this was one of the hardest riffs to learn according to some guitar magazine. don't get discouraged Justin is the shit and is so generous with his knowledge
God I love how he's one of the few people on youtube who starts out with the actual riff demonstration, then gets right into it. I like to do by seeing, so watching how his fingers move is a godsend. You sir, are awesome.
Check out this guy called Jujucaster here on youtube, he plays the whole song full speed, while singing the full song at the same time. And the bass, and the drums as a one man band. Amazing.
Thanks and Tom Hanks Justin, great video! Spot on. Also I just wanted to comment that the reason John uses his ring on the 5th string between the B and the F# is because he slides straight into it from 6th to the 9th fret with his third finger, and it's a bit more of a solid sounding transition when you have to jump with your pinky. Hope that helps anyone else watching. Practice, practice, practice
Thats what i said,1st time but day by day its like eachtime i came back i got beta,still not fully there i get it 1 outa 3or4 times but tdays another day
Hey Justin, I´m Josue, from Honduras, Central America. I´m writting you this comment to make you proud of your online teaching, even guys like me who live in small countries are learning how to rock because of you. Thanks a lot.
I've been playing guitar for probably ~9 months now and thanks to this video I've learned one of my favorite riffs! I initially dismissed learning this song because I thought it looked way too hard but then I just gave it a shot and it felt really natural to play it... pinky doesn't hurt, hand doesn't cramp, ect. I can't quite play it up to speed yet but I'm close :) Couple more weeks and I should be able to play the whole song pretty clean (already learned the abbey road solo :D )
Looking at all of these videos and thinking it was hard myself really discouraged me, but gotta say a month into playing guitar and this being an end goal for me I’m already getting it pretty slowly I say practice it and you’ll get it! The thing that trips me up is the fast transition to the final chord
The actual riff itself isn't that hard to play slow. It's the speed and precision John plays it with... All whilst keeping it up for minutes on end. Crazy crazy crazy.
Watching the hand movements on the fret board in the beginning made the song seem impossible at first, but as i watched Justin break it down it becomes much more simple. i've always avoided learning this song due to it seeming difficult, but i checked out this and now it falls into place! Thank you justin, you've taught me so much over the past 6 months or so that i've been playing guitar!
holy hell, been working on the riff for a while.....trying to suss out the chords now & i think they're even tougher to nail.... frusciante is a mother to cop sometimes!
This dude can play literally anything. I'm going through his beginner guitar course and it's godsend. I picked up the guitar 2 weeks ago and I'm playing Coldplay now!! It's amazing! Been playing the drums for 14 years btw, and I'm 26 XD
Oh boi, watched this video like at least 20 times in the course of around two months... I can actually play the song on my phone keep up with the speed of it, but every time I play it my finger tips just pulse in the beat of my heart
Hey mate, I'm really picky with guitar tutorials and stuff and i always get annoyed when they don't do it right but this was really great, I loved it! What made it great was that you took time to study the way John plays it and stuff, that's was cool. Good stuff! :) You're a good player too!
For people who want to have a good tone for that song: - Play with a strat - Tone: Full and volume: Full - A little bit of overdrive - A little bit of reverb
I have taken a few lessons in person but I have gotten more direction from you and your website than anywhere else. You are the best guitar teacher around and you provide your bank of knowledge for free. Thank you for teaching me how to play guitar and keep up the good work!
Hi Justin. The reason for the inconsistent shape at 4:19 is that he has to slide up from the 6th fret on 5th string to the 9th fret on the same string. With your fingering, it won't be possible to slide up. :P Other than that, just loved your video.
Attempted this less than one year into playing guitar, it was a pretty impossible task, now after another 10-12months I am attempting again, now with a little more technique, also trying to hybrid pick it as it makes it more fun for me.
Before couple of month i am not able to playing this riff. But now i finished all of you IM course and it works. it's easy for me now. thanks Justin u are superb!!!!
i believe John uses his third finger on that one chord because his third finger is already on that string from the previous chord and he slides it up to the next chord.
