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Everything you need to know before playing ‘Say It Ain’t So’

Featuring on Weezer’s 1994 debut Blue album, Say It Ain’t So was the band’s third single and remains a firm fan favourite. Alongside Weezer classics The Sweater Song and Buddy Holly, the song would cement the band’s reputation at the forefront of 90s alternative and pop-rock. Frontman Rivers Cuomo handles the main riff and lead guitar work, while Brian Bell takes care of the sparse three-note verse chords and doubles up the powerchords in the heavier sections. Though originally

Eb Eb Ab Db Gb recorded in standard tuning (

Bb Eb),

we’ve produced our audio track and tab in E so you don’t have to retune your guitar.

The song is based around a C#M-G#A-E chord progression. The G# is interesting because, technically speaking, it should be a G# minor chord to stay in key. It’s a brief key change trick that adds a little spice to a simple chord sequence. Read on as we break the track down…

Until its unfortunate destruction in 1997, Cuomo would play SIAS on his Sonic Blue Warmoth Strat which had a Seymour Duncan Trembucker ’59 bridge pickup and a Dimarzio Super Distortion 2 in the neck position (though he used a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special in the studio). Over the years he’s used Mesa, Marshall and Diezel amps as well as Line 6 and Kemper modelling/profiling solutions. With such an evolving rig it’s fair to say that you can experiment to find a suitable tone. Dial in a high-gain heavy metal-style tone and make sure you can switch between clean and dirty sounds. Add drive with a distortion pedal if your amp lacks gain.