In order to be an accomplished guitar player, of course, you need to learn and practice chords, strumming patterns, fingerpicking as well as notes and scales when you start your guitar journey. But that process can be challenging and frustrating from time to time, making you have cold feet to practice more.
You need to take a break from it and enjoy playing some of your favorite riffs and melodies that made you want to start playing guitar in the first place.
Playing some easy and awesome guitar riffs will keep the fun alive in the learning process, motivating you while learning some new techniques for your skill repertoire, which will spice up your playing amazingly. Thus, it is ultimately essential for a beginner to learn and play some cool riffs along the way.
So get ready, turn on your amp, adjust the effects and start playing these specially picked 30 of the coolest and the most popular guitar riffs that are easy and extremely fun to play. You will notice that your progress will be much faster playing these timeless melodies.
Do I Wanna Know – The Arctic Monkeys
2013 super hit Do I Wanna Know from the famous English indie rock band The Arctic Monkeys is a killer song built around a stomping guitar riff that was meant to be one of the all-time greats since the moment it was released.
The riff is played as the intro, and the main melody, repeated many times throughout the song. Rhythmically it can be complex in some parts with its fast-paced movements. There are also some essential techniques in the riff, such as slides and hammer-ons.
This is a tremendous and fun-to-play groove that also helps you progress with your lead guitar playing. You can use overdrive for the song to make it more interesting!
E|--------------------------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-------------------1/3--1---------------0---------------------|
A|------1-----------1---------3/5-3---1-3---3----1-3-3h5-3h5----|
E|---1-3--3------1-3------------------------------------------3-|
Californication – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
One of the most classic riffs of rock history, without a doubt, is Californication from Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It is a simple yet fantastic tune that rocked the world when it came out in 2000.
The riff is pretty straightforward that can be played with a pick or with fingers. When playing, try to stay on the frets with your fingers for a longer time, letting the strings ring to get closer to the original sound.
When you feel comfortable with the riff, you can add the bass partitions (highlighted as bold) with legato techniques played after the guitar riffs. That way, the melody sounds much more complete and impressive.
e|---------------------------------------------------------|
B|-------0--1----------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------0--2----------------|
D|----2---------2--0h2p------------------------------------|
A|-0---------------------3-----------3-------3/5--3--------|
E|--------------------------------1------------------------|
Beat It – Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s famous song Beat It has one of the most iconic riffs of music history. This melody is a must for your guitar repertoire.
To play it like the original recording, you have to tune your guitar to Eb tuning. It means that every string should be half-step down. For practicing, you can play it in the standard tuning.
With a bit of overdrive, this riff sounds amazing. It is easy to learn and extremely fun to play; at the same time, it is a good practice for your left hand.
eb|----|-------------------|-----------------|-------------------|-----------------|
Bb|----|-------------------|-----------------|-------------------|-----------------|
Gb|----|-------------------|-----------------|-------------------|-----------------|
Db|----|-------5-2-----2h4-|(4)2-0---0-------|-------5-2-----2h4-|(4)2-0-----------|
Ab|----|-----2-------------|-----------------|-----2-------------|-----------------|
Eb|--0-|(0)3---------------|---------------0-|(0)3---------------|---------------0-|
Pumped Up Kicks – Foster The People
The colossal hit Pumped Up Kicks by the alternative rock band Foster The People rocked the world and the top lists back in 2010.
Played clearly on the intro and throughout the song, the riff is simple, with bass notes on higher strings. There are little hammer-on, pull-of sections which will help you with your left-hand progression.
This is a great riff to play as your first since it is elementary to learn and master. You can also try to use the palm mute technique to make it sound smoother.
e|-------------------|---------------------|----------------------|-------------------|
B|-------------------|---------------------|----------------------|-------------------|
G|-------------------|---------------------|----------------------|-------------------|
D|-------------------|---------------------|-1------1----1h3------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------1--3----|-----------------3----|-1----1----1-------|
E|-1----1----1--3----|-4------4------------|----------------------|--------------3--4-|
e|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------|------------------|
B|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------|------------------|
G|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------|----------3h5-3---|
D|-------------------|---------------------|-1------1----1h3-------|-----------------5|
A|-------------------|-------------1--3----|--------------------3--|-1---1------------|
E|-1----1----1--3----|-4------4------------|-----------------4-----|------------------|
e|-------------------|---------------------|----------------------|-------------------|
B|-------------------|---------------------|----------------------|-------------------|
G|-------------------|---------------------|----------------------|-------------------|
D|-------------------|---------------------|-1------1----1h3------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------1--3----|-----------------3----|-1----1----1-------|
E|-1----1----1--3----|-4------4------------|----------------------|--------------3--4-|
e|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------|------------------|
B|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------|------------------|
G|-------------------|---------------------|-----------------------|------------------|
D|-------------------|---------------------|-1------1----1-3-1-----|------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------1--3----|--------------------3--|-1---1----1h3p1---|
E|-1----1----1--3----|-4------4------------|-----------------------|-----------------3|
Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor
Mainly known as the Rocky song, Eye Of The Tiger from Survivor is the mythical song of adrenaline scenes. The riff is known by almost everybody in the world with its classic rhythm and melody.
