Black Sabbath – Planet Caravan Riff

'Paranoid', Black Sabbath's second album from 1970, is an accumulation of monstrous guitar riffs, created by the one and only Tony Iommi. 'Planet Caravan' seems to fall by the wayside as a quiet and somewhat ethereal song, but it is impossible to imagine the album without. Who would have even thought that Tony Iommi, one of the founding fathers of 'the guitar riff', would play a jazz-tinged solo on a heavy metal record? Unlikely! Let us look at the guidance.

Riff

The riff that Tony Iommi plays is written around an Em and a D chord. The Em chord is expanded with an F# on the fourth fret on the D string and the D chord gets extra character due to the voicing in which it is played, with many open strings.

What should I pay attention to when playing this riff?

1. Respect the fingering so that you always practice the riff the same way. This way you really get to know it and play it;

2. Try to be very careful that all strings that are allowed to sound open actually sound well. Make sure they are not muffled;

3. Study the tab at a leisurely pace and learn the riff note by note. Add a group each time. This way you will know and understand him by heart faster.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them at the bottom of this blog or in our forum !

Good luck!

Jeroen for Guitar Tabs