'Plush - Stone Temple Pilots' intro chords

[toelessfoot]

What's the chord progression at the beginning of this tune? G Bb C G? G Bb7#11 C6 G? It's pretty messed up with those triads the guitarist is playing.

[MuyLoCo444]

Haven't played that song in years, but when I was starting out with songs like that I'd use internet tab.

[toelessfoot]

 

Haven't played that song in years, but when I was starting out with songs like that I'd use internet tab.

 

 

I know how to play it I just don't know what it is.

[toelessfoot]

||--3-3---3-(3)----|-3-3---3-(3)--3-3-3--||-3-3---3-(3)----|-3-3---3-|

||o-3-3---2-(2)----|-1-1---0-(0)--0-1-2-o||-3-3---2-(2)----|-1-1---0-|

||--0-0---3-(3)----|-2-2---0-(0)--0-0-0--||-0-0---3-(3)----|-2-2---0-|

||-----------------|---------------------||----------------|-------0-|

||o----------------|--------------------o||----------------|---------|

||-----------------|---------------------||----------------|---------|

 

Is what's being playing on guitar and the bass is playing G Bb C G

[JonR]

 

||--3-3---3-(3)----|-3-3---3-(3)--3-3-3--||-3-3---3-(3)----|-3-3---3-| ||o-3-3---2-(2)----|-1-1---0-(0)--0-1-2-o||-3-3---2-(2)----|-1-1---0-| ||--0-0---3-(3)----|-2-2---0-(0)--0-0-0--||-0-0---3-(3)----|-2-2---0-| ||-----------------|---------------------||----------------|-------0-| ||o----------------|--------------------o||----------------|---------| ||-----------------|---------------------||----------------|---------| Is what's being playing on guitar and the bass is playing G Bb C G

 

You get a nice view of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMvsBUGb0aM

The 2nd chord is the odd one, of course. Bb-Db-G, with a Bb bass. As such, it's an inverted Gdim, or a partial Bbm6 chord.

The 2rd chord is Am7, but a C bass (arguably) makes it C6.

 

Things are further complicated by open D - and possibly A - strings on 2nd and 3rd chords (on one acoustic version I've heard). These make Gdim extra dissonant, and more difficult to name. (With the D underneath, I'd just call it Gdim/D. With the Bb bass, maybe Bb6#9??)

 

It's based on a very familiar blues turnaround, in fact:

 

which they kind of obscure with the bass line.

[Poparad]

I would just call the second chord Bb dim. Diminished chords are typically used by placing them a fret above or below the next chord that they lead into. In this case, it leads downward into Am7.