Fast

Cf m9

WORDS AND MUSIC BY STING

Just a cast - a - way,- anA year

- has passed since I

Walked out this morn - ine I

AmaJ?

ffi3rd

Con 9va

-l:r 9

Flm

ffiis - land

wrote mydon't be

lost -

atnote -lieve what

here- but

on-. the

saw

me

shore

I2x

sea

I

stm.

a - nuz-zer lonebut X should have knowna hun-dred bil - lion

more loneonly hope can

seems like I'm not

no - onestart

washed up

than an - yto - getha - lone

man - could bearer

the

-t,rr9

ffill:

ü

A

O COPYRIGHT 1979 VIRGI.ry V-U^S]Q.(EqB!Iq!ERS) LTD., 95/99 LADBROKE GROVE, LONDON W11.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHTSECURED. '

Amaj? AmajT

Amaj? Flm

ffiAmaj?

Amaj?

iy day, -this right from

bot - tles

-

- li - nesskeep me

-'a-lone in being-

AmajT

53

Amat?

ÉH

Con 8ve

To Coda Q cf-

Amaio

ffiCf m9

ffi

loco

ffi

Res - cueLovg- can

me- bemend- yourcast - a

fore- Ilife

- but

ways -

fall -

inlove

- can

look - ing

to- des - pairbreak your heart-

r -

a home-

tr

I11 send- an S.- O.- S.- to the world- I'11 send- an S.- O.- S.- to th:

I hope- that some - one gets _ ffiy, I hope that some - one ,gets -

ffiy,

I hope-that some - one gets- my- mes-sage in- a bot tle- ye¿:--

mes- sage

., ,t Con 8ve

$cona

a

bot tle -

oh yeah.

Repeat to fade

D.X. al.Coda ffi

Con Svecfm

mes-sage m

-

Cf m9

ffi

loco

Amaj?Amaj?

f-rCon 8ve

55

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLEWords and Music by Sting

FigurelT-lntro, verse, pre-chorus, and chorus

Melding punk, reggae, R&B, 20th century modernism, and various divergent

forms of rock, The Police forged an arresting new sound for the coming decade as the sev-

enties drew to a close. Presaging the textural school, new wave, techno pop, and post-

punk minimalism, the resourceful British trio brought some truly innovative musical tan-

gents to the contemporary scene. Though the majority of their output was more rhythmi-

cally-based than riff-oriented, "Message in a Bottle," from 1979's Regatta De Blanc (liter'

altranslation:"white reggae"), is an exception, containing one of the most imaginative and

intriguing melodic riffs in rock and pop. With Stewart Copeland's unique rhythm feel,

Sting's inimitable vocal style, and Andy Summers'strikingly brave new guitar approach, it

is more than a message in a bottle-it is a blaring wake-up call for the eighties.

"Message in a Bottle" revolves around Summers'strange but compelling interval-

lic riff. Harnessing his background in jazz and 20th century composition, he came up with

one of the most exotic and immediately recognizable figures in rock history. The riff is

based on quintal harmony (chords built on fifth intervals). Quintal is derived from "quintas,"

meaning five in Latin. The four chord shapes in the rifl are arpeggiated forms of Cfsus2,

Asus2, Bsus2, and F#sus2, and each of these voicings is made of two consecutive fifths.

These stacked fifth chords give the riff its unusual, open, intervallic sound. lt is heard

throughout the song: in the intro, verses, and outro, and is harmonized with a second gui-

tar (Gtr. 2) playing a similar intervallic melody a third or fifth above. Two other notable riffs

include the driving, clean power-chord rhythm figure in the pre-chorus and the sustaining

Cfm to A progression of the chorus. Both were virtual prototypes for the minimalistic "new

wave" guitar approach of the early eighties.Featured Guitars:Gtr. 1 meas. 1-46

Slow Demos:Gtr. 1 meas. 1-2

t3r313

F# sus2

Fig. 11

Gtr. 1 (clean)

x Verse1 . Oh ! Just a cast aw&], an island2. A year has passed since I

Gtr. 2: w/ Rhy. Fill 1, 1st time , (7 ll2 times)

C#(sus2) Asus2 Bsus2 F# sus2

lntroFastRockJ =I52

Gtr. 2: w/ Rhy. Fill 1, 2 times

C#(sus2) Asus2 Bsus2

Rhy.Fill 1

Gtr.2 (clean)

let ring throughout

Copyright @ 1979 Gordon M. SumnerPublished by Magnetic Publishing Ltd. (PRS)

Represented by Blue Turtle Music and Administered by Almo Music Corp. (ASCAP) in the U.S. and CanadaInternational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved 51

lost at sea.wrote mv note.

no one here but me.start.

Another loneI should have

ly day,known this from the

oh. More lonelinessOnly hope can keep me

any man could bear.together.

into despair,love can break

oh.heart.

