Deep Purple – Smoke On the Water
September 26, 2007
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.
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Suggested by Stewart and weelie





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!
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.