Wow.. been trying this for a while.. seen a few versions but this is the only one with picking hand.. solved my problem.. starting to get faster now.. thanks.
wow! practice really does make perfect! i went from not even able to do the hammer ons to playing this song in a week with just 10 minutes of practice a day! thanks justin! i hope this comment can motivate people to want to play this riff
Took me a week to get this riff down perfectly. There are lots of little things in this riff that you need to be aware of. Your rhythm needs to be perfect, your picking needs to be fast and accurate, you shouldn't be picking too hard you should be able to change between those chord shapes quickly and smoothly, and, obviously, you need stamina to play the riff over and over again. Find out where your problem is and work on that. My problem was that my picking hand would freeze as soon as I did the hammer-on/pull-off, delaying the next note and ruining the rhythm, so I fixed that, and I can play it perfectly now. Keep at it.
These are quite simply the best instructional videos on youtube. Thanks to you I'm playing songs that I never thought I'd be able to play. Little wing and now this one. Really motivated to continue practicing seriously now. Thanks!
4:05 The reason he does it is because the third finger is on the A-String anyways so he can just slide it down instead doing a string jump from the E to the A string with his pinky
Dude, I just stumbled onto your site a few days ago and I have to say you have the most clear and simple way of explaining these songs. It's helped me a ton. The way you sing out the chord names in the song is genius. Makes it so much easier. Keep up the good work.
Incredible lesson, unlike most guitarists you're not distant with your instrument and display a lot of finesse that is truly inspiring. I can honestly say that without this guide I would have been lost. But thanks to you it took me no more than half an hour to be jamming full on. Thanks man!
This is actually a dangerous song to play. Any repetitive riff that you have to keep going for more than a minute can really fk your hand up. Take it slow and take breaks. Don't force it.
Hey Justin-You were wondering why John seems to break the finger position on the fourth chord. He probably finds it easier to keep his ring finger planted and just slide into that fourth chord. Great lesson! Gracias Amigo!
Legend. Cheers Justin. Im a massive fan of Frusciante and i only started playing guitar in December and this video has really helped me on my way to nailing what I thought was an impossible tune in a few days! I'm still trying to get the speed up whilst sting cleanly on the riff but once I nail that I'll learn the chord progression. Thanks man!
i noticed that even justins tempo is SLOWER than the actual recording. probably because it is just REAL HARD to play it at the john frsciantes tempo and level..
Great lesson. Thank you! I think John might use his 3rd finger instead of his pinky when going to the 4th chord, because his fingers aren't fixed in the chords right after the flick-off, so he can now choose either the pinky or the 3rd to slide to the next chord since both of them are in the air at this point, but it's easier to control/slide the 3rd finger than the pinky which is weaker more often than not. If the pinky was fixed/pressing down in the previous chord, I'm guessing he would keep the same position in the next chord. Cheers!
in the F# chord I use the ring finger instead of the pinkie too... just like you said John does! I'm not perfect while playing this song yet, but when I change from B to F# I slide the ring finger from the A string 6th fret to the 9th fret making an effect similar to a grace note... I guess that John do the same, so that's why he plays the chord with "less consistency" XD
OMG!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You're awesome dude!!! I have seen many videos showing how to play it but none as intricate as this!i LOVE this video! been watching it over and over for the past 2 hrs and I am almost there! thank you so much for taking the tie\me to SHOW and explain it the way you did! Again, you're awesome dude!
