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The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up - Guitar Lesson

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Key E major
The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Riffs Icónicos album cover
Riffs Icónicos
1966 3:44
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The Rolling Stones Hard Rock 1966 E major
Capo Advisor 0 E major · Original key

About Start Me Up

Few riffs in Hard Rock are as immediately recognisable as the opening figure of "Start Me Up," and getting it right comes down almost entirely to your comfort in Open G tuning. The Rolling Stones built their guitar identity around that five-string open tuning, with the lowest string muted so the chord voicings sit in a tighter, punchier register. At 104 BPM the riff sits at a manageable pace, but the challenge is nailing the rhythmic feel: it needs to land slightly behind the beat with a loose, rolling swagger rather than mechanically on the grid. The riff itself revolves around a handful of shapes in E major, so once you have the Open G voicings under your fingers the chord changes are not complex. What trips most players up is the right-hand strumming pattern and that muted-string discipline. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the intro slowed down until the mute and the strum land together naturally, then gradually bring it back up to tempo.

  • The riff is played in Open G tuning with the lowest string muted throughout, a core technique in the Stones' rhythm guitar approach.
  • At 104 BPM the tempo is moderate, but the groove demands a behind-the-beat feel that takes deliberate slow practice to internalise.
  • Focus on right-hand muting and a loose strumming motion rather than precise picking, as tightness in the attack kills the riff's character.

How to Play Start Me Up

Tuning: Open G · Key: E major · Tempo: 104 BPM

Open G is built for slide and ringing open strings, so expect a fingerstyle or bottleneck approach rather than standard fretting.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 104 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Ronnie Wood relies on the Strat's versatile single-coil tone for bright, cutting leads that complement Keith's darker textures. The guitar's natural snap cuts through the Stones' dense arrangements without losing warmth.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Keith Richards' modified butterscotch Telecaster, fitted with a Gibson PAF humbucker, delivers the fatter, warmer attack that defines his rhythm work while maintaining the instrument's natural twang and cutting presence.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

This guitar anchors iconic Stones tracks like 'Sympathy for the Devil' and 'Gimme Shelter,' providing the thick, sustained tone and natural breakup Keith needs for his open-tuning chord work.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While not specifically mentioned in Keith's primary rig, the Custom's thicker body and hardware enhance sustain and warmth, making it an alternative for achieving the deeper, more compressed tones the Stones occasionally pursue.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Keith's preferred amp, the Twin Reverb's headroom and natural breakup create that sweet spot where tubes work hard without full distortion, perfectly complementing his open-tuning dynamics and pick attack sensitivity.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

For live shows requiring more gain and punch, this amp provides the boosted output the Stones need while maintaining the moderate tube breakup that's central to Keith's tone philosophy.

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