Imagine Dragons Style Lesson

Imagine Dragons Style

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  • Hi GMC!

    Welcome to my new lesson where I recreate and analyze the style of Imagine Dragons, an American alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. They were formed in 2008 but gained exposure in 2012 thanks to their debut album “Night Visions”.

    Music Style:
    When I first listened to their album I found a big mix of influences from bands like Coldplay, Muse, Snow Patrol, Keane but then I started to discover and note their own style which can be defined as alternative rock with influences by Britpop and sounds that come from post-rock, modern pop and hip hop. They have good hit songs but also amazing production and arrangements. In this lesson I show you how they combine guitars with synths to create epic atmospheres which can be already considered their patented sound.

    Tonality, Chord Progression & Scales:
    I have made a deep analysis of their most used chord progressions and I discovered that their biggest hits have the simpler and classic pop song progressions that we usually talk about in my pop lessons based on bands like Coldplay, Snow Patrol and many others. I found really interesting progressions in some of the other songs but it seems that the rule behind “how to make a hit?” is still very connected with the chord progressions. This tune is in E major and all the chords can be found over the tabs and on screen. I used the same progression for intro, verse and chorus but I decided to use a different one for pre-chorus. You will find more detailed info in the slow parts texts.

    Techniques:
    This is not a difficult lesson but it neither is as simple as it seems. Changing all those arpeggio shapes smoothly can be a demanding work for beginner players so I think that it’s a great lesson for them, but also for more advanced player that want to learn how to arrange guitar in this style of music.

    Sound:
    You will find that I used two different sounds in this lesson. In the first part I used a clean guitar sound based on Fender combo amps with 1x12 Cabinets. The distorted sound is a combination of the same amp with more drive and Gibson combo emulation.

    Click HERE to download my POD HD500 Patches.

    Tuning:
    Standard

    Tempo: 120 BPM
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