DON’T FEAR THE REAPER | Easy Guitar Riffs | Riff Of The Month Series Part 2

This month’s riff is from the song DON’T FEAR THE REAPER by the Blue Oyster Cult. This riff sounds awesome and is super easy to play. Each month I will be breaking down and teaching you how to play an iconic riff to help you become a better guitar player.

These riffs are fun exercises that sound great and are the perfect way to get your fingers moving around the fretboard. They’re a guaranteed way to help you improve as a guitarist. So grab your guitar, turn up your amp and lets dive in!

In this lesson you will learn:

Don’t Fear The Reaper Video Concepts

1. Song Key and Time Signature

2. How to play the riff with proper fingerings.

3. Opportunity to play along as practice.

Chapters

1:05 Song Key And Time Signature

1:25 How To Play The Riff

3:47 Play Along

ACTION STEPS

Take some time to watch the video again to make sure you have absorbed everything I’m teaching. It’s also a good idea to listen to the song on YouTube so you can get a context for the riff and how it sounds and feels. You can listen to the song here.

Step 1. For this step, just know that the song is in the key of “A” minor and the time signature is 4/4. This means that there are 4 beats in every bar, or there are 4 cow bell hits in every bar. “A” minor is the relative minor of C major. This means that the key of “A” minor and the key of “C” major are made up of the same notes (but their scales start on different notes). The key of “A” minor is built on the “A” minor scale – A B C D E F G A. The Key of “C” major is built on the “C”major scale. C D E F G A B C.

Step 2. The riff is based off of “Am”, “G”, and “F” chords. For “Am” you just remove your first finger. With the “G” chord, you play it with your 2nd and 3rd fingers. For the “F” chord, you play an “F” power chord shape. Make sure you are allowing the “G” string to ring throughout the whole song. That’s what really gives this riff such a cool sound!

Step 3. The riff is in three sections so it would help if you learn each section individually then put them together when you are ready. Most of the picking patterns is just picking down the strings except for the “Am” chord. On this chord, sure to pick the “G” string twice.

Hope you enjoy this month’s riff!

Happy Playing!

Be sure to check out last months riff here!