The Scientist [in 4ths tuning]

"The Scientist" by Coldplay on Acoustic Guitar – Altered Tuning Version

Hey, how you doing? Let’s check out how to play The Scientist by Coldplay. Wow, 12 years since I first did a lesson on this one! How time flies… it’s still a great tune and always goes down real well at parties. :) 

I have a lesson on a beginner version of The Scientist that uses standard tuning, a capo, and open chords. But if you’re feeling adventurous, stick with me. Let’s re-tune the guitar and get playing!

 

The Scientist by Coldplay – 4ths Tuning

Don’t let the name of this tuning scare you. 4ths tuning is real easy! All you have to do is put your guitar in standard tuning (EADGBE), then tune string 2 to a C and string 1 to an F.

You can do this with a chromatic tuner. But you can also match string 2 to the note at 3:5 (string 3, fret 5). Once you’ve re-tuned string 2, match string 1 to the note at 2:5. Now your guitar is tuned EADGCF, which is what we call 4ths tuning. :)

💡 More on 4ths Tuning: I teamed up with Ant Law to uncover the hidden secrets of 4ths tuning. It’s a really cool lesson, and knowing this stuff can open up your fretboard in loadsa ways. :)

Your usual open chords will probably sound terrible now! But don’t worry – with the right chords, you’ll get a wicked sound. So let’s turn our attention to the chord shapes we’ll need.

 

The Scientist by Coldplay – Chords

The chord shapes we need are basically barre chords without the full barre. We only need to worry about the bottom four strings; we leave strings 1 and 2 to ring out as open strings. These chords are a nice intro to barre chords – perfect if you’ve done a beginners' course and want to move to the next level. :)

The first chord is X57700. This is a Dm7. Finger 1 plays 5:5, finger 3 goes on 4:7, and finger 4 plays 3:7. Make sure finger 1 mutes string 6 and lifts up enough to let strings 2 and 1 ring out. This is a power chord shape with open strings added.

Then we switch to a Bb add9 (688700). Don’t be scared by the name – it’s no more tricky than the Dm7! Just shift the power chord shape to 688XXX and add finger 2 to 3:7. Make sure the two highest strings ring out.

Then we’ll go to an F (133200). Just shift the Bb shape down five frets. Though it doesn’t look like it, this is a standard F Major chord – it sounds exactly the same as the F barre chord in open tuning. 

🧐 Re-Working Your Chord Grips: We’ve tuned the two highest strings up a semitone. So if we want to play F chord (113211) in this tuning, the grip changes to 113200. 2:0 (string 2, fret 0) and 1:0 now sound like 2:1 and 1:1 in open tuning – they’re both a semitone higher than before! Similar logic applies to any chord we wish to move into this new tuning. :)

For the next chord, just lift off finger 2 to reveal the open G string (133000). This is called Fadd9. That’s almost all the chords we need. What about the order of the chords?

 

The Scientist by Coldplay – Song Structure

The verse is four repetitions of Dm, Bb, F, Fadd9. Play each chord for one bar of 4:4. For the chorus, we go to Bb for two bars, then F for a bar, Fadd9 for a bar. Repeat that, then go to Csus4/G (332000) for two bars, only strumming on beat 1 of the final bar. There is a pause in the song here.

I tend to use fingers 2, 3, and 4 for the C chord. Again, don’t be spooked by the name. It doesn’t matter what it’s called – it’s easy to play and sounds wicked.

There’s only one other section in the song – the bridge. It goes F, Bb sus2 (X13300), F, Fadd9. You could play Bb add9, but I think the original song uses Bb sus2, which sounds richer in this context.

 

The Scientist by Coldplay – Rhythm

Even though this is a slow one, it still moves. This one uses 16th-note strumming, meaning there are eight downstrums. On the beats, play big downstrums, strumming all the strings. And play quieter downstrums on the off beats, just hitting the thicker strings. Get used to this first.

To give it even more life, try accenting beats 2 and 4. By doing this, you replicate the snare drum. It sounds really cool. :)

🚨 Don’t Think: When it comes to strumming, the more you think, the more you stink. Later in the guitar journey, you’ll be able to play any strumming pattern and add inflections without thinking about it. This is the ideal, and the more patterns you learn, the closer you get to breaking free of them. :)

If you play all strums at equal volume except for beats 2 and 4, which are a little louder, it still sounds kinda weird. To really make it authentic, you need to make beats 1 and 3 louder than the offbeats but quieter than beats 2 and 4.

This is super complicated to think about. The key is to listen to the original loads and pick up on the groove. If you’ve worked on your strumming enough, you’ll automatically play authentic patterns without needing to count.
 

The Scientist by Coldplay – Dynamics and Extra Strums

If that seems complex, you might get freaked out when I tell you that there’s more going on than this! I also add upstrums between chords (3 + 4 +a). And I highly recommend you add upstrums to the final couple of bars before the chorus to get the audience excited. If your hand is moving consistently, you should have no problem adding upstrums. :)

You also want to play the chorus louder than the other sections to keep the song interesting and make the sing-along bits stand out! If you don’t do this, it gets a little bit boring to listen to.

🎸 And I’m Feeling Good: Once you’ve mastered the technical parts of the song, you have to forget about them. Work on playing the song with a nice groove. If it feels good to you, it will also feel good to the audience. Guaranteed. :)

You can’t really learn this intricate rhythm stuff from a book. It comes from experience. Play along with the original tunes and cop the feeling of the track. Rhythm isn’t robotic and strict; it’s loose and relaxed. And it has to feel good!

 

Have loads of fun with The Scientist. I’m sure you’ll agree that the 4ths tuning sounds wicked. Add some cool rhythm guitar, and you’re on to a winner. See you soon for loads more guitar lessons. Laters. :)

🎵 Want chords, tabs, and lyrics to follow along with my song tutorials? Check out JustinGuitar Tabs!