Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams - Guitar Lesson

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

1983 3:37

Listen on Spotify

About Sweet Dreams

That hypnotic, repeating synth riff sitting at the heart of "Sweet Dreams" translates surprisingly well to guitar, and learning to lock into its cyclic phrasing is the real challenge here. Played in C minor at a steady 104 BPM, the groove depends entirely on rhythmic precision: any hesitation in the pick attack and the mechanical, driving feel falls apart. In E Standard tuning you have full access to the low end, so pay attention to how you voice those root notes and keep the tone clean rather than overdriven to honour the original character. The chord movement is not complicated in itself, but staying tight against a click at this tempo while keeping your fretting hand relaxed takes more focused repetition than most players expect. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until the fingering is automatic, then gradually bring the speed back up to 104 BPM. Eurythmics built this track around repetition as a deliberate compositional device, so when you play it, committing to that locked-in feel is exactly the point. This sits firmly in the Pop Rock tradition of guitar parts that serve the song first and foremost.

• The song is in C minor in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed and the natural minor scale patterns you already know apply directly.
• The defining riff is built on a short, repeating phrase, making clean rhythmic consistency under a pick more important than technical complexity.
• Slowing the main loop down with the Practice Toolbar helps you nail the even, mechanical feel before locking it in at the full 104 BPM.