Blue Oyster Cult - The Reaper - Guitar Lesson

Agents Of Fortune

1976 5:08

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About The Reaper

Few rock songs from the 1970s are as immediately recognizable from their opening bars as this one. The signature arpeggiated guitar figure that opens "The Reaper" is the heart of the whole piece: it outlines an A minor tonality with a descending, almost hypnotic pattern that needs to feel relaxed and even at 120 BPM, not rushed. Getting that smoothness takes real right-hand control, whether you pick it cleanly or use a hybrid approach. Blue Oyster Cult layer the track with additional guitar parts that flesh out the arrangement, so once you have the main arpeggio locked in, it is worth learning how those parts sit around it. The solo section asks for fluid, melodic phrasing in A minor rather than sheer speed, so focus on note choice and vibrato. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the opening figure slowed down until your picking hand is completely consistent before bringing it back up to tempo. This one rewards patience more than aggression.

• The central guitar part is a repeating arpeggiated figure in A minor, requiring steady right-hand control and an even, unhurried touch at 120 BPM.
• Played in E Standard tuning, the song sits comfortably on guitar but the arpeggio pattern can trip up players who have not practised clean string separation.
• The lead work favours melodic, vocal phrasing over technical flash, making vibrato quality and note sustain the main things to develop.