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Neil,

I’m enjoying your essential finger style lessons.

InJust Breathe, the third measure of the intro has a section with 3rd fret on low E and 5th fret of the B string. Since that note is the same as the high E, wouldn’t it be easier to play the open high E? Feels like less “geography” for same result. Or am I wrong?

John

Hi John,

Great observation and question! The tab shows how Eddie Vedder plays it, which is not the most efficient or easiest way to do it. One reason he may have done it is to have the two melody notes on the same string for consistent tone. It also guarantees that the D does not ring when you hit the E. I hope I mentioned the open E option in the lesson but I may have overlooked it in the interest of being accurate to Eddie's choice of fingering, which admittedly is a bit of a stretch.

Neil

Thanks Neil! I’m going to keep practicing it without the extra movement. I appreciate the quick response as I can see lots of questions thrown at you.