Black Sabbath - War Pigs - First Solo - Guitar Lesson

About War Pigs - First Solo

The first solo in "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath is a short but demanding burst of blues-inflected lead playing in E minor, and it rewards close attention before you try to run it at full speed. Tony Iommi's phrasing here leans hard on minor pentatonic bends and vibrato, so the real challenge is not finding the notes but making them sound controlled and intentional. Sloppy bends in this register expose themselves immediately, so spend time on each one individually before linking the phrases together. The Practice Toolbar is your best friend on this section: loop it slowed down to around half speed and focus on matching the pitch of each bend precisely before pushing the tempo back up. Because the solo sits inside a slow, heavy groove, any rushing stands out, so locking your picking hand into the underlying feel is just as important as the fretting hand work.

• The solo is built primarily from the E minor pentatonic scale, making it a strong study in expressive bending and vibrato control rather than speed.
• Tony Iommi's tone on this track is characteristically heavy and mid-forward, so a bridge humbucker with some gain and midrange boost will get you close.
• Practise each bend in isolation before connecting phrases, as the slow tempo of the track leaves no room to hide inaccurate pitch.