The Numbers

“The Numbers” is a song by English rock band Radiohead, released as the third single from their ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). The song is a protest song about climate change, and the dehumanizing effects of capitalism

Not only is Radiohead working with alternate tunings, but the music is truly alien. The structures are different, the chord progressions are different. Radiohead is about as progressive as a band can be.

As a musicians, it’s healthy to expose ourselves to new ideas and concepts. There’s no better way than with Radiohead’s music — especially if you’re a fan.

How to play The Numbers by Radiohead

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The Numbers is a monotonous groove. I’m not sure exactly what tuning Thom Yorke is playing in, but my version feels like the obvious one — or an even better alternative. I also threw in a couple licks that — while not in Radiohead’s original version — feel well suited to the song.

The guitar tab for The Numbers is 3 pages long. I recommend this piece for intermediate guitar players and up.

Enjoy, the guitar tab is available below:

In accordance with the guitar tab, my song structure looks like this:

Intro, Verse 4x, Chorus #1

Intro, Verse 4x, Chorus #2, End.

The symbol (…) that implies that you strum. Underneath the chord shape, I also put a generic strum pattern to help beginners along. D = strum down, while U = strum up. Experienced players should ignore this and strum the guitar intuitively.

**Radiohead: The Numbers for acoustic guitar

The Numbers is tuned one whole step down, with your 6th string tuned to C. Your tuning is as follows from low to high: C G C F A D