Gtr. 2: w/ Rhy. FlIl 2

RescueLove can

Pre-ChorusI'11 send

A5an s.o.s.

Ilife

the worldE5

beforeyour

fallbut

your toD5

/ ,D^) )1

52

I'll send an

Gtr. 3: w/ Fill 5, 3rd time

A5

to the world.

E5

I hope thatGtr. 3: w/ Fiil 2, 2nd ttme

Ffs

some - one _gets m) .

Gtr. 3: w/ Fill 6. 3rd time

D5mmDmP.M.

To Coda fi

F#s

I hope that some - one gets ffiy,

D5

I hope that some

F#s

one gets my

D5

ffN TTD ID ITD IT) ITD IT) D )

53

Chorusmessage in a bottle, yeah.

Gtr. 3: w/ Fill 3, 2nd time

C#m A

Message in a bottle, yeah.Whoa.Gtr. 3: w/ Fill 1

A

/{}

c#m

/A

/

-

full

(8va) TAAAAI

54

Message in a bottle, Yeah.Gtr. 3: w/ Fill 4

Message in a bottle, yeah.

A

/A

/C#m A

//cfmI

c#m

// --

€)-------{}e-..--{E}-------

€l ------ €)c---c-------

r ^AAa^

t

l3l -----//TAAA'IAAA'

P.H.(8va)

,

1aF -/F-t

* Notes in parenthesises indicate octave-above harpharmonic. Use your pickhand index finger to engageharmonic and pluck behind with your thumb.

55

G

@3fr

DE@openRHYTHM SLASHES are written above the

staff. Strum chords in the rhythm indicated.Use the chord diagrams found at the top ofthe first page of the transcription for theappropriate chord voicings, Roundnoteheads indicate single notes.

THE MUSICAL STAFF shows pitches andrhythms and is divided by bar lines intomeasures. Pitches are named after the firstseven letters of the alphabet.

TABLATURE graphically represents theguitar fingerboard. Each horizontal linerepresents a string, and each numberrepresents a fret.

HALF-STEP BEND: Strike the note and bendup 112 step.

BEND AND RELEASE: Strike the note andbend up as indicated, then release back to theoriginal note, 0nly the first note is struck.

4th string, 2nd fret

WHOLE-STEP BEND: Strike the note andbend up one step.

Notes:

F5FF

Strings:

HAMMER-0N: Strike the first (tower) note withone finger, then sound the higher note (on thesame string) with another finger by fretting itwithout picking.

TRILL: Very rapidly alternate between thenotes indicated by continuously hammeringon and pulling off.

PULL-OFF: Place both fingers 0n the notesto be sounded. Strike the first note andwithout picking, pull the finger off to soundthe second (lower) note.

TAPPING: Hammer ("tap") the fret indicatedwith the pick-hand index or middle finger andpull off to the note fretted by the fret hand.

PRE-BEND: Bend the note as indicated, thenstrike it.

VIBRAT0: The string is vibrated by rapidlybending and releasing the note with thefretting hand.

LEGATO SLIDE: Strike the first note anothen slide the same fret-hand finger up ordown to the second note. The second noteis not struck.

NATURAL HARMON|C: Strike the note whitethe fret-hand líghtly touches the stringdirectly over the fret indicated.

PICK SCRAPE: The edge of the pick isrubbed down (or up) the string, producinga scratchy sound.

MUFFLED STBINGS: A percussive sound isproduced by laying the fret hand across thestring(s) without depressing, and striking themwith the pick hand.

PALM MUTING: The note is parlially mutedby the pick hand lighfly touching thestring(s) just before the bridge.

TREMOL0 PICKING: The note is picked asrapidly and continuously as possible.

VIBRATO BAR DIVE AND RETURN: Ihepitch of the note or chord is dropped a

specified number of steps (in rhythm) thenreturned to the original pitch.

VIBRATO BAR SC00p: Depress the bar justbefore striking the note, then quicklyrelease the bar.

Guitar Notation LegendGuitar Music can be notated three different ways: on a musical staff, in

DAtablature, and in rhythm slashes.

WIDE VIBRATO: The pitch is varied to a greaterdegree by vibrating with the fretting hand

SHIFT SLIDE: Same as legato slide, exceptthe second note is struck.

PINCH HARM0NIC: The note is frettednormally and a harmonic is produced by addingthe edge of the thumb or the tip of the indexfinger of the pick hand to the normal pick attack

RAKE: Drag the pick across the stringsindicated with a single motion.

VIBRATO BAR DIP: Strike the note and thenimmediately drop a specified number ofsteps, then release back to the original pitch

m4 r)

1st & 2nd strings open, open D chordplayed together

GRACE NOTE BEND: Strike the note and bend up asindicated. The first note does not take up any time.

SLIGHT (MICR0TONE) BEND: Strike thenote and bend up 1/4 step.

-1t2 -1t2 -U2VVV

56