Although there were no major injuries, the resulting fire destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers' equipment. At the beginning of Don Preston's synthesiser solo on "King Kong", the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun towards the rattan-covered ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line. This was the theatre's final concert before the casino complex closed down for its annual winter renovations, which would allow Deep Purple to record there. On the eve of the recording session, a Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention concert was held in the casino's theatre. The lyrics tell a true story: on 4 December 1971, Deep Purple were in Montreux, Switzerland, to record an album ( Machine Head) using a mobile recording studio (rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio-referred to as the "Rolling truck Stones thing" and "a mobile" in the lyrics) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino (referred to as "the gambling house" in the song lyric). The lyrics of the song talk about how the band went to a recording session in Montreux.-Opening verse and chorus of "Smoke on the Water", recollecting the fire. The intro riff was originally played on a Fender Stratocaster, not a Gibson as many believe. The intro riff is ranked the #4 Greatest Riff of All Time by Total Guitar magazine. Smoke on the Water was released by Deep Purple on their 1972 album Machine Head. It’s loads of fun to play along with the backing track to Smoke on the Water you’ll find above, or even the original recording, so make sure you give it a shot once you are comfortable with the individual parts of the song. It’s just a bit more difficult than the intro, but you’ll get it perfect with just a bit of practice. It’s a great riff, and again, very easy to play even if you are brand new to the electric guitar.Īnd finally, we’ll learn the chorus, which is another very cool riff that you’ll be able to learn quickly and play to your friends and family. Next, we’ll learn to play the verse to Smoke on the Water, which is an arpeggio of 2 power chords.Ī lot of people stop at the intro riff, but I would really urge you to learn the chorus to Smoke on the Water as well. You just need 4 notes, as Ritchie Blackmore demonstrates in the intro Riff. You’ll find that everything is really simple, which really goes to show you that you don’t need lightning fingers and 20 scales to create something historic in music. It’s also interesting to note that Ritchie Blackmore played this lick without using a pick, so he played it with his fingers. Watch me play it, and also watch the original, to really get a feel for it. The most important part of learning this intro is getting the rhythm and timing right. You’ll need to get used to it at first, but it’ll become easy with practice. If you’re not familiar with double stops, the technique refers to playing 2 strings at the same time. So we’ll start out with the ever-popular intro riff, which consists of 4 double stops. If you are at the level where you can already play that solo, then you probably won’t even need to be watching this lesson anyhow. You’ll also hear a long solo in the original recording, but we won’t be learning that in this lesson, since this is meant to be a beginner’s tutorial.
YOU TUBE SMOKE ON THE WATER HOW TO
You can play it on the acoustic as well, but you won’t get that distorted rock feel unfortunatelyīesides the intro riff, our guitar lesson on Smoke on the Water will also teach you how to play the verse, and the chorus, both of which are simple. Oh, sorry acoustic guitarists, but this song isn’t really suitable for the acoustic. It’s one of those riffs you can show off to people after playing guitar for about 1 week ? If you are into the electric guitar and are a beginner, you’ll love this riff: it’s easy, quick, sounds great, and everyone will know it. The intro riff to Smoke on the Water is most likely one of the first riffs 90% of guitarists learn to play. With our guitar tutorial on Smoke on the Water, you will learn these guitar skills: