Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Juice WRLD

1 guitar song · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Pop Rock

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Lucid Dreams - Guitar Cover

YouTube Stats: 1.2M · 37K

Artist Overview

Juice WRLD (born Jarad Higgins) emerged from Chicago in 2017 as one of the most influential figures in the emo-rap and melodic trap movement. While he was primarily a vocalist, rapper, and songwriter, his music drew heavily from guitar-driven emo, pop-punk, and Alternative Rock. Tracks like "Lucid Dreams" famously sampled Sting's "Shape of My Heart," a fingerpicked classical-style guitar piece, and many of his productions feature prominent electric and acoustic guitar loops that define the emotional core of his songs. For guitarists, Juice WRLD's catalog is a goldmine of melodic ideas that bridge the gap between hip-hop production and guitar-based songwriting. What makes Juice WRLD essential for guitarists is not shredding or complex chord voicings, but rather the emotional weight carried by simple, clean-tone guitar lines. His producers (most notably Nick Mira and Sidepce) frequently built beats around sampled or programmed guitar melodies that lean on minor keys, arpeggiated chord shapes, and reverb-drenched clean tones. Learning these parts on guitar teaches you how to make simple note choices hit hard emotionally. If you are a guitarist who wants to understand how modern music uses the instrument as a textural and melodic tool rather than a rhythmic or virtuosic one, Juice WRLD's music is the perfect study. The difficulty level for most Juice WRLD guitar parts is beginner to intermediate. "Lucid Dreams" revolves around a clean, arpeggiated progression that sits comfortably in the first few fret positions, making it accessible for newer players while still sounding impressive. The challenge is less about speed or complexity and more about nailing the feel: getting the right amount of sustain, keeping your dynamics soft and controlled, and using reverb and delay tastefully. Guitarists coming from rock or metal backgrounds will find these parts refreshingly simple but surprisingly rewarding when played with the right tone and touch.

What Makes Juice WRLD Essential for Guitar Players

The guitar part in "Lucid Dreams" is built on a clean-tone arpeggio pattern inspired by Sting's fingerpicked classical piece "Shape of My Heart." Practicing this teaches you smooth, even fingerpicking across strings with a focus on dynamics and sustain.
Most Juice WRLD guitar parts use minor key progressions (Am, Em, Dm shapes are common) that create the melancholic, emotional atmosphere his music is known for. These are great for learning how simple open and barre chord shapes can carry deep emotional weight.
Clean tone is king in this catalog. You will rarely need distortion or overdrive; instead, focus on dialing in a glassy, slightly compressed clean channel with generous reverb and a touch of delay to replicate the spacious, atmospheric guitar textures.
Many of the guitar lines in Juice WRLD tracks function as loops, meaning they repeat a 2 to 4 bar phrase throughout the entire song. This is excellent practice for developing timing consistency, even attack, and the discipline to play a simple part perfectly every time.
Vibrato and subtle string bends add expression to the single-note melodies found in tracks across his discography. Work on slow, controlled vibrato rather than aggressive rock-style shaking to match the emotional tone of emo-rap production.

Did You Know?

"Lucid Dreams" samples the guitar melody from Sting's 1993 track "Shape of My Heart," which was originally performed by classical guitarist Dominic Miller using a nylon-string acoustic. Learning both versions gives you insight into how a fingerpicked classical piece translates into modern production.

Producer Nick Mira, who crafted many of Juice WRLD's biggest beats, often used guitar VSTs and sampled guitar loops as the foundation for his productions. Recreating these parts on a real electric guitar with a clean amp tone is a great ear-training exercise.

Juice WRLD frequently cited Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance as major influences. His vocal melodies often follow patterns that feel like pop-punk guitar leads, making his songs surprisingly natural to transcribe onto guitar.

Many of the guitar tones in Juice WRLD's music sound like they were recorded direct (DI) into an interface with plugin processing, giving them a very polished, compressed quality. You can replicate this at home with any audio interface and a clean amp sim with reverb.

Juice WRLD was known for freestyling entire songs in single takes. For guitarists, this spontaneous approach is a reminder that sometimes the first melodic idea you play is the most honest and emotionally impactful one.

