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Overload Percussion Key
Overload Percussion Key
Percussion Key & Additional Notes
Hello and thank you for purchasing the official sheet music for ‘O verload’.
Below you will find the percussion key elaborating on the text abbreviations in the PDF and
Guitar Pro files.
Overload is a very percussion heavy song, but before we dive into that element, there are a few
things worth mentioning about the performance of the piece. Firstly, although the piece is played
live by Mike on a normal acoustic guitar, there are some live guitar effects on the track that you
can choose to use in order to enhance the dynamic, should you wish to perform it live.
Additionally, alternate percussion notation will inevitably occur in the same position on the stave.
In this case the annotation will change should it mean something different, if there is no text it is
presumed the same as the previous note in that position.
Effects you will need...
X1 long plate reverb controlled by a volume pedal
X1 ‘swellable delay’ controlled by a pedal
X1 polyphonic octave pedal
X1 wah pedal
Throughout the piece, Mike strikes the volume pedal on certain ‘snare beats’. This triggers a
reverb that acts as a crash cymbal of sorts. The exact moments vary as Mike tends to improvise
with it. If you view the official video online you can see and hear where he strikes the pedal to
produce the ‘cymbal’.
Mike also takes advantage of the ‘infinite repeats’ feature on the Strymon Timeline delay unit.
Before each chorus he swells the delay to produce a crescendo. The first chorus prelude is a
‘swell’ delay, the second is a ‘duck’ delay.
During the bridge section Mike also activates his Zvex Wah Probe pedal to add a funky disco
vibe, whilst standing on one leg.
Percussion Key
BD = Bass Drum Strike the top of the guitar above the soundhole with the heel of your hand.
Palm = Palm Snare Strike some/all of the strings over the fretboard whilst the thumb strikes
the upper top.
RH = Right Hand Annotation used for right hand harmonics or certain right hand movements.
LS = Left side Left hand strikes cutaway
T:UT = Thumb: Upper Top Thumb strikes the same position as in the palm snare, but without
the strings.
T:LT = Thumb: Lower Top Thumb strikes 'scratch pad' area near cutaway.
Thumb = Thumb strikes bottom string/s to create a ‘click’ sound.
Hole = Strike soundhole edge with back of nail.
Scr = Scratch pad use RH nails to strike a rough surface on your guitar’s top.
RH LS = Right hand, Left side Use your right hand to strike the cutaway area.
P, I, M, A (in notation) = Thumb, Index, Middle, Ring finger'.
S (above TAB) = Slap with thumb, or in the case of natural harmonics, slap strings with 'I'. Same
goes for some instances of multiple strings (look for the 'I' in stave)
P (above TAB) = Pop.
C = Conga Thumb of picking hand strikes lower top (around the area of a Stratocaster input
jack)
RS = Right side fingers strike lower side (around the area of a Les Paul input jack)
Enjoy learning the piece and thank you for purchasing the music and TAB legally.