Sweet Child O’ Mine | TAB
There are plenty of specific chord riffs to work on here, if you want to learn the solos as well, use the 2nd video in the playlist above.
Here’s the intro melody, I’ve put the chords in as well which would work behind this melody, they don’t spell out what the chord notes played in the riff are.
Should we want to name the chords after what the lead guitar is playing (including all notes) that would be:
- Bar 1, 2, 7, 8 – Dadd4 (3 and 4)
- Bar 3 and 4 – C69add#11 (3rd, 9, 6, #11)
- Bar 5 and 6 – Gsus2maj7 (5, 9, maj7)
- bar 9 and 10 – Dadd4add9 (2, 3, 4)
Make sure you can see all intervals in these chords, it’s important.
Here’s the verse, first half. We’re coming from an intro here but also after an instrumental section, play this.
Notice how the part starts where the high melody ended, then moves down the neck before settling in on a rhythm pattern.
Here’s the second half of the verse, it is slightly modified, combining Izzy and Slash’s parts into one.
I think this is a genius part, plenty of variation and repetition of ideas in here. Learn this, then find small ways to vary it.
Here’s the first way to play the chorus. We modified what the intro was doing into following the chords. I found it easier to use the chord names that the part forms here. I didn’t do that for the intro because the names became too crazy.
You may find that playing this live gets in the way of the vocal, Also, on the original they don’t do this every time.
Here’s another way to play the chorus.
We start low, then add the intro melody only over the D chord. On the way back, we use a higher A5 chord to bridge the gap.
Here’s a 3rd way to play the chorus. We now play this awesome lick over the D chord, then build to solo using power chords.
Let’s now look at the instrumental section. You want to see each interval in relation to the chords here, it will help you remember the melody and also sharpen your ear.
Instrumental section 2 is very similar, to learn the solo as Slash played it, use the 2nd video in the playlist above.
Before this becomes the longest lesson ever, let’s move on to the breakdown which also works for the outro.
I have to stop here, any more TAB and it’s just too much, I’d need the 8-step-by-step format for this, maybe one day…
What stops me is that there is plenty of information on how to play this classic available elsewhere (YouTube!).
I do feel there is a lot to be gained from learning how to play Sweet Child O’ Mine perfectly, both the Izzy and Slash parts. Still, you’d have to find a way to combine the parts if you want to play this live as the only guitarist…
Hopefully, my TAB above has nudged you in the right direction.
Sweet Child O’ Mine TAB | Related Pages
Sweet Child O’ Mine | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn to play Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| D5 | D5 |
She’s got a smile that it seems to me…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Guns N’ Roses tunes
Formed in the mid-’80s in Los Angeles, Guns N’ Roses wrote almost all their best tunes before the release of the debut album.
Their biggest hits include Paradise City, Welcome To The Jungle, Sweet Child O’ Mine, Patience, You Could Be Mine, and November Rain.
Guns N’ Roses on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This guitar lesson by Dan Lundholm features TAB and covers Sweet Child O’ Mine. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.