Motörhead - Ace of Spades - Guitar Tab

About Ace of Spades

Few riffs in Heavy Metal are as instantly recognisable as the one that opens "Ace of Spades," and learning it is a genuine workout in tight, aggressive alternate picking. The main riff sits in E minor and moves fast, so clean fretting under pressure is the real challenge here. At 140 BPM in E Standard tuning, your pick attack needs to stay controlled the whole way through, especially when the riff descends and the temptation to rush kicks in. The galloping rhythm feel that Motörhead drive through the verse demands that your picking hand stays absolutely locked in, with no wandering between the strings. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the opening riff slowed down until every note speaks cleanly before you bring the tempo back up. Pay close attention to muting, because any sympathetic string noise that you can hide at half-speed will expose itself the moment you hit full pace.

• The main riff is built on fast alternate picking in E minor, making right-hand consistency and control the primary technical hurdle.
• At 140 BPM in E Standard tuning, even small fretting or muting errors become clearly audible, so clean technique matters from the start.
• The galloping picking pattern in the verse is excellent practice for locking your strumming hand into a tight, aggressive groove at speed.