How to Play 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence

By Greg Barr

In 2003, Evanescence released the certified Platinum classic “Bring Me to Life.” It quickly became an international hit, earning the band a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song. Co-writer and guitarist Ben Moody’s playing on this song is professional, tight, and much more rhythmically sophisticated than other hits of the time. Give it a listen.

The main riff, played under the verses, revolves around a three-against-four (3:4) cross-rhythm.

In a polyrhythm, you have two different rhythmic ideas happening at the same time, independently of one another, each using a different time signature. Cross-rhythm is a bit more subtle, with an accent pattern borrowed from another happening within the dominant meter, apparently contradicting the prevailing rhythm, but eventually coming back into alignment with the main pulse.

In the case of “Bring Me to Life,” the main rhythm of the prevailing meter, established mainly by the drums here, is Common Time, or 4/4 time, with four strong, equal beats, which we can count like this:

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

That’s four equal beats, each divided into two smaller subdivisions. We read that as “One and two and three and four and…” In our 3:4 cross-rhythm, the guitar squeezes notes in between the cracks of the beat established by the drums. It does this by alternating between playing on the numbered beats and playing on the “ands” between the beats, so that in the time it takes for the one voice to play three notes, the other voice will have played four. The second line below attempts to show this visually, with the drumbeat on top and the guitar rhythms below:

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

| X - - X - - X - |

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

Notice the pattern that exists in the lower voice. The upper voice groups notes into twos, while the lower voices groups them into threes. If we extend this pattern out to three full measures, we get this:

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

| X - - X - - X - | - X - - X - - X | - - X - - X - - |

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

The upper line gives us 12 x 2 pulses and the lower one gives us 8 x 3, so on the next bar they will again line up, ready to start the cycle again. The effect is constantly shifting accents over a steady beat, and it can be quite hypnotic. In the case of “Bring Me to Life,” the guitar and bass add an extra strum after each accent, making the pattern even more intense.

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

| X X - X X - X X | - X X - X X - X | X - X X - X X - |

| 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + |

These rhythms can be difficult for new players to juggle. Luckily, in “Bring Me to Life,” they’re integrated so seamlessly into the feel of the song that even beginners can get a solid handle on it. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

Greg Barr has retired as a notetracker, but is still an independent guitar teacher, singer-songwriter, and the owner of Pinebox Studios in California.