Learn to play three fun and easy guitar riffs from the 1990s with Guitar Control instructor Darrin Goodman, aka Uncle D. Be sure to get the free tabs to go along with the video instruction and you will be rockin’ these modern classics tonight!
Introduction
How’s it going everybody? This is Darrin with GuitarControl.com bringing you this video lesson and today I’ve got three fun and easy riffs for you from the 90s.
So right now Guitar Control is giving away this really cool free chord chart, there’s a link in the description where you can download yours. It’s in PDF format and just has every chord you could ever need all neatly compiled onto one sheet. So you can download it, print it off, put a copy in your gig bag, put a copy where you practice; so just whatever situation you’re in you have any coordinated to glance and it’s a free download.
So be sure to click on the link in the description for the tabs and let’s get close up and take a look at these.
1990s Riff-1 – All The Small Things – Blink 182
All right so the first riff we’re going to look at is All the Small Things by Blink 182. So this is just made up of just the fifth power chord shape that you probably already know. So we’re going to start off here on G5; so my first finger is on the third fret of the low E string and my third finger is on the fifth fret of the A string and then my fourth finger is on the fifth fret of the D string. Now if you’re a beginner sometimes it’s difficult to get that note; so if can you can only get just the two lower notes in all of these chords that’s fine. So we rest one, two, three and four. So on the and of three we hit this G5 and then we move down a whole step to F5. Then starting on the second measure we go up to a C5 so it’s just that same shape but just opposite of strings; so my first finger’s on the third fret of the A string, third fingers on the fifth fret of the D string and fourth finger is on the fifth fret of the G string and again you can omit that highest note… So now we just have a straight eighth note feel so it’s just one, two and, three and four and… We’re going to do an F5, but it’s a different one, it’s an octave higher. So we’re just going to take this shape and move it up a whole set of strings so now your first finger is on the third fret of the D string third finger is on the fifth fret of the G string, but your pinky actually needs to move up a half step so it’s on the sixth fret of the B string, same strum… Then we’re back to G5, the first one, so we just moved down all the way so now we’re at the third frets of the E A and D string, whole measure of that, one and, two and, three and, four and. Then on the fourth measure we hit this on the downbeat of one and then two and, three and, we’re gonna do this mute thing. So we hit this one and then on the and of one just let your fingers touch the strings; so there you don’t want to press down, just touch them so when you pick you just get that that percussive sound. So one and, two and, three and now we’re going to come down to the F5 the one at the first fret here on the lower strings and four and then it just repeats…
1990s Riff-2 – Torn – Natalie Imbruglia
All right the next we’re going to look at is torn by Natalie Imbruglia; I’m hoping pronouncing that last name right, for some reason my I’m having a hell of a time remembering that name. Anyway, this is a really cool song and this chord progression is the same in the verse and in the chorus, it’s just rhythmically it changes. So we start off it’s made up of a bunch of barre chords. So we’ve got an F major so I’m barring all the way across the first fret with my first finger then my second finger is on the second fret of the G string, third finger is on the third fret of the A string, fourth finger is on the third fret of the D string… We’re going to start off with four sixteenth notes so beat number one is one e and uh and then we hit this again on two… then a mute strum; so One e and uh, two e… four e and a… So it’s like you do four quick ones one slightly longer and then a mute and at the end of it you do two sixteenth notes on the end. So beat number one is the four 16th notes, beat number two and then that’s tied to the downbeat of three e and uh, four e and. So the only difference is that on the first time you do a mute and then a strum and then the second time it’s just two mutes… and it’s the same for each one of these chords. So the next chord is C; so we’re going to do the C major that’s rooted on the A string so my first finger is picking up the third fret of the A string and my third finger is barring the fifth fret of the D, G and B string, same strum… Then we have D minor; so we just move up a whole step and then switch from this major shape to the minor shape; so I’m barring at the fifth fret now my second finger is on the sixth fret of the B string, my third finger is on the seventh fret of the A string, excuse me, D string and my fourth finger is on the seventh fret of the D string, G string, oh my gosh, D string, G string, B string… it’s a tongue twister. And then we have B flat; so what we’re going to do is that same shape we did for F, but we’re just going to do it barring at the sixth fret. So if you just take this shape move up one fret and then everything down a string… and it’s the same strum and then it just starts over again…
1990s Riff-3 – Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Then the last one to look at is Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. So this one is just made up of power chords, the same shapes that was in the Blink 182 song. So what we’re going to do is we’re going to start with an F5; so first finger on the first fret of the low E string, third finger on the third fret of the A string, fourth finger on the fourth fret of the D string, and again optional. So the timing on this, the groove of this, is what makes it sound the way that it sounds. So we’ve got a dotted eighth note and then a 16th note and then an eighth note… so this one rings out one 16th note longer than an eighth note, so it’s like the equivalent of three 16 notes… then a sixteenth note and then an eighth note so it’s like short and not as long. And then we’re going to do those mute strums and it’s four 16th notes, but it’s the on the and of two and the downbeat of three… Then we’re gonna do B flat five; so we’re just going to take that shape and move it up a set of strings so now our first finger is on the first fret of the A string, third fingers on the third fret of the D string and optionally fourth finger on the fourth fret of the G string. So we hit this on the and of three and four and on the and of four we just hit the A, D and G strings open, but you don’t want it to have a lot of power on that, you don’t want it to really stand out, you want to be a little more subtle… So that’s our first measure and then the second measure we’re just going to do basically the same thing, but we’re going to move up, so instead of starting here on the first fret we’re going to move up so we’re starting on the fourth fret. So this is A flat or G sharp, however you want to look at it, same strum… up to a D flat five. So we’re just going to move straight up just like we did before with the open strings and then it just starts over again…
Conclusion
All right, so there you have it, three fun and easy riffs from the 1990s. So if you like this lesson be sure to give me a thumbs up and leave a comment down below if you have any questions about this or other guitar related topics. If you haven’t already done so please subscribe to the channel and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss any of the content that we upload throughout the week. Well that is all I have for you today. Thanks for watching and have a great day.
