Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Rag'n'Bone Man

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

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Human - Guitar Cover

YouTube Stats: 318K · 8.1K

Artist Overview

Rag'n'Bone Man is the stage name of Rory Graham, a British singer-songwriter from Uckfield, East Sussex, who broke through in 2017 with the massive hit "Human." While he is primarily known for his powerful, bluesy baritone voice, his music draws heavily from blues, soul, and gospel traditions that are deeply rooted in guitar-driven music. His recordings and live performances feature session and touring guitarists who craft understated but essential guitar parts that support his vocal delivery without overwhelming it. The guitar work across his catalog sits in a space between neo-soul, blues, and pop, making it a great study for guitarists who want to develop restraint, groove, and tasteful chord voicing. For electric guitarists, Rag'n'Bone Man's music is an excellent entry point into playing with dynamics and feel rather than speed or complexity. The guitar parts in songs like "Human" revolve around clean to lightly overdriven tones, rhythmic strumming patterns, and simple but effective chord progressions. The emphasis is on locking in with the groove, using ghost strums, and letting the spaces between notes breathe. If you are a guitarist who tends to overplay, learning these arrangements will teach you the art of serving the song. The live band typically features guitarists who lean on a modern blues-soul approach, using instruments like Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters for their articulate clean tones and snappy single-coil character. You will hear a lot of clean channel playing, subtle use of reverb and delay, and chord embellishments that borrow from gospel and R&B traditions. Techniques like partial barre chords, rhythmic muting, and fingerstyle hybrid picking pop up regularly in the arrangements. Overall difficulty for guitarists is beginner to intermediate. The chord shapes are generally accessible (open chords and simple barre chords), and the tempos are moderate. The real challenge lies in nailing the feel, the rhythmic precision of the strumming patterns, and knowing when not to play. If you are working on your rhythm guitar chops and want to develop a soulful, groove-oriented approach, Rag'n'Bone Man's music is a rewarding place to start.

What Makes Rag'n'Bone Man Essential for Guitar Players

The guitar part in "Human" is built around a simple but powerful rhythm pattern using open and barre chords. The key is maintaining a steady, driving strum while incorporating ghost strums and muted hits to create a percussive feel that locks with the drums.
Clean and lightly overdriven tones dominate Rag'n'Bone Man's recordings. Guitarists should aim for a bright, articulate clean sound, typically achieved with single-coil pickups through a clean amp channel with a touch of reverb. Think Fender-style sparkle rather than Marshall crunch.
Rhythmic muting and ghost notes are essential techniques for replicating the guitar parts accurately. Practice your fretting-hand muting to create that choppy, syncopated rhythm that gives the songs their soulful groove without relying on heavy distortion.
Many of the chord voicings pull from gospel and neo-soul traditions, using add9 chords, sus chords, and partial barre shapes higher up the neck. Learning these voicings will expand your chord vocabulary beyond standard open and barre chord shapes.
Hybrid picking (using a pick combined with your middle and ring fingers) is useful for some of the more intricate parts in his catalog, allowing you to pluck individual strings within chord shapes for a more textured, fingerstyle-influenced sound.

Did You Know?

Rag'n'Bone Man's "Human" reached number one in multiple countries and went multi-platinum, but the guitar part is simple enough for a first-year guitarist to learn, proving that feel and song-serving simplicity often win over technical complexity.

Before his pop breakthrough, Rory Graham was deeply immersed in the UK hip-hop and drum-and-bass scenes, which influenced the rhythmic, groove-heavy approach his guitarists take in arrangements rather than traditional blues-rock soloing.

The live band frequently uses Fender Telecasters, prized for their cutting clean tone and ability to sit perfectly in a mix alongside a powerful vocal without competing for frequency space.

"Human" was co-written with Jamie Hartman, and the production deliberately kept the guitar parts stripped back so the vocal could carry maximum emotional weight. This is a masterclass in arrangement for guitarists who struggle with overplaying.

