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Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode - Famous Riffs - Guitar Lesson

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Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode - Famous Riffs guitar lesson video
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Berry Is On Top album cover
Berry Is On Top
1955 2:42
Listen on Spotify
Chuck Berry Classic Rock 1955 Bb major
Capo Advisor 0 Bb major · Original key

About Johnny B. Goode - Famous Riffs

"Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry is one of the most iconic rock and roll songs ever recorded, built around a driving blues-based guitar riff that defined the electric guitar's role in popular music. The song's opening lick is a foundational piece of rock vocabulary that every electric guitarist should know. Learning its famous riffs offers direct insight into the techniques and phrasing that shaped generations of guitarists who followed.

  • The opening guitar riff of 'Johnny B. Goode' is one of the most recognized and imitated licks in rock history.
  • Chuck Berry's double-stop bends and rhythmic picking style in this song became a blueprint for rock and roll guitar playing.
  • Mastering this song's riffs helps guitarists understand blues-rooted phrasing, a core skill for playing classic rock and roll.

How to Play Johnny B. Goode - Famous Riffs

Tuning: E Standard · Key: Bb major · Tempo: 132 BPM

The central challenge is executing Chuck Berry's signature opening lick cleanly at 168 bpm, which combines double-stop bends, a blues-scale run, and precise rhythmic articulation in Bb major. Most guitarists find the position shifts and the timing of the double-stop bends the trickiest elements, so isolate that opening phrase and loop it slowly before chaining it into the driving rhythm work underneath. A common pitfall is rushing the bent notes and losing their pitch accuracy, so use the speed control to work the lick up gradually, prioritizing intonation over tempo. Berry's picking hand rhythm is as important as the lick itself, so keep the pick attack consistent and percussive throughout.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 132 BPM to build it up to tempo.

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