Creator Area
Sign in Creator Area

Practice Studio

Ray Parker Jr - Ghostbusters Theme - Guitar Tab

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

Not in tune?

SECTIONS

Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key D minor
Ray Parker Jr - Ghostbusters Theme guitar tab video
Mr. Tabs
Mr. Tabs Top Contributor
YouTube: 1.1Msubs 466Kviews
Creator Page →
PLAY WITH BACKING TRACK
·
–50¢ 0 +50¢
· Tap to start

Your browser will ask for microphone permission.

Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Listen on Spotify
Ray Parker Jr Pop Rock D minor
Capo Advisor 0 D minor · Original key

About Ghostbusters Theme

Few guitar hooks from 1984 are as immediately recognizable as the one that opens "Ghostbusters Theme." Ray Parker Jr built the whole track around a tight, repeating rhythmic figure in D minor that sits right in the pocket at 116 BPM. The riff leans on muted, percussive strumming combined with short melodic stabs, so right-hand control is the main challenge: keeping those muted notes clean while the accented hits ring out clearly. In E Standard tuning the shapes are all natural, but the groove is unforgiving. If you rush even slightly, that hypnotic, locked-in feel falls apart. Players working on this in the Pop Rock genre will find it is a great lesson in rhythmic discipline over pure technical difficulty. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the opening riff slowed down and focus on the relationship between the muted chug and the accented chord stabs before bringing it back up to tempo.

  • The main riff is built around a tight rhythmic pattern in D minor, making right-hand muting and accent control the primary skills to develop.
  • At 116 BPM in E Standard tuning, the groove demands steady timing. Even small rushes break the hypnotic, locked-in feel of the riff.
  • Looping the opening figure slowed down is the most effective way to separate the muted chug from the accented melodic stabs cleanly.

How to Play Ghostbusters Theme

The song moves through: Intro, Main Riff, Verse, Chorus, Lead Fill 2, Bridge, Interlude, Lead Fill 6, Lead Fill 12.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: D minor · Tempo: 116 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The arrangement runs through 9 distinct sections, so it helps to learn it in blocks rather than front to back.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 116 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Ray Parker Jr. used the Stratocaster's bright single-coil pickups to achieve the snappy, articulate funk tones essential for hits like 'Ghostbusters,' where staccato palm muting cuts through horn arrangements. The guitar's comfort and responsiveness made it ideal for his demanding rhythm session work throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Gibson ES-335
Guitar

Gibson ES-335

The ES-335's warm, round PAF-style humbuckers provided Ray Parker Jr. with fuller-bodied R&B tones while maintaining the clarity needed for complex chord voicings in orchestral arrangements. Its semi-hollow construction gave his studio work a balanced, natural resonance without sacrificing definition.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Ray Parker Jr.'s clean, headroom-heavy tone owes everything to the Twin Reverb's bright solid-state clarity and uncompressed response, allowing his precise rhythm work to cut through dense horn and keyboard arrangements. This amp's pristine headroom was critical for capturing the tight, punchy funk sound that defined 'Ghostbusters.'

Recommended for You

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)