Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son - Bridge - Guitar Lesson

Over the Bridge

2013 4:39

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About Carry On Wayward Son - Bridge

The bridge section of "Carry On Wayward Son" is where Kerry Livgren's writing really puts a guitarist's chops to the test. Written for Kansas and rooted in Hard Rock, the song as a whole is built on assertive riffing and quick position shifts, and the bridge concentrates that intensity into a short but demanding passage. In E minor at 120 BPM, the feel is driving and purposeful, so any hesitation in your fretting hand shows up immediately. The passage rewards careful attention to pick attack and left-hand muting to keep the low-end tight rather than muddy. If the runs or transitions are giving you trouble, isolate them with the Practice Toolbar, slow the section right down, and build the tempo gradually before you lock it back in at full speed. Getting the dynamics right, knowing when to dig in and when to back off slightly, is what separates a clean run through from one that actually sounds like the record.

• The song is played in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed, but the E minor key means you should be comfortable with both open and upper-position minor shapes.
• At 120 BPM the bridge moves at a brisk, steady pace, meaning any fingering inefficiency between position shifts will cause you to fall behind.
• The signature picking style throughout the song is aggressive and rhythmically precise, so focus on consistent pick attack and left-hand muting to keep the riff clean.