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Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane guitar tab 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.
Love At First Sting album cover
Love At First Sting
1984 4:12
Listen on Spotify
Scorpions Hard Rock 1984 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Rock You Like a Hurricane

Few Hard Rock riffs are as immediately recognizable as the one that opens this track. Rudolf Schenker drives the song with a choppy, palm-muted E minor power-chord riff that sits right in the pocket at 120 BPM, and the key to nailing it is keeping your picking hand tight and consistent through those mutes. The verse riff and the chorus power chords are all in E Standard tuning, so no retuning is needed, but the rhythm work demands real precision: sloppy mutes will muddy the whole groove. Matthias Jabs handles the lead work, and his solo calls for smooth string bending and vibrato in the upper register. If the solo feels fast, use the Practice Toolbar to loop the trickiest phrase slowed down until your fingers find the positions cleanly. Scorpions built this track on a foundation of locked-in rhythm guitar, so getting Schenker's riff truly tight is the real reward here.

  • The main riff is built on palm-muted E minor power chords in E Standard tuning, making it very approachable for players comfortable with basic chord shapes.
  • Matthias Jabs's lead solo requires confident string bending and sustained vibrato, so isolating it with the Practice Toolbar slowed down is the most effective way to learn it.
  • The rhythm guitar part stays consistent throughout at 120 BPM, making tight palm muting and steady downpicking the core technique to master here.

How to Play Rock You Like a Hurricane

The song moves through: Intro, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Outro Solo.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 120 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The foundation of this song is the main E minor power-chord riff, which repeats throughout the intro, verse, and chorus at 124 bpm, so locking in with a metronome before adding any attitude is essential. The riff itself is not technically complex, but nailing the palm muting and the rhythmic accents is what separates a flat run-through from something that actually sounds like the record. Rudolf Schenker's rhythm parts demand tight right-hand control, so beginners often rush the groove or let the palm mute get sloppy mid-riff. Learn the main riff and chorus section first, then tackle Matthias Jabs's lead work in the solo, which involves pentatonic phrasing and bends in E minor and is the steepest jump in difficulty.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Matthias Jabs adopted Fender Stratocasters with humbuckers in later years, using their brighter character for cleaner ballad tones and more articulate lead work than his earlier Explorer guitars. The single-coil versatility lets him dial back aggression while maintaining the Scorpions' signature sustain.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

While less documented than their Custom models, the Les Paul Standard's thick body and stock humbuckers provide the warm, sustained tone the Scorpions need for layered lead harmonies and heavy power chord work in the studio.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Matthias Jabs relied heavily on Gibson Les Paul Customs in the studio for their superior sustain and thick tonal character on solos, using the guitar's humbuckers and weight to achieve the band's signature fat, compressed lead sound.

Gibson Flying V
Guitar

Gibson Flying V

Rudolf Schenker's iconic Gibson Flying V since the mid-70s delivers his aggressive, palm-muted rhythm tone through hot PAF-style humbuckers, becoming synonymous with the Scorpions' raw, pointed attack and distinctive visual identity.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

Matthias Jabs built his lead style around the Gibson Explorer's angular design and humbucker tone, using the guitar's focused midrange and sustain for expressive solos before transitioning to signature ESP and Fender models.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Both Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs powered the Scorpions' classic 80s sound through Marshall JCM800 heads, with Schenker running moderate preamp gain for defined rhythm crunch and Jabs pushing higher gain for lead work and sustain.

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