Finally!!!! I have had this tune as a ringtone for years, then my phone broke, so now I have to learn this song so I can hear it all the time again! :)
Um I think I'm a really fast Learner because people are saying it took them a year to play this riff smoothly and I'm siting here in my room for five minutes and I can play it smoothly
You do a very good job of teaching. The picking pattern was especially helpful to get the true melody of this song. Thanks! I'll put this site on my favorites bar. Don
Hey Justin, great video. I think the reason for alternate fingering is to get the slide into the fourth chord shape, since the ring finger is already on the 5th string (for the 3rd shape). Listening to the recording I'm sure there's a slide into the fourth chord
Hi I'm in France and I wanted to say you thank you for your lessons for your great humor and thank you for all your job. You are an awesome musician ... kisses from Paris, France :)
Fun fact: once I got my first and only guitar I said to myself ”OK here we go, first I’m going to learn Snow from RHCP”. Well I gave up after like 25 minutes thinking if I can’t learn such a simple repeating sound how will I ever learn anything.😂
![Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow [Hey Oh] [Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/p0vM9iINl28/mqdefault.jpg)
this was one of the hardest riffs to learn according to some guitar magazine. don't get discouraged Justin is the shit and is so generous with his knowledge
God I love how he's one of the few people on youtube who starts out with the actual riff demonstration, then gets right into it. I like to do by seeing, so watching how his fingers move is a godsend.
You sir, are awesome.
Marty shwartz does that too
@@yubdoesmc3963 Carl brown too
*Decides to play snow hey oh*
* watches 20 seconds of the video*
*Throws guitar*
HAHAHHAHA SO TRUE OMG
+MasInTheFace NOW IM ABLE TO PLAY THIS SHIT IM SO PROUD LOL
+MasInTheFace Basically me trying to learn some stuff.
Want to learn stuff like Helter Skelter and Blackbird.
+MasInTheFace I took me some time to learn this one, now its the easiest for me to play
+MasInTheFace john and josh on that fucking black magic wizardry shit
It took me an entire year to get that riff right.
I can play it at his speed now :D
+Avdhut Joshi good job
Check out this guy called Jujucaster here on youtube, he plays the whole song full speed, while singing the full song at the same time. And the bass, and the drums as a one man band. Amazing.
it took me 1.5 year to play it smoothly
bro i just started it so now i know ive got long ways
0:20 he fucking loves that riff
Not a single reason not to :D
still the best guitar teacher on RUclips ^ ^
saedt I agree. Marty and the other guy dont have nothing on Justin
+Lucas Argandoña Marty is great tho
2020, can confirm
Can we talk about carl brown guitarlessons365
@@seyli526 Yeah, Carl is every bit as good as Justin. Maybe better. He's an incredible teacher and equally incredible guitarist.
Thanks and Tom Hanks Justin, great video! Spot on. Also I just wanted to comment that the reason John uses his ring on the 5th string between the B and the F# is because he slides straight into it from 6th to the 9th fret with his third finger, and it's a bit more of a solid sounding transition when you have to jump with your pinky. Hope that helps anyone else watching. Practice, practice, practice
Justin is a best guitar teacher on youtube ... thank you
Man this song ain't no joke to play. Those chords kill your fingers.
Indeed. When you play it with a metronome, it kills them more
Thats what i said,1st time but day by day its like eachtime i came back i got beta,still not fully there i get it 1 outa 3or4 times but tdays another day
for me, it's not the chords. it's the picking.
Imagine how I struggle , when i play it using tapping and play other stuff with my left hand.
@@KS-dm9yb try hot for teacher by van halen
Hey Justin, I´m Josue, from Honduras, Central America. I´m writting you this comment to make you proud of your online teaching, even guys like me who live in small countries are learning how to rock because of you. Thanks a lot.
**Tries to learn**
**gives up**
**watches snow music video**
By 4 years
Has a relapse...
Justin is probably the most accomplished musician i have ever seen!
Started learning this on 8th January 2017, I'm coming back when I learn it! Wish me luck. :)
t0m4s you back yet ?
t0m4s see you in 2018😉
Ray O'Donovan ikr 😂
how is it goin
I've learned it, just have to work on speed.
This man impresses me every watch, excellent teacher and refreshingly humble.
I've been playing guitar for probably ~9 months now and thanks to this video I've learned one of my favorite riffs!
I initially dismissed learning this song because I thought it looked way too hard but then I just gave it a shot and it felt really natural to play it... pinky doesn't hurt, hand doesn't cramp, ect.
