In the beginning when you first start to learn how to play the guitar you may become frustrated. This is because you want to be able to play songs just like your favorite guitarist but are not able to. There are many songs which you would like to play and which prove difficult, but there are also plenty of easy lead guitar riffs that you could attempt instead.



For you to be able to play any sort of lead guitar riffs you need to be able to read guitar tabs first. If you cannot read guitar tabs then even learning easy lead guitar riffs becomes much more difficult for you. Anyone who has mastered reading guitar tabs will tell you just how much easier you will find it to play lead guitar riffs including the ones we mention in this article.

1. Smoke On The Water is an extremely popular guitar riff that people who are only just learning how to play this instrument will attempt. This particular riff is one of the simplest songs that you will be able to learn when you just start to play the guitar.

To play this particular lead guitar riff you start off with playing the D and G strings open, so none of your fingers will be in contact with the guitar strings and the frets underneath. Once you have played these two strings together you now take your index finger and place it over the third fret on the D string and your middle finger over the third fret on the G string. Again play these two notes together making sure your fingers are positioned correctly before moving on to the next note to play. The next note to play requires you to put your index finger over the fifth fret on the D string and your middle finger over the fifth fret of the G String. Once played you return to the open position before repeating the same notes again. When learning to play any lead guitar riffs including this one it is better not to use a guitar pick but rather just your index finger and thumb.

2. Hells Bells which was written by AC/DC as well as being one of the greatest rock anthems of all time is also one of the easiest songs that you as a guitarist can learn to play. Although be aware that you may find this song a little difficult to play initially because of the speed at which it should be played. Normally this easy lead guitar riff should be played at a speed (tempo) of 96 beats per minute and which is why you may find it so hard to play initially.

So if you really do want to learn how to play this riff well then you should start off playing at a much slower speed than it would normally be played. The best way to do this is get yourself a metronome and then use this to slow down the beats per minute at which you should be playing this particular lead guitar riff. Only when you start to feel more confident in your playing skills should you then begin to increase the speed at which you play it.

3. Another lead guitar riff that you could learn to play is Love Me Tender which really isn't classed as a rock riff. But when you are first learning how to play the guitar this is a simple one for you to attempt. For you to be able to play this song you will only need to use your middle, index and ring fingers. However, don't expect to actually be able to get your fingering position correct straight away it will take lots of practice before you find yourself playing the notes in this song the right way.

Above we have looked at three easy lead guitar riffs that you will find details of how to play online and which are worth you thinking about learning when you start playing the guitar. But in order for you to further improve your guitar playing you will need to dedicate as much time as you can to practicing what you learn including easy lead guitar riffs.