Stuck in the Middle With You - Stealers Wheel - With Free Tab

In this video I want to share with you my version of the 'Stuck in the Middle With You' by Stealers Wheel. The song was first released in 1972 and became popular again when it was featured in the Quentin Tarantino hit movie Reservoir Dogs in the infamous 'ear' scene. The original is quite a jaunty but soulful piece of music. In my version I have given it a more bluesy laid back feel whilst still trying to retain the character of the original. The music is played on a guitar in Open D Tuning and is in the Key of D. It is in 4/4 time and it is a fingerstyle piece incorporating a bass picking pattern throughout. I have played through the main section of the music and this just gets repeated through the whole song.

Below are some tips to help you play this piece, and links to download the tab.

Stuck in the Middle With You Downloadable Tab - Power Tab - PDF - TXT

 

• Missing Melody - As you may have noticed, I have left out some of the melody notes which form the lyrics sung in the original. The reason I have done this is that the melody is quite metronomic and overbearing when it is played as individual musical notes and not sung with lyrics. As I wanted to create a more bluesy laid back sound I have dropped some of the melody notes to give the melody line more variation and a more a more blues sound. However, feel free to add in these melody notes if you wish. You will hear where they are missing and they are usually just a repeat of the note preceding or proceeding the gap.

• Triplet Feel - I have added a triplet feel to the music which was not present in the original. For this, the 1/8th notes are played as split triplets instead of straight 1/8th notes. As i said above, the melody can feel very metronomic and incessant when played as musical notes instead of being sung. Adding this triplet feel breaks it up and gives it a more laid back sound. However, it can be confusing to play it like this as you will be so used to hearing the melody line of the orginal song. If it is casuing problems, just forgo this and play the 1/8th notes as straight 1/8ths without the triplet feel. It should be easier like this.

• Fast Barre - There are some quick changes up to the barre on fret 5 when the music moves over a G chord. You have to have nimble fingers to play these, especially as there are some stretches with the pinky required at the same time. If you are finding there is not enought time to make these barres, the best thing to do is drop off the melody note(s) at the end of the previous bar of the music, which occurs just before the transition to the barre chord. There is always two 1/8th notes in the melody prior to moving up to the barre, so just drop one or both of these off to give yourself more time. It wont sound as good but will make it easier to play.

This is about all I need to say about this piece. It is actually quite a straightforward piece to play apart from a few fast chord changes up to the barre on fret 5. But once you have mastered that, it shouldn't be too difficult

Thanks for Reading,
Neil