5 Essential Rock Riffs That All Guitarists Should Know

Leigh Fuge at MGR Music shows us 5 essential rock riffs, that are really easy to play. Ideal for beginner guitarists. Most guitar players start learning classic riffs in the early days of their playing. It doesn’t matter what style of music you like; chances are you’ll not be far away from some classic riffs that you can get stuck into learning.

In this lesson, you’re going to learn 5 cool essential rock riffs that all guitar players should add to their repertoire. Watch the video below and read on for the guitar tabs.

This simple guitar line by Keith Richards was originally intended to be a horn part on the record. Keith recorded the guitar part as a guide for the horns, using a fuzz pedal to imitate the rasp of a brass section. The riff is based around just three notes on the A string and uses some reverse slides in the second bar.

In the 60s there weren’t many groups that could match the ability of Cream. The supergroup made up of Eric Clapton on guitar, Jack Bruce on bass and Ginger Baker on drums were an absolute powerhouse. They only existed for little over 2 years, but in that time, they spawned hit after hit from four studio albums. This descending run uses the D minor pentatonic scale with an added note on the 11th fret of the A string, known as the blues note. The riff is fairly simple to learn but don’t forget to shift the position of your fretting hand for the final three notes so that you can play the string bend with your first finger.

This picked part from the 1999 hit Californication shows off some fantastic interplay between Chilis guitarist John Frusciante and bass player Flea. In the gaps after each picked part is a melodic bass fill. The two parts play off each other. The first bar is similar to an Am7 chord except you pick the B string twice. The first time open, the second time with the first fret pressed. The second bar starts with an F powerchord shape before playing the G twice, once open and once with the second fret pressed down.

The ultimate rock riff to get in trouble in your local guitar store is this classic from Deep Purple. Richie Blackmore played this on a Strat style guitar, with his fingers, but you can also play it with a pick if you want to. The riff is made up entirely of double stops on the D and G strings. It is very simple to play along with but don’t play it down your local PMT store... the staff may not dig it!

One big misconception about this Jack White riff is that is was played on bass. The riff was played on an electric guitar with an octave down effect on. You can play it any way you please though. My favourite way to play this is to crank the gain and let those notes sing. The riff itself is all on the A string and repeats over and over again. Nice and simple and everyone knows it!

About The Author:

This lesson was brought to you by MusicTeacher.com, written by experienced guitar teacher Leigh Fuge. Leigh works as part of a community of guitar teachers based across the UK. This week sees the launch of the Guitar Lessons Exeter hub, with a real focus on help beginner students to learn through playing the music that inspired them to pick up the guitar in the first place. To find guitar teachers local to you, as well as online guitar lessons, simply visit the MusicTeacher.com platform.

If you enjoyed this article and video, don’t forget to check out PMTVUK on Youtube for more guitar lesson videos.