Sick of You: Authentic Guitar TAB

This collection captures Cake's unmistakable approach to rhythm guitar and arrangement across 21 tracks spanning their career. The TAB format makes their unconventional grooves, percussive techniques, and syncopated patterns accessible to guitarists who want to decode exactly how McCrea and his band layer texture and humor into every song.

Quirky, cerebral, and funky all at once. These songs balance clever arrangements with genuine groove, delivering rhythm parts that are memorable without being obvious and energetic without losing their deadpan sense of humor.

Guitarists drawn to alternative and funk-influenced rock will find detailed notation of Cake's sophisticated yet approachable material. This is ideal for intermediate to advanced players who want to learn how rhythmic displacement and unconventional song structure drive modern rock composition.

• Study the rhythmic placement carefully in cuts like 'Short Skirt/Long Jacket' and 'The Distance,' where Cake's signature syncopation sits deliberately against the beat rather than landing on it.
• Emphasize the percussive, almost muted quality that defines many of these guitar parts; this isn't about sustain and legato, but about attack and articulation.
• Use the TAB notation to understand Cake's use of open strings and alternative tunings, which contribute heavily to their quirky tonal character.

Feature individual Cake songs in rock ensemble or guitar ensemble settings where students explore contemporary alternative rock and non-traditional song structures. The wide range of tempos and styles within this collection supports a full program focused on late 20th-century rock innovation.

• Reading syncopated rhythms and off-beat emphasis
• Executing percussive guitar techniques and muted articulation
• Interpreting unconventional song structures and time signature changes
• Understanding rhythm guitar texture and layer within an ensemble context
• Analyzing alternative tunings and open-string voicings from TAB notation