Muse - Plug In Baby - Guitar Lesson

About Plug In Baby

Few riffs in Alternative Rock are as immediately recognisable as the opening of "Plug In Baby." The whole song pivots on that ascending lead line, which sits in E minor and demands clean left-hand fretting at a brisk 160 BPM. Drop D tuning is in play, so your low string drops to D, giving the heavier chord stabs extra weight and letting you barre power chords on the bottom two strings with a single finger. The riff itself looks deceptively simple on paper, but keeping every note even and articulate at this tempo is the real challenge. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop just the opening figure slowed right down, and build speed only once each note rings cleanly. Muse layer a lot of lead guitar texture through the verses too, so once you have the main riff solid, pay close attention to the melodic fills that sit underneath the vocals.

• The signature riff runs in E minor and is played in Drop D tuning, which also allows single-finger barre power chords on the lowest two strings.
• At 160 BPM the main riff is demanding to keep clean, so looping it slowed down in the Practice Toolbar is an effective way to build accuracy before going full speed.
• Beyond the opening riff, the song contains melodic lead fills throughout the verses that make good practice material for single-note phrasing and pick control.