Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle - Part 1 - Guitar Lesson

About Welcome to the Jungle - Part 1

Few riffs in rock guitar are as immediately recognisable as the one that kicks off "Welcome to the Jungle." Slash opens the track with a clean, sliding figure that mimics a snake uncoiling before the band crashes in, and nailing that controlled slide feel is the first real hurdle for most players. The song sits in E minor, which gives the rhythm parts a heavy, open quality, and keeping the palm muting tight and consistent through the chunky downpicked riffs is what separates a muddy run-through from something that actually sounds like the record. There is also a fair amount of call-and-response interplay between the lead and rhythm parts, so knowing which role you are in at each moment matters. Guns N' Roses built the arrangement in layers, so isolating each layer is a smart way to practise. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the intro slide riff slowed down until the pitch and timing of each slide land cleanly before bringing it back up to speed.

• The opening riff relies on a precise sliding technique on the low strings, so slow, deliberate repetition with a focus on slide control is the key to making it sound right.
• Playing in E minor allows you to draw on open-string resonance for the heavier rhythm sections, but tight palm muting is essential to keep those sections from sounding cluttered.
• The song has distinct clean and driven sections, so if you are practising the full arrangement, a consistent picking attack matters as much as your tone settings.