Licks & Riffs : Frankie J - Don't Wanna Try

The opening of Frankie J's hit Don't wanna try is made up of chords 4-5-6 (IV V VI) of the major scale.

Here we've written them in A major:




In Don't Wanna Try, Frankie J adds to these chords using a clever little technique - holding one note in common between all three chords to create a more extended version of the same harmony. Notice how the E can be found in each of the three chords:





The final step is simply to make an arpeggio from the chords, running bottom to top and back down again: