Guitar Lesson Blog

Hey there!

In this lesson we will look at the opening chords for the “Smoke on the Water” song by the British rock band Deep Purple. Everyone who plays electric or even acoustic guitar had played it at some point in life, testifying to the incredible popularity of the song.  First released on the album Machine Head in 1972, the song ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. What made it so famous are its simplicity and its central theme. The song starts out with the actual riff played by Ritchie Blackmore, later to be joined by hi-hat and distorted organ, drums, and eventually bass guitar and vocals.

Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple

The song has a story behind it, well reflected in the name of the song. On the 4^th of December 1971 Deep Purple had decided to record in Montreux, Switzerland using a mobile studio at the entertainment complex of the Montreux Casino.  The night before the recording session, the infamous Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention had a concert in the theater of the casino.  In the middle of performance, someone fired a flare gun and the place quickly caught fire. The fire had a devastating effect, destroying the entire complex. The title of the song came from the members of the band; watching smoke rising over the water of Lake Geneva which came from the burning of casino complex.

This song is so popular among beginner guitarists, but as Blackmore himself demonstrated it is now over two generations of guitarists that do so improperly. It is not played in fifths as most guitarists do, but in all fourths. A special charm adds playing it through an overdriven amp using your fingers. Note, that you don’t have to play rock only using pick. Richie Blackmore or Jeff Back for that matter who were able to get very hard rock sounds using only their fingers.

So here you have the riff. Please note the ghost notes (dead notes, which still have to be struck but muted to such a degree that they would only produce a percussive sound).

Here’s the actual riff:

And finally, listen to the playback of this riff and watch Deep Purple perform live to get the right rhythm and feel. Good luck!

smoke_on_the_water_ver6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7dQ8t6skTM