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Safar Guitar Lessson - Introduction
Safar - Introduction
Welcome to the guitar lesson on what is a fun experimental track collaborated upon by Pritam and Shah Rukh Khan, Safar from the movie Jab Harry Met Sejal, a modern indian interpretation of the 1989 Hollywood film When Harry Met Sally. The song has received over 15 million views on YouTube since its release in 2017.
The song is about life as a journey, which is the underlying theme of the movie. Specifically, the narrative around the circle of life, returning to the place one started from after a long journey, i.e. Safar. The lyrical motif of the song is âI donât belong here or there, I belong to the journeyâ.
Safar Guitar Lesson
Safar guitar lesson is taught by our beloved expert, Mike Walker, who explains all the different sections of the song in a section-by-section manner, starting from the intro that talks about the chords and different voicings of those chords, through the overdubs and the guitar solo section, to the final section that talks about improvisation on the track.
The song is mostly in the key of C major, but by the genius of Pritam, one of the most prominent music directors of the Bollywood music industry, the song also goes to the G major. The D major and the F major chords, which straddle the two keys, create a unique sound for the song.
The song intro has a swinging rhythm pattern and follows minor 7th and suspended chords, underlying the uncertain, ambiguous and suspenseful nature of the journey of life. The guitar solo is based on the A minor pentatonic scale and features string bending and controlled vibrato techniques, which are very good for practising those techniques for a beginner.
The acoustic and electric overdubbed motifs play between the verses and chorus, again using techniques like palm-muted picking that the tutor refers to as âpercolatedâ effect on the electric guitar and a major 7th arpeggio on the acoustic guitar.
In the section on improvisation, the tutor demonstrates some of the advanced techniques like pinch harmonics and a whammy bar dive and legato runs. These techniques played over the A minor pentatonic scale up and down the neck make it sound like a classic rock guitar solo.
FAQs
Q. Is Safar suitable for beginners?
The chords themselves are basic, but the song's phrasing and dynamic control may require practice. Beginners can start by learning the chord changes and then focus on the strumming pattern.
Q. What are the main chords used in Safar?
The primary chords are Am7, Fsus2, Dmaj9, with occasional transitions to an F# major in the first section of the song; the latter part of the song features the standard F, C, G and D major chords.
Q. What is the strumming pattern for the song?
The strumming follows a gentle, flowing 4/4 rhythm, down, down-up, up-down-up sequence. Fingerpicking can also be used for the intro and verses to make it feel melodic.
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