How to play Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars
Locked Out Of Heaven is one of Bruno Mars’ big hits from his 2012 album Unorthodox Jukebox. A Top 10 hit in over twenty countries, and inspired by the Reggae-rock sound of The Police, Locked Out Of Heaven is great electric guitar track for developing bar-chords and syncopated rhythm work.
Bar-chords: C in the 3rd fret, Dm 5th fret, Bb 1st fret, Am 5th fret, Gm 3rd fret, F 1st fret, and F5, A5, Bb5, G5
Pick or Fingers? Pick, definitely. Locked Out Of Heaven is a great example of the strong, precise attack that a pick makes on electric guitar strings. You need that instant attack on the chord to create the bright tone and to place the chord precisely on the beat / off-beat. Hold the pick securely with your thumb-pad flat on 3/4 of the pick & include your forearm in the down - up action to create a strong strum attack. Also, follow the down and up-stroke indications - they are correct.
Acoustic or Electric? Electric guitar, for sure. Don’t risk your hand health by playing full bar-chords on an acoustic guitar for a whole song. The electric guitar is designed for this kind of chord work; acoustic guitars are not.
What are the crossed strums for? A rhythm-slash with a cross-head is a ‘percussive strum’ - a muted effect made by relaxing the chord fingers just enough to make sure you only hear the blunt percussive sound of the pick striking the muted strings; this a common electric guitar rhythm effect.
How does the timing work? The reggae-rock style of Locked Out Of Heaven needs precise timing and articulation of tone to get the recorded effect. Take care to mute the sound on the rests ; in rhythms like this rests are just as much a part of the pattern as the strums. To get into the chart securely, practice the first four bars slowly and count aloud. Definitely count yourself in on the intro to help feel the first two strums as being on upbeats : “1 2 3 and 4 and“ and so on . . .
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 2 : to learn more about the bar-chords and rhythm techniques used in Locked Out of Heaven go to pages 4 - 5, 7, 8 - 9 and 14
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 2 is a must-have guide to Electric guitar chords and rhythm styles. It teaches you how to read the rhythm slash notation used in our charts (as used in professional theatre & studio charts) and is specially designed to build your strength and stamina with bar-chords, and extend your moveable chords vocabulary. An excellent tutor for the developing electric guitarist.
