Blister In The Sun Guitar Lesson – Violent Femmes


"Blister In The Sun" was originally released on the Violent Femmes self-titled debut album in 1983.

It has since gone on to considerable popularity due to it's use in many films and advertisements. It's simple and infectious main riff is a big reason for this.

In this Blister In The Sun guitar lesson, I will show you how to play this instantly recognizable riff along with all the other sections of the song.

The lesson starts by learning that classic opening acoustic guitar riff. The riff is quite easy to play and probably won't take you very long to master.

The entire riff consists of only 3 different notes, so if you can hum the melody easily, you shouldn't have much trouble memorizing which note goes where. You can also use all down strokes for this riff to make it even more simple to play.

After the band chimes in we play a variation of that opening riff using diads on the 2nd and 3rd strings. Pay close attention to how I finger these chords because it will make the left hand much easier. However, the main focus will probably need to be on the right hand picking during this part since you need to be accurate to hit two adjacent strings without striking the others. Once again, the use of all down strokes here will make everything much easier to play.

The chorus of "Blister In The Sun" consists of strummed open position chords that shouldn't give you much trouble. It is really important to let those chords ring out loud in this part to really open up the sound for the chorus.

The only other section to learn in this Blister In The Sun guitar lesson video will be the short instrumental section. I will go over all those parts as well even though there isn't much to it.

I think this song would be great to learn for the beginning level player. It has a cool single note riff, a double-note riff and fully strummed open position chords. All of that makes it great practice for the beginner level player. Enjoy!

Carl...

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Blister In The Sun Guitar Lesson - Violent Femmes

2 Comments

  1. Brendan Carroll on October 12, 2016 at 3:07 pm

    Thanks Carl. This song is always a crowd pleaser.
    I am relearning some songs I thought I already knew since I think your lessons are more accurate.

  2. zois asimakopoulos on January 11, 2017 at 8:36 am

    Nice and easy tutorial Carl. Thanks.

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