Learn a Classic Riff – Brown Sugar
When it comes to classic riffs, the Rolling Stones certainly have a few to choose from. Guitar player Keith Richards wasn’t known as The Human Riff for nothing.
When you think of the Stones, you think of their bluesy swagger and this riff is exactly that vibe in a few short bars.
The original version of Brown Sugar was played in Open G tuning but this is a slightly simplified, triad based version in Standard Tuning. It is played entirely on the D, G and B strings using just two main chord shapes – A third shape does get used later on, but only for a single bar.
Most of the chords you’ll be using will be major chords, or 6sus4 chords. Check out the Open G tuning video on the Blackstar Youtube channel for more details about these types of chords.
The first part of the track, the intro, moves between a G and C while using the 6sus4 extension. It starts with the G6sus4 and goes back to the G before shifting down to C and alternating up to C6sus4 and back.
This is repeated 4 times, but on the final time, you leave out the final C maj chord and just let the 6sus4 hang.
The main riff of the track is where the only other triad shape is introduced. The first bar goes between a D#maj triad and a D#add9 triad.
The rest of this riff uses the major and 6sus4 triads in typical Keith Richards fashion.
You’ll notice here the initial hit on each chord is at the tail end of the previous bar, this is played slightly ahead of the beat to give it a bit of swagger. The riff should maintain a very loose feel throughout.
The progression runs from D# (With D#add9) down to C (With C6sus4) before a single bar that moves between G# and Bb (And their 6sus4 extensions) before resolving back to the C chord for the final bar.
Check out the attached video to hear the rhythm of this classic riff. Keep it choppy and loose and you’ll be straight into Keith Richards territory.
