Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers - Guitar Lesson

Perfect Strangers

1984 5:28

Listen on Spotify

About Perfect Strangers

Few reunion riffs announce themselves quite as boldly as the main figure in "Perfect Strangers." Ritchie Blackmore builds the whole song around a repeating, brooding motif in G minor that sits right at the intersection of hard rock power and classical restraint. The left hand needs to shift positions smoothly while keeping the notes clean and even, which is trickier than it first sounds at moderate tempo. Pay close attention to the picking attack: too heavy and the riff loses its coiled tension, too light and it loses its authority. The verse sections are relatively open, but the transitions into and out of the main riff require precise timing that rewards slowing things down with the Practice Toolbar until the position shifts feel automatic. Deep Purple returned to this kind of minor-key, riff-centered writing after years apart, and the song holds up as a clean example of how economy and repetition can carry a track.

• The central riff is built around a repeating G minor figure that uses a mix of single notes and power chords, demanding clean left-hand shifts across positions.
• Blackmore's picking tone here is relatively controlled and dry, so dialling back gain on your amp will help the riff articulate the way it should.
• The moderate tempo makes the riff approachable for intermediate players, but nailing the rhythmic groove and consistent pick attack takes careful, focused repetition.