This is the first riff every guitarist learns to play. It’s the embodiment of the ‘less is more’ philosophy.
Deep Purple guitarist and writer of this riff, Ritchie Blackmore is currently writing madrigals and appearing at a renaissance fair near you.
Suggested by Stewart and weelie
First one I learned too. Glad you like the series. I’m thinking of going back and doing numbers 20 to 11 at some point.
[…] Child O’ Mine. 1.5 Back In Black. 2. Whole Lotta Love. 3. Paranoid. 4. Seven Nation Army. 5. Smoke On The Water. 6. Sunshine of Your Love. 7. Le Freak. 8. Satisfaction. 9. Gay Bar. 10. Iron […]
Your website ROCKS! I just discovered it- just finished building my uke (from a kit) and now I’m loving hunting for TABS.
Thanks so much!
Thanks, Dodgergrrl. Glad you like it. And congratulations on building your own uke. I’d never be able to do that.
it was the first guitar riff i learnt!
I can’t play this song on my guitar, only One and a very slow Stairway to Heaven.
But now I can play it on my ukulele!
Ahahahah. Yeh we all learnt this on the guitar as our first song. I thought you would tab out the whole song, and then I come here and it’s like four bars and thats it, it’s hilarious.
Mark: Well that’s the point of the series.
I dont Mean To Be Contreversial but if you play
Am, C, D, Am, C, D# D
Than You can Use chords instead of single notes.
Joe: Yeah, that would work.
I taught myself how to play the ukelele abd how to read the music and now i’m really getting into ur site!
Joe danks – If you play these chords, but still play the original tune on the bottom (A) string (you know, 0, 3, 5, 0, 3, 6, 5), it sounds even better!
Miss.lol: Glad to hear it.
Josh: Thanks.
i dont even play the guitar and this is the first thing i played on it. wise words!!!
this is the first riff i played on my uke 2, its just so easy
I think its way easier if u play it like this
all on G (string)
3,6,8,3,6,9,8,3,6,8,6,3,3
that’s how i learnt it and it sounds GR8
you know how it’s supposedly the it’s the first guitar riff you learn…well, I think I’ve been cheated out of a riff ‘coz I’ve never learnt it at all! :( great on the Uke though
Gosh, has this really been here for 3 years?
Doesnt time fly!
Ahh, I remember it well… a young ukulele player without a care in the world, eager for uke tips, visiting the website of some floppy haired bloke in a pink shirt…
And now look at me – 2 kids running about under my feet, and not enough spare time even have a crap in peace and quiet, let alone to pick up a ukulele and strum it for more than five minutes.
Where did it all go wrong!!!
But anyway, im thinking of adding this to the set list for the next HUG meeting, which will be a “Hall’o’fawkes” special – so, ta!
thank you for all the stuff on your great website!
Begginers Favourite Uke Riff. Sounds great with so little effort.
Interesting how its two strings, my friends play the smoke on the water on uke with the G string. My first uke song was “My Bonnie” however another recognizable tune to the older folk.
I’ve been practicing for a few days now and I’m wondering if there is any trick for plucking two strings at once. I’m either just not coordinated enough or I’m doing something wrong trying to pluck with two fingers as I’m having no success at all.
Any tips?
Dizzy: On this one I’m using my thumb on the g-string and my index finger on the C-string.
I like to steady my picking hand by anchoring my little finger on the soundboard. It’s bad technique but it does make things easier.
this is really helping with my guitar lessons at school
chelsea: Glad it helped!
Smoke on the Water was not the first guitar riff I ever learned, that would be Satisfaction. SOTW was written seven years after I started playing guitar.
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It’s funny because it’s true! That really was the first riff I learned to play on the guitar!
I’m enjoying this series. Thanks for doing it!