This main riff starts after the high, delay-soaked intro chords and the short, fast fill that follows them. It's quite a challenging riff and you need to be on top of your game to play the part cleanly.
The riff is based on a single rhythm that's repeated using different notes. Use alternate picking throughout and try to minimise your pick motion. Keeping your pick tight to the strings helps you get the riff up to speed.
Rope involves a lot of quick fret hand position shifts, too, so don't linger on the final note of each section. Mentally prepare for each shift while you're still playing the preceding part. Memorising the melody before you start playing will help you anticipate the changes and make them more fluent.
If you struggle with the fast six note phrase at the end of the riff, try playing the F and E notes with your fourth and third fingers. This leaves your other fingers in prime position.
Get the sound
The riff in Rope uses quite a thick tone to contrast the high chordal parts, so boost the bass a little and cut the treble a tiny amount. Avoid using too much gain: a fast, precise riff like this will quickly turn to mush with a high-gain tone. Opt for the neck pickup to give you the thickest, warmest tone.
For more guitar lessons where that came from and a whole lot more besides, check out Total Guitar magazine on Apple Newsstand. US readers click here.
“I can’t play jigs or reels or any of that traditional Irish stuff, but I have got a good ear for blues, the tonality of it”: 3 ways to supercharge your lead guitar playing like Rory Gallagher
“A well-crafted sequence is successful wherever you may wish to use it”: Use these tried and tested chord progressions to build an engaging song