I can't quite play it up to speed yet but I'm close :)
Couple more weeks and I should be able to play the whole song pretty clean (already learned the abbey road solo :D )
Looking at all of these videos and thinking it was hard myself really discouraged me, but gotta say a month into playing guitar and this being an end goal for me I’m already getting it pretty slowly I say practice it and you’ll get it! The thing that trips me up is the fast transition to the final chord
The actual riff itself isn't that hard to play slow. It's the speed and precision John plays it with... All whilst keeping it up for minutes on end. Crazy crazy crazy.
And singing back vocals lol
it's a workout !
Watching the hand movements on the fret board in the beginning made the song seem impossible at first, but as i watched Justin break it down it becomes much more simple. i've always avoided learning this song due to it seeming difficult, but i checked out this and now it falls into place! Thank you justin, you've taught me so much over the past 6 months or so that i've been playing guitar!
I have put some notes about amp and geetar settings on the web site page for this song!
The tele when played by a great player is such a great sound
Oh god the picking pattern. God bless you, sir
holy hell, been working on the riff for a while.....trying to suss out the chords now & i think they're even tougher to nail.... frusciante is a mother to cop
sometimes!
i will come back to this in 5 months of playing... this riff is my ultimate goal
+KT Kiepe will wait for it, mate.
So can you play it yet??
KT Kiepe have you achieved your goal?
KT Kiepe dude?
Dude? Did you give up on guitar?
This dude can play literally anything. I'm going through his beginner guitar course and it's godsend. I picked up the guitar 2 weeks ago and I'm playing Coldplay now!! It's amazing! Been playing the drums for 14 years btw, and I'm 26 XD
Oh boi, watched this video like at least 20 times in the course of around two months... I can actually play the song on my phone keep up with the speed of it, but every time I play it my finger tips just pulse in the beat of my heart
those chorus chords are gnarly especially the last one
Yeah, let me just drink a pot of coffee and then snort a line so that I can play this song.
Now I know how they do it...
Eat some snow, Himalayan or alpine, and then practice
Hey mate, I'm really picky with guitar tutorials and stuff and i always get annoyed when they don't do it right but this was really great, I loved it! What made it great was that you took time to study the way John plays it and stuff, that's was cool. Good stuff! :) You're a good player too!
Great job friend. You not only played the song well but you also captured the feel and groove of John Frusciante's playing.
For people who want to have a good tone for that song:
- Play with a strat
- Tone: Full and volume: Full
- A little bit of overdrive
- A little bit of reverb
Slowly I get better but it's really hard. I love the song so I want to play it.
Thank you Justin ;)
I have taken a few lessons in person but I have gotten more direction from you and your website than anywhere else. You are the best guitar teacher around and you provide your bank of knowledge for free. Thank you for teaching me how to play guitar and keep up the good work!
Hi Justin. The reason for the inconsistent shape at 4:19 is that he has to slide up from the 6th fret on 5th string to the 9th fret on the same string.
With your fingering, it won't be possible to slide up. :P
Other than that, just loved your video.
It IS possible. Just place your pinky on the string and slide to the 9th fret :P
Good observation
john frusciante is my major inspiration and you are the best teacher to reach john techniques, thanks justin!
I'm French and I love what you do!
You're one of the few teaching this song correctly. Thank you :)
theres a slide between the 2 last part of the riff, with the ring finger i guess, that would explain the weird fingering for the f sharp part
Attempted this less than one year into playing guitar, it was a pretty impossible task, now after another 10-12months I am attempting again, now with a little more technique, also trying to hybrid pick it as it makes it more fun for me.
Justin you are such a legend! This is my favourite Chilli Peppers song!
Before couple of month i am not able to playing this riff. But now i finished all of you IM course and it works. it's easy for me now. thanks Justin u are superb!!!!