The success of guitar-sampling emo-rap artists like Juice WRLD directly contributed to a resurgence of interest in learning guitar among younger players, with "Lucid Dreams" becoming one of the most searched guitar tutorials on YouTube in 2018 and 2019.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Goodbye & Good Riddance 2018

This is the album that features "Lucid Dreams" and establishes the guitar-driven emo-rap sound Juice WRLD became famous for. Several tracks use clean guitar arpeggios and melodic loops that are perfect for beginner to intermediate players to learn. It is the best starting point for understanding how simple guitar parts can anchor an entire modern production.

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Death Race for Love 2019

This album expands the sonic palette with heavier, more distorted guitar textures on tracks like "Robbery" alongside the clean tones found on mellower cuts. It gives guitarists a chance to practice both clean arpeggiated parts and slightly overdriven melodic lines, building versatility across a range of emo-rap styles.

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Legends Never Die 2020

Released posthumously, this record features some of the most polished guitar-based production in Juice WRLD's catalog. Tracks like "Wishing Well" and "Life's A Mess" use acoustic and electric guitar loops that are rewarding to learn and highlight how restraint and melody trump complexity in modern songwriting.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Juice WRLD's music does not center on a specific guitar model since the parts were largely produced digitally. However, to replicate the tones in his tracks, a versatile guitar with a clean, articulate sound works best. A Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster with single-coil pickups captures the bright, glassy arpeggios heard in "Lucid Dreams." For warmer, fuller tones on other tracks, a semi-hollow body like an Epiphone Casino or a guitar with humbucker options set to the neck pickup will get you in the ballpark.

Amp

A clean Fender-style amp is ideal for nailing Juice WRLD guitar tones. Think Fender Twin Reverb or Deluxe Reverb set completely clean with the volume low enough to avoid any breakup. The goal is a pristine, bell-like clean channel with lots of headroom. If you are using a modeler or amp sim (which is arguably the most authentic way to recreate these digitally produced tones), any quality clean amp model with built-in spring reverb will work perfectly.

Pickups

Single-coil pickups in the neck or middle position are the go-to for replicating the bright, defined arpeggios in most Juice WRLD productions. The clarity and note separation of a standard Fender single-coil (around 5.5 to 6.5k output) keeps each note in an arpeggio distinct and shimmering. For tracks with warmer, darker tones, a low-output humbucker in the neck position (PAF-style, around 7 to 8k) provides a rounder attack without muddying the mix.

Effects & Chain

Reverb is the most essential effect for Juice WRLD guitar tones. A large hall or plate reverb with a long decay time creates the spacious, atmospheric quality that defines emo-rap guitar. Add a subtle stereo delay (quarter-note or dotted-eighth) with low mix levels to add depth without cluttering the sound. A light compressor before the reverb helps even out your picking dynamics for consistent, loop-like smoothness. Keep it minimal: no distortion, no wah, no modulation. The entire vibe relies on clean, wet, and emotionally resonant simplicity.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Juice WRLD's bright, glassy arpeggios in tracks like 'Lucid Dreams' rely on the Stratocaster's single-coil pickups for articulate note separation and shimmer. The versatile tonal palette lets producers capture both clean, crystalline passages and warmer neck-pickup tones across his emo-rap productions.

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The Telecaster's snappy single-coil brightness cuts through Juice WRLD's atmospheric reverb-heavy mixes with precision. Its articulate attack makes each note in his signature arpeggiated patterns distinctly shine without getting lost in the spacious soundscape.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Juice WRLD's lush reverb-drenched tones thrive on the Twin Reverb's pristine clean channel and abundant headroom. The amp's built-in spring reverb and bell-like clarity create the spacious, emotionally resonant foundation essential to his emo-rap guitar sound.

Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Deluxe Reverb delivers the clean, articulate tones and natural reverb that define Juice WRLD's atmospheric guitar textures in a more compact format. Its warm breakup-free headroom preserves the crystalline detail needed for his minimalist, reverb-heavy approach to production.

How to Practice Juice WRLD on GuitarZone

Every Juice WRLD song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Lucid Dreams - Guitar Cover