Rag'n'Bone Man won the BRIT Critics' Choice Award in 2017 and his debut album "Human" debuted at number one in the UK, making it one of the best-selling debut albums in Britain that year.

The gospel and soul influences in the music mean that the guitar parts often function more like a keyboard comping part, filling harmonic space with sustained chords and rhythmic accents rather than melodic riffs or leads.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Human 2017

This is the essential Rag'n'Bone Man album for guitarists. The title track "Human" is a must-learn for developing rhythmic strumming and dynamic control, while deeper cuts like "Skin" and "Wolves" offer opportunities to work on soulful chord voicings and clean-tone articulation. The album is a perfect practice ground for playing with restraint and groove.

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Life by Misadventure 2021

This sophomore album expands the sonic palette with more prominent guitar arrangements and slightly more complex chord work. Tracks like "All You Ever Wanted" and "Crossfire" feature fuller electric guitar parts with light overdrive and bluesy phrasing. It is a great step up for intermediate players who have mastered the basics from the first album and want to explore more textured rhythm playing.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Live and studio guitarists in Rag'n'Bone Man's band frequently use Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters for their bright, articulate single-coil tone. The Telecaster's bridge pickup snap is especially well-suited for the percussive, rhythmic strumming style in songs like "Human." Acoustic guitars also feature prominently in recordings, typically steel-string dreadnoughts for full-bodied strumming parts.

Amp

The guitar tone across Rag'n'Bone Man's catalog leans on clean to edge-of-breakup amp settings. Fender-style amps like the Deluxe Reverb or Twin Reverb are ideal for replicating this sound, set with the volume around 4-5 for a warm clean tone with just a hint of natural compression. The goal is clarity and headroom, not saturation.

Pickups

Single-coil pickups are the go-to for nailing this sound. Standard Fender single-coils (around 6-7k output) provide the bright, glassy articulation that lets rhythmic strumming patterns cut through the mix. The lower output keeps the tone dynamic and responsive to picking intensity, which is crucial for the ghost-note and muted-strum techniques used throughout the music.

Effects & Chain

The effects approach is minimal and tasteful. A touch of spring reverb (either from the amp or a pedal) adds depth without washing out the tone. A subtle analog delay on longer, sustained passages and occasionally a light chorus or tremolo for texture are about as far as it goes. The philosophy is very much tone-from-the-fingers, with the guitar signal staying relatively clean and unprocessed to keep the focus on rhythm and dynamics.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Rag'n'Bone Man's band uses Stratocasters for their versatile single-coil brightness and smooth contoured body comfort during live performances. The three-pickup configuration provides tonal flexibility across the rhythmic, soulful strumming patterns that define his music.

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The Telecaster's snappy bridge pickup is essential for the percussive, rhythmic attack in Rag'n'Bone Man's songs like 'Human,' cutting through the mix with crisp articulation. Its single-coil snap perfectly complements ghost-note and muted-strum techniques central to his style.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Set at volume 4-5, the Twin Reverb delivers the warm, clean headroom Rag'n'Bone Man needs without unwanted saturation, letting dynamic picking dynamics shine. Its built-in spring reverb adds depth while maintaining the clarity essential to his rhythm-focused approach.

Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Deluxe Reverb provides the same edge-of-breakup clean tone as the Twin but in a more compact package for live gigs, with vintage spring reverb that adds tasteful depth. Its natural compression at moderate volumes enhances the responsiveness needed for Rag'n'Bone Man's dynamic playing style.

Pedal

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay

This analog delay adds subtle texture to Rag'n'Bone Man's sustained passages without drowning his tight rhythm work in effects noise. Its warm, tape-like character complements his minimal, tone-from-the-fingers philosophy perfectly.

How to Practice Rag'n'Bone Man on GuitarZone

Every Rag'n'Bone Man 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 Human - Guitar Cover