Muse - Hysteria - Guitar Cover

Absolution

2003 3:47

Listen on Spotify

About Hysteria

The first thing to know about "Hysteria" is that the song is driven by its bass, not its guitar. That said, the guitar part still demands your full attention: playing in Drop D at 202 BPM in A minor, the riff locks in tightly with a relentless, motorik pulse that leaves no room for sloppy fretting. Drop D gives the low string a heavier, slacker tension, so you can lean into power chords on that string with a single-finger barre, but keeping them clean and consistent at this tempo is the real challenge. The rhythmic precision required across the whole track is what separates a rough run-through from a convincing performance. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until your picking hand can maintain the groove without rushing. Muse sit firmly in the Alternative Rock world, but "Hysteria" pushes toward a harder, almost metal tightness that will sharpen your right-hand discipline considerably.

• Played in Drop D tuning, the low string lets you cover power chords with one finger, but the 202 BPM tempo makes clean execution genuinely demanding.
• The guitar riff mirrors the famous distorted bass figure, so learning it gives you strong insight into how the rhythm section of this track is constructed.
• Locking the guitar part to a metronome or using the Practice Toolbar slowed down is the most effective way to build the picking stamina this tempo requires.