RIFF OF THE MONTH
ROYAL BLOOD
Typhoons
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
C# standard tuning
Natural minor scale riffing
Finger slides
Photo Getty Images
Royal Blood frontman and bassist Mike Kerr is well known for his effects-laden playing style which blurs the line between bass and guitar, so this month we attempt to make our guitar sound more bass-like as we tackle the title track from the duo’s latest album. Downtune to C# standard and you’ll be able to play the riff exactly as Mike does.The first half of the riff is played on the sixth string at various positions between the 8th fret and the open string. Those changes will be most fluent if you use all four fingers spread across the length of the fretboard.