How to play Red Hot Chili Peppers - Raindance Maggie riff

RHCP's guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer
RHCP's guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer

The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie is the first single from the Chili Peppers' 2011 release I'm With You and features new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

While it's not strictly speaking a riff, Klinghoffer's catchy chorus melody is a great part. The key technique in this section is the string bending, and most of the bends are released after reaching the target note.

When the Video Lesson gives you the instruction 'a tone bend', you should bend the string so that it's at the same pitch as the note two frets higher. Sounding this target note before attempting the bend will let you hear the note you're going for, which will help ensure your playing is in tune.

Bar 5 involves bending a note and holding it while playing an un-bent note on another string. Practise this bend slowly, making sure you hold it at the correct pitch while playing the other note. (JU)

Get the sound

Go for a clean, bright sound. Roll off the bass a bit and boost the treble a little if you need more bite. If you're using a guitar with a humbucker, you may want to reduce the bottom end a little more and add some extra treble to counter the humbucker's warmer tone.

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