White Lion - When the Children Cry - Guitar Lesson

About When the Children Cry

Few power ballads from the late 1980s demand as much sensitivity from a guitarist as "When the Children Cry." Written in G major and sitting at a calm 72 BPM, the song lives or dies on touch: the clean fingerpicked intro and verse passages need a steady, even attack, while the bigger chorus moments call for a controlled, singing lead tone. Vito Bratta's guitar work throughout is melodic and restrained, which can actually be harder to pull off than a fast solo because every note is exposed. The slow tempo means phrasing and vibrato are under a microscope, so pay close attention to sustain and how long you hold each note. If the intro picking pattern keeps tripping you up, use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until your right hand is completely comfortable. White Lion built this track around dynamics, so learning to shift between a soft clean touch and a fuller sound is the real challenge here. For more context on the style, explore the broader Hard Rock genre.

• The song is played in E Standard tuning in G major, so no retuning is needed, but the key rewards a capo-free open-string approach for extra resonance.
• The fingerpicked intro and verse sections require a clean, even right-hand technique where dynamics and note separation matter more than speed.
• At 72 BPM the slow tempo puts vibrato and sustain on full display, making controlled phrasing the primary skill to develop when practicing this song.