1:20 for riff
6:45 for picking
7:40 for chords
John slides into the F sharp, which is very difficult to do with the pinky. Hence the changed fingering.
i believe John uses his third finger on that one chord because his third finger is already on that string from the previous chord and he slides it up to the next chord.
Thankyou, This song took me half a year to get right, Now I can play it up to full speed
THIS IS A MASTERPIECE!
Been practicing this song about 4 mins got it down. Thanks for your time showing us how to do it.
I think he plays it with the ring finger because in the original song, he slides from E to F# with his ring finger in the fourth variation.
Wow.. been trying this for a while.. seen a few versions but this is the only one with picking hand.. solved my problem.. starting to get faster now.. thanks.
I just learned this you're a fucking genius
wow! practice really does make perfect! i went from not even able to do the hammer ons to playing this song in a week with just 10 minutes of practice a day! thanks justin! i hope this comment can motivate people to want to play this riff
Brilliant sir, thank you!
Took me a week to get this riff down perfectly. There are lots of little things in this riff that you need to be aware of. Your rhythm needs to be perfect, your picking needs to be fast and accurate, you shouldn't be picking too hard you should be able to change between those chord shapes quickly and smoothly, and, obviously, you need stamina to play the riff over and over again. Find out where your problem is and work on that. My problem was that my picking hand would freeze as soon as I did the hammer-on/pull-off, delaying the next note and ruining the rhythm, so I fixed that, and I can play it perfectly now. Keep at it.
Gaaaah! I love the Peppers! Thank you very much for this lesson.
One of the only teachers that actually teaches to play the songs the right way had to sub
I really enjoyed this and I don't even play guitar
What?
+Kaitlyn Peachey well, what are you waiting for? :)
These are quite simply the best instructional videos on youtube. Thanks to you I'm playing songs that I never thought I'd be able to play. Little wing and now this one. Really motivated to continue practicing seriously now. Thanks!
RIP my entire hand.
Holy fuck.
AT LAST! FIRST GOOD LESSON ON RUclips
4:05 The reason he does it is because the third finger is on the A-String anyways so he can just slide it down instead doing a string jump from the E to the A string with his pinky
I find John's easier
This true, it because of the slide.
Dude, I just stumbled onto your site a few days ago and I have to say you have the most clear and simple way of explaining these songs. It's helped me a ton. The way you sing out the chord names in the song is genius. Makes it so much easier. Keep up the good work.
I find it easier to do the riff if I start with a upward pick instead of a down pick
THE BEST tutor on RUclips. Justin... we salute you
This riff ruined my life
Incredible lesson, unlike most guitarists you're not distant with your instrument and display a lot of finesse that is truly inspiring. I can honestly say that without this guide I would have been lost. But thanks to you it took me no more than half an hour to be jamming full on. Thanks man!
This is actually a dangerous song to play. Any repetitive riff that you have to keep going for more than a minute can really fk your hand up. Take it slow and take breaks. Don't force it.
It’s just muscle pain, keeping on going makes you stronger
Brilliant stuff Justin.
this is soooo damned difficult for me cause i always get stuck and lose the tempo
thanks you for your supportive words
Hey Justin-You were wondering why John seems to break the finger position on the fourth chord. He probably finds it easier to keep his ring finger planted and just slide into that fourth chord. Great lesson! Gracias Amigo!
Am ith e only person in pain playing this. My wrist is killing me.
+Cheshire TrollCat Don't worry man, you're hand will adapt!
Mine killed my thumbs!
Well, it adapted finally.
my shoulder and wrist aaargh
+Cheshire TrollCat Index finger for me. Glad to hear you adapted. This is a great song.
Been practicing this song for about 20 minutes and got it, well done Justin you never dissapoint.
The reason he uses his ring finger over his pinky on the last shape of the verses is because he slides with the ring finger
I was going to say the same thing
Legend. Cheers Justin. Im a massive fan of Frusciante and i only started playing guitar in December and this video has really helped me on my way to nailing what I thought was an impossible tune in a few days! I'm still trying to get the speed up whilst sting cleanly on the riff but once I nail that I'll learn the chord progression. Thanks man!
i noticed that even justins tempo is SLOWER than the actual recording. probably because it is just REAL HARD to play it at the john frsciantes tempo and level..