The riff consists of lots of mutes on the same note with a steady picking technique. Start slowly and build up speed as you practice your right hand with the rhythm.
Most of this cool riff is the rhythm and continuity; it will help you a lot with your stamina while you enjoy firing up the guitar.
[Intro]
P.M.
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|-8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8-|
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|--8------8---6---8------8---6---8------8---3---4---------------------------| (x4)
Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz
Feel Good Inc is one of the most memorable and famous songs of the pioneer band Gorillaz. The song is a mixture of many genres, with rap, alternative rock sounds, and a great guitar riff as the song’s main melody.
The partition is pretty straightforward, with licks on the bass strings. The critical thing in this riff is to play it smoothly, giving the proper attention to every note. The vibratos are also essential since they create the little details of the riff, making it sound more profound.
It is an easy and fun to play, melodic riff, which you will enjoy learning. Later you can also try to play the variation of the melody played in the chorus.
e|------------------------------|
B|------------------------------|
G|------------------------------|
D|------------------------------|
A|---------3-2~---0-0-3-2-------|
E|-0-0-2-3----------------3--0--|
Another One Bites The Dust – Queen
Another One Bites The Dust is the super hit from English rock band Queen’s 80’s disco sound. It has a lovely melody for the bass, which you can also play on your guitar.
The melody is effortless to play with steady notes and comfortable left-hand positions. The original song is played with a guitar tuned half step higher. So you can choose to play in that tuning or use a capo on the first fret.
It is a lovely rhythmic melody that will take no time for you to learn and play.
e|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
B|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
G|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
D|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
A|------------------------------|-------------------------------|
E|-5-3-0--0--0-----0-0-0--3-0-5-|-5-3-0--0--0-----0-0-0--3-0-5--|
e|-------------------------|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|-------------------------|
G|-------------------0---2-|-------------------0---2-|
D|-2--2--2-----2-2-2---2---|-2--2--2-----2-2-2---2---|
A|-------------------------|-------------------------|
E|-------------------------|-------------------------|Enter Sandman – Metallica
Enter Sandman is the lead single from the Black Album of the mythical metal band Metallica. The riff is exceptionally famous, known by almost every rock fan.
The riff is pretty straightforward with easy-to-play notes. Be careful with the timings of each note and let the open E string ring while playing the notes on other strings.
You can play it with clean tones like the intro of the song or with a nice distortion like the latter melody of the song. It is a straightforward yet fantastic riff that will enrich your repertoire.
e|---------------------|------------------|---------------|
B|---------------------|------------------|---------------|
G|---------------------|------------------|---------------|
D|-------5-------------|----5-------------|----5----------|
A|----7-----------7----|-7-----------7----|-7-----------7-|
E|-0--------6--5-----0-|-------6--5-----0-|-------6--5----|
Come As You Are – Nirvana
Released in 1992, Come As You Are is one of the best songs of Nirvana and the Grunge genre. The piece’s intro melody is widely known for its guitar tone and its simple yet melodic structure.
The tuning of the original track is a whole step down, which is a bit of work to achieve. But if you are not going to play with the recording, you can play the melody with regular tuning.
The riff is extremely easy and consists of only 3 notes. The only thing you have to practice is the rhythmic structure of the melody and enjoy playing this grunge-style cool riff.
D|-------|-----------------|-----------------|
A|-------|-----------------|-----------------|
F|-------|-----------------|-----------------|
C|-------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|-------|-----0---0-------|---2-------2-----|
D|-0-0-1-|-2-----2---2-2-1-|-0---0-0-----0-1-|
Psycho – Muse
The 2015 hit Psycho by English rock band Muse has an old-school guitar riff that is extremely fun to play, and that sounds greatly solid and cool.
The riff has many electric guitar elements with triplets, pull-offs, and half-bends. Don’t let these elements scare you, as the riff is pretty straightforward to play. Just like Come As You Are, the original tuning is a whole step down, but you don’t need to change the tuning if you are not going to play on top of the original recording.
This riff has everything you need to practice, from left-hand techniques to two hands coordination. With a solid distortion, it sounds excellent and takes you back to the old-school rock setting.
e|-----------------------------|
B|-----------------------------|
G|-----------------------------|
D|-----------------------------|
A|-----------------------------|
D|-0-3p0-5p0-3-0-0-3p0-5b6-5b6-|