Description
The basic rhythm riff is a straight eighth note rhythm pattern. It's a very basic blues lick that was also widely used in early rock and roll style. For the riff, lightly place the side of the palm of your picking hand on the strings near the bridge. We are after a slightly muted sound; a palm mute. You don't want to choke the strings fomr ringing out completely. But we don't want to let the strings ring out completely. This can be tricky thing to get used to, finding the right balance between too much muting and not enough.
You can start by note even worrying about muting, then gradually add a bit of muting if you want! Slightly varying the amount of muting is in itself a great technique to explore!
The basic lead fill is three doublestops played an interval of a sixth apart. It's a very simple melodic idea, 3-2-1 that we harmonize a sixth lower to make it sound fuller. I'm using hybrid picking to play the lick. That also helps spice up the sound.
Remember, switching between the riff and the fill while remaining in time is point of this tutorial. That is how you can take your playing to the next level. So take your time to practice this first step until you get it down!
Lesson Info
