Free - All Right Now - Guitar Lesson

About All Right Now

Few riffs in Blues Rock are as instantly recognisable as the opening of "All Right Now," and getting it to feel right takes more attention than it first appears. Paul Kossoff's guitar work sits at the heart of the track, built on a raw A major groove at 92 BPM in standard tuning. The signature riff leans heavily on a bluesy A5 to D chord move, but the real challenge is the phrasing: Kossoff played behind the beat with a loose, almost lazy feel that gives the riff its swagger. Copying the notes is straightforward enough; copying that relaxed, unhurried timing is where most players struggle. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the intro riff slowed down, paying close attention to exactly where each note lands relative to the beat. Free built the arrangement around space and restraint, so resist the urge to fill every gap, and let the chords breathe exactly as written.

• The main riff is built around an A5 to D chord move in E Standard tuning, with the feel depending heavily on relaxed, behind-the-beat phrasing.
• Paul Kossoff's solo relies on expressive string bends and vibrato in the A minor pentatonic scale, making controlled vibrato the key technique to practise.
• At 92 BPM the song sits at a comfortable mid-tempo, but locking in with the rhythm section's loose groove requires careful listening before playing up to speed.