Justin's tempo still sounds really dope. I might actually prefer that over the riff in the recording because it sounds so good
Great lesson. Thank you! I think John might use his 3rd finger instead of his pinky when going to the 4th chord, because his fingers aren't fixed in the chords right after the flick-off, so he can now choose either the pinky or the 3rd to slide to the next chord since both of them are in the air at this point, but it's easier to control/slide the 3rd finger than the pinky which is weaker more often than not. If the pinky was fixed/pressing down in the previous chord, I'm guessing he would keep the same position in the next chord. Cheers!
rip wrist
:(
Together with SRV , JH and Rory you're the reason why i picked up the guitar. Thanks
god give me a better right hand
omg that sounds funny
give me longer fingers
in the F# chord I use the ring finger instead of the pinkie too... just like you said John does!
I'm not perfect while playing this song yet, but when I change from B to F# I slide the ring finger from the A string 6th fret to the 9th fret making an effect similar to a grace note...
I guess that John do the same, so that's why he plays the chord with "less consistency"
XD
Holy shiiiiit... This is impossible!!!
Hang in there, you'll get it! :)
Try dragon force - through the fire and the flames....that is impossible
What a great teacher Justin is,always was and is.super guitarist as well and great tutorials with voice explanation to match top man
do a lesson on Scooby snacks-fun lovin criminals
Thanks for this, I like that you're alternate picking this, cos that's the way I like to pick.
This isn't funny anymore I was super excited to learn, and now i realise how hard it i s
you know its tricky when justin
Its stupid because its difficult to spread my fingers across those strings and get good notes to come out.
dude playing this makes my hand hurt so bad
prolly need to do some left hand finger stretching exercises or some shit :P
OMG!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You're awesome dude!!! I have seen many videos showing how to play it but none as intricate as this!i LOVE this video! been watching it over and over for the past 2 hrs and I am almost there! thank you so much for taking the tie\me to SHOW and explain it the way you did! Again, you're awesome dude!
Practice to a metronome
Best teacher on RUclips by a freakin' mile!!!!!! :D
I hate this, I can play fine but just can't get a good tone
Jack Neill agree with you
Lol. It's just any strat with neck pickup into fender amp. Also add some reverb
Finally!!!! I have had this tune as a ringtone for years, then my phone broke, so now I have to learn this song so I can hear it all the time again! :)
Um I think I'm a really fast Learner because people are saying it took them a year to play this riff smoothly and I'm siting here in my room for five minutes and I can play it smoothly
Tristian Seguin post a vid
Dito
justin is the shit, got home from the hospital on adavant and he is so easy to learn from i still learned this song in like an hour
You do a very good job of teaching. The picking pattern was especially helpful to get the true melody of this song. Thanks! I'll put this site on my favorites bar. Don
Love how you teach every single song... Can't understand why some other guitar channels have more subscribers than you do
Greetings from Upper Noe Valley, San Francisco, big yes to this one. another jewel for my music box from Justin. Thank you molto
Hey Justin, great video. I think the reason for alternate fingering is to get the slide into the fourth chord shape, since the ring finger is already on the 5th string (for the 3rd shape). Listening to the recording I'm sure there's a slide into the fourth chord
Hi I'm in France and I wanted to say you thank you for your lessons for your great humor and thank you for all your job. You are an awesome musician ... kisses from Paris, France :)
Fun fact: once I got my first and only guitar I said to myself ”OK here we go, first I’m going to learn Snow from RHCP”. Well I gave up after like 25 minutes thinking if I can’t learn such a simple repeating sound how will I ever learn anything.😂
I got the riff right and I've only been playing for nine months. Now the speed is what's freaking hard
Best lesson for this song BY FAR!!!!