Bulls On Parade Guitar Lesson – Rage Against The Machine
In this Bulls On Parade guitar lesson video, I will show you how to play this smash hit from Rage Against The Machine note-for-note.
The tuning on the original recording is Eb tuning. That requires you to tune down every string down one half-step. Those notes are, starting from the 6th string, Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb.
However, in most of the live performances you will see online, RATM are playing the song in standard tuning. I will be teaching the original recorded version, so tune to Eb for this lesson.
The riffs in this one are pretty simple yet quite unique. The main riff uses octaves and probably the most difficult aspect of the riff is making sure that you are muting the unwanted strings around and between the octave notes.
From there we hold a simple power chord but play a rhythm that has to be in sync with a wah pedal. I will demonstrate how to time the wah pedal with the strums.
The verse uses a simple single note riff that has sort of a laid back vibe, but also incoporates some dissonance.
The chorus is the oddest riff of the song. I suspect that on the original recording, there are a couple of guitars overdubbed to create what you are hearing on the album. However, Tom Morello can obviously only play one of those live. So what I will demonstrate for that riff, is what Tom Morello typically plays live during the chorus.
The solo is classic Tom Morello with the use of turntable effects by using his frethand to scratch the strings, while also using his picking hand to get those scratches a rhythmic pattern by using a kill switch. I don't have a kill switch on my guitar, but I will demonstrate how he does it. You can then do you own thing during the solo.
Have fun with this one!
Carl...
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