Paint It Black Guitar Lesson

What's up, it's Mike from Guitar Tricks, teaching you "Paint It Black" as made famous by The Rolling Stones. This is an 60s era rock classic that features some dark minor key melodies and even a sitar!

This song features 3 guitar layers. Guitar 1 is a clean electric guitar that drives the tune with some repeated arpeggiations as well as playing some aggressive rhythm guitar. Guitar 2 is an acoustic guitar that plays the chord progression with a driving strumming rhythm. Guitar 3 is adapted from the sitar part that is featured prominently throughout.

The tune starts out with Guitar 1 playing a dramatic, freetime melody based off the sitar part. The drums pound in and the groove takes off with a verse that features a very tense progression. The chorus is a more open rocking section that brings some variety to the mood & dynamic. The arrangement is very simple, alternating between the two sections, and breaking down just once for a dramatic, low dynamic verse.

To play this tune using only one guitar, play Guitar 1 all the way through. Guitar 1 requires a capo placed at the 2nd fret.