Misirlou - Pulp Fiction Theme - Guitar Cover

About Pulp Fiction Theme

That single-string opening run is the whole game here. The piece, made famous by Dick Dale's surf guitar recording and brought roaring back by the Pulp Fiction soundtrack in 1994, is built almost entirely on a rapid tremolo-picked melody sitting on the low E and A strings. At 160 BPM, keeping the pick moving evenly while hitting every note cleanly is the real challenge, and most players underestimate it until they try it at full speed. The key of E minor gives you a dark, Phrygian-flavored scale to work with, so understanding that shape up the neck will help you see where the melody is going. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the opening run slowed down until your pick hand finds a consistent rhythm before you push the tempo. Misirlou sits firmly in the world of Alternative Rock on this site, though its roots are in surf and Mediterranean folk, and that dual character shapes how you should approach the tone: bright, slightly trebly, with some reverb.

• The entire main melody is played on a single string using rapid, continuous tremolo picking, making right-hand endurance the primary technical hurdle.
• At 160 BPM in E Standard tuning, maintaining even pick attack throughout the fast single-note run requires slow, deliberate practice before attempting full speed.
• A bright, trebly tone with reverb is essential for capturing the surf-guitar feel of this piece, so dial back the bass and boost the upper mids.