Running Up That Hill - Guitar Lesson & Cover - Kate Bush

Running Up That Hill: simple chords, song structure, strum pattern, rhythm. It's all in this Kate Bush guitar lesson video. Put the capo on the 3rd fret for the original key!

0:00 Intro
0:19 Verse 1
0:44 Chorus 1
1:06 Link 1
1:17 Verse 2
1:55 Chorus 2
2:17 Link 2
2:29 Verse 3
2:42 Bridge
3:04 Link 3
3:17 Chorus 3
4:11 Outro

The structure to this song is quite unusual, and it doesn't make much sense without the lyrics, so I decided to sing it. It's not my greatest vocal performance, but I hope it helps you to understand the structure of the song!

There is a strong synth hook at the start, which repeats several times later in the song. I could have played it on the guitar, but there is also that driving bass 'gallop' rhythm (1 +a 2 +a 3 +a 4 +a), which I felt was essential for the energy of the song. I could have played the bass part and synth melody at the same time, but then the guitar part would become more complicated that I wanted it to be - I made this video for the beginner/intermediate player.

So I decided to vocalise the synth melody. I tried whistling it, but my whistling isn't strong enough - if you are a strong whistler, that could be a great option. I also tried humming it, but that didn't really come across either.

I tried singing the melody to 'doo doo doo', which sounded OK, but then I realised I was singing 'doo doo' and thought better of it! I tried singing it to 'la la la', but that sounded silly, so I settled on 'oh oh oh', which is used in a lot of songs and seemed to fit the best.

The bass guitar on the original recording plays an A 'pedal tone' (a bass note that remains the same, even when the chords change) almost all the way through. I tried that, but it gave the song a darker sound than I wanted, and again I felt it complicated it more than I wanted to for this video. The bass guitar A on the original recording also sounds an octave lower than the guitar's A bass note, which has a big effect on the sound.

The chords I used in the video are:
Am F G C Dm.

If you add the A pedal tone, the chords become:
Am F/A G/A C/A Dm/A

The slash indicates the altered bass note. i.e. F usually has an F bass note, but F/A would be an F chord with an A bass note. Try it and see what you think - you may prefer it that way.

Here is the song structure:

4/4 time, 108bpm

Capo 3 for original key (I put the capo on the 6th fret in the video by accident - oops!)

Intro:
|Am |Am |F |G |
|Am |Am |F |G |
|Am |

Verse 1:
|F G |Am G |
|F G |Am G |
|F G |Am G |
|F G |
|F C |Dm |
|F C |Dm |

Chorus 1:
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G |

Link 1:
|Am |Am |F |G |
|Am|

Verse 2:
|F G |Am G |
|F G |Am G |
|F G |Am G |
|F G |Am G |
|F G |Am G |
|F G |
|F C |Dm |
|F C |Dm |
|F C |Dm |

Chorus 2:
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G |

Link 2:
|Am |Am |F |G |
|Am |

Verse 3:
|F C |Dm |
|F C |Dm |
|F C |Dm |

Bridge:
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G |

Link 3 :
|Am |Am |F |G |Am |
|Am |Am |

Chorus 3:
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |
|F |G ||Am |Am |

Outro:
|F |F |G |G |
|Am |Am |Am |Am |
|Am |Am |Am |Am |
|Am |

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Cliff Smith, BMus(Hons) is a guitar, ukulele and music theory tutor who gives lessons online via Zoom. He teaches ukulele, 6 & 12 string acoustic, classical and electric guitar.

Cliff's lessons are available to pupils anywhere in the world. He has taught pupils in the UK, USA, Sweden, Dubai, India, France, Spain, and Japan

Cliff's backing tracks channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHDgTb9VplqptJgQTTN4EyA
https://cliffsmithguitarlessons.co.uk/
https://cliffsmith.bandcamp.com/
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https://twitter.com/CliffSmithgtr
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GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO:

AUDIO:
Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 Audio Interface
Focusrite Control Software (free with the 18i8 listed above)
Rode NT1 microphone
Sennheiser HD 280 PRO Professional Monitoring Headphones
Yamaha HS8 - PA, powered studio monitor speakers
Alhambra CW NW3 B EL acoustic guitar

COMPUTER GEAR & SOFTWARE:
Apple M1 Mac Mini
Caldigit TS3+ Thunderbolt Hub (for additional connectivity)
Apple Final Cut Pro X
Apple logic Pro X
Adobe Photoshop
Neck diagrams
Sibelius Ultimate

VIDEO & LIGHTING:
Canon EOS M6 MkII Camera
Sigma 16mm f/1.4 (C) AF DC DN Lens
Manfrotto Befree GT XPRO Tripod
Godox UL60 Silent Video Light
Selens 105cm 16 Rods Umbrella Softbox
Godox LC500R RGB LED Light Stick
Rotolight NEO 2 LED Video Light
Rotolight Neo Barn Doors
Rotolight NEO Softbox Kit