Harvest Moon² ♥
by Neil Young
In "Drop D" tuning. This tuning is SOOOO EZ, and harmless that I even tuned my classical guitar to it. haha. You simply tune the 6th string (bass E-string) down a major step to D. If you're lucky to own a chromatic tuner, you're all set. If not, just tune it to the open 4th string as best you can or use the good ol' pitch pipe). All the other strings remain in standard tuning. (good, LOL)
Thanks to wonderful online guitar instructor David Hodge, I now know how to play this most evocative song.
He breaks it down for ease of learning by saying that the famous intro (signature) hook merely consists of variations of the Dmaj7 chord. (This chord's notes are D, F♯, A and C♯.)
And that the melody line of this hook simply ascends from A→B→C♯
Dadd9 Chord
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__*__|←10th fr.
|__|__|__*__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
D6/9 Chord
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__|__|←10th fr.
|__|__|__*__|__|
|__|__|__|__*__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
Dmaj7 Chord
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__|__*←9th fr.
|__|__|__|__*__|
|__|__|__*__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
--------❖--------
Em7 Chord
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__|__|
*__*__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
G6 Chord
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
*__*__|__|__|__|
INTRO (the signature hook)
Dadd9, D6/9, Dmaj7 (REPEAT FOUR TIMES)
VERSE
Em7 (4 measures), D (4 measures)
Em7 (4 measures), D (4 measures)
G6 (4 measures), Dmaj7 (signature hook twice)
G6 (4 measures), Dmaj7 (signature hook twice)
CHORUS
A7sus4 (2 measures), A7 (2 measures)
A7sus4 (2 measures), A7 (2 measures)
A7sus4 Chord¹
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__*__|__*__|
|__|__|__|__*__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
¹For A7, just let go of the red note.
²To really fine tune your performance, visit David Hodge's excellent instruction!.
OPTIONAL: For a more interesting and rich ending (again, gleaned from Hodge) à la Neil Young, you may use an:
A7 turnaround: At the last chorus, finger the A7 with middle finger on D string and ring finger on B string. So, play A7. Then do variations of A7 like this in succession:
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__*__|
|__|__*__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__*__|__*__|
D-_A-_D-_G-_B-_E
|__|__*__|__*__|←6th fr.
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
|__|__|__|__|__|
Then, back 'round to the first phrase which is the Signature hook Soo beautiful.
edited to add: the optional "A7 turnaround".