Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name - Guitar Tab

Slippery When Wet

1986 3:43

Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Music

About You Give Love a Bad Name

That opening guitar shot is one of the most recognisable moments in Hard Rock: a short, punchy unison-bend figure that lands before the verse even starts. Getting it to feel as tight and aggressive as it does on the record is the first thing to nail. The song sits in C minor at a steady 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, which keeps everything accessible while still demanding clean palm muting and sharp picking attack through the verse riff. The chorus rhythm playing is deceptively simple but easy to rush, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until the palm-muted eighth notes stay locked in. Bon Jovi built this track around a wall of rhythm guitar, so your tone needs some crunch and sustain without getting muddy. The lead breaks reward players who can bend in tune under pressure, so isolate those phrases with the looping tool before bringing them up to full speed.

• The signature opening riff uses a sharp unison-bend figure that must land cleanly in E Standard tuning to capture the original aggressive tone.
• At 120 BPM the verse relies on tight palm-muted eighth notes, where any looseness in the picking hand becomes immediately obvious.
• The lead breaks centre on expressive string bends in C minor, making accurate pitch and controlled vibrato the key techniques to practise.