GUITAR EXERCISES that became ICONIC RIFFS

[@Petch85]

I was here before the video was taken down by The Eagles.😂

[@jayluck8047]

It doesn’t sound right in a sentence, but it’s just, Eagles; there is no, “The”.

[@reynoldclare7981]

😂😂😂

[@seamasmulholland8839]

😂Shall we start our own Me Too movement

[@woe2you2]

Take it easy

[@DMSProduktions]

@@woe2you2 OR you'll have a heartache TONIGHT!

[@michaelyolch79]

Regarding Dust in the Wind. It was actually Kerry's wife who walked into the kitchen while he was playing that finger "exercise," and commented on how beautiful it was...and she said that he should try to make something out of it! Um...mission accomplished!

[@mkf628]

COOL!

[@arielbooner8259]

Dominic just casually waiting for a call with his guitar ready

[@Everywhere2]

Don't we all once we learn Paul Davids makes videos?

[@guitarfriendtim]

Moral of the story: practice around someone (helps if they're a massive hit songwriter) who will hear you warming up, then barge in and say "what's THAT!?"

[@P_Ezi]

@@guitarfriendtim Or... just go to guitar center and play the same scale over and over really loud until someone writes a hit song with your scale and gives you millions of dollars and co writing credit and a major tour and you will never have to work again a day in your life.

[@Mawoll]

That PRS is gorgeous

[@shadi1112]

Isn’t it just it’s a prs private stock birds of a feather and I wish I had five figures burning a hole so I could get one

[@Jaan-cs4rs]

Came here to find out what that guitar was - wow! What a beauty!!

[@shadi1112]

@@Jaan-cs4rs glad I could help hope you have a spare 15k for one haha

[@HenryJordan-n6b]

Paul Davids strikes again: powerful philosophy under the guise of music

[@AXE668]

2:25 Joe Walsh doing a brilliant impression of Chris Griffin.

[@nickp1548]

😂just about to make the same comment and I saw yours.

[@Sermondt]

It's so cool to see that you evolved from 'some Dutch guy' to a good friend to Miller. Did he see the reaction of Paul Simon?

[@emiliog.4432]

Life in the fast lane. Guitar warm up. Joe Walsh. Iconic.

[@TheKalaxis]

The first thing I thought of when I saw the title was the riff Lyndsey Buckingham used to play in sound checks that eventually became the song "Tusk".

[@gddion]

The theme song to the show King of the Hill was just a quick piece the Refreshments would play during soundcheck to get their levels right.

[@NoReceptionBand]

Not only do I consistently love Paul's videos, but I'm really starting to dig his fashion! That shirt looks super comfy

[@joeking433]

LOLOL!

[@zloboslav_]

I love how so many people (me included) used Dust in the Wind to learn Travis picking! And the ACDC riff picking helped me so much with syncing both hands. I never knew these started as exercises, but I used them for that, because they're great for practice!

[@afrenchydownunder]

the riff of Killing in the Name (if I am correct) started as an exercise/demo that Morello was using with one of his students to teach what drop d is

[@pwsavage950]

EVH’s intro riff to Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love was also him just noodling around and DLR said it should be a song.

[@Toni_560]

From Dominic shitting on Paul naming him a random guy on Rick Beato, they now talk to each other regularly. Funny.

[@tony_fortunato]

I was sure I would find the intro to Sweet Child O' Mine here 😱

[@PaulDavids]

Turned out to be not true 🫢

[@55sloneczko]

@@PaulDavids I always thought of it more as a great tool to check intonation rather than string skipping pick exercise. Am I wrong?

[@caelenselke-minogue]

@@PaulDavids Wait, really? I thought Slash himself said that he used it as a warmup..

[@burnsZY85]

@@PaulDavids has slash not said himself it was

[@thomassschwarz5998]

Same

[@chrishalemusic]

Watching to see if Sweet Child of Mine and Satellite are on the list 😆

[@PaulDavids]

Sweet Child of Mine actually did not start as an exercise, according to Slash.

[@therandomuploader3623]

@@PaulDavids Sweet Child O' Mine*

[@adiohead]

The old myth was that it was an exercise. Turned out we were all lied to!

[@scottbubb2946]

I have heard the same thing about Randy Rhoads' Crazy Train riff.

[@kunalbhattacharya1752]

​@PaulDavids I thought it was a practice riff

[@StarQueenEstrella]

12:03 slight correction. While it is true that the studio recording of the intro to “Thunderstruck” is picked (in classical terminology, pizzicato) rather than legato, Angus Young usually does play it legato live. It frees up his hand to throw the horns.

[@danielbinisti1913]

Paul, you are a master. I started the acoustic adventure programme and I love it. I can't recommend it more 😊 It's like having you as your private teacher, a luxury ! Cheers from Melbourne!

[@MikaelR94]

I love Next Level Playing! So much good information and it's very nice to know what to practice! When I feel like I've mastered all the modules I'm 100% getting Electric Elevation!

[@ralliman320]

I originally learned to play the "Satellite" riff with that box shape, but after listening to the original recording and hearing the various string noises at certain points, I shifted to playing it as a moving series of power chord shapes. It's a different kind of challenge--all that movement increases the risk of a missed or bad note--but I think it sounds more accurate to the recording.

[@theartysquid135]

Its so cool that you got Dominic Miller on

[@pratyapandit3633]

Hey Paul big fan , can I get a heart? You are an amazing guitarist and an idol to many learners like me ❤

[@TheSenoarend]

Wow…! What a beautiful and good sounding guitar you have there!

[@paultomlin8278]

Growing up the two teachers I had failed me for playing thumb over, and now I have the ability to teach them.

[@M4dM4n96]

You know you're a real pro when you can look people dead in the eye and finish up your point with "etc"

[@Nikitasij]

Guitar is such a beautiful journey, glad you're putting the effort to create these awesome videos Paul :)

[@davidhallowell3457]

Great examples. While learning to play Irish jigs and reels it often felt like had taken what could have been a boring arpeggio exercise and twisted it to make it more fun to play and hear.

[@wojkel]

11:12 HA! You got me, that made me smile ;)

[@carneboy]

Thanks, these were all fun to play.

[@oscarenfotos]

The PRS at 9:56 is just absolutely beatiful. Great video too!

[@AlphaGatorDCS]

Awesome video! I believe the Sweet Child O Mine by Slash was a warmup exercise for Slash.

[@marc-antoinejean6428]

always really cool vidéos ! But, as a professional photographer, the way the lighting in your videos is made is always flawless is really astonishing me !! You have the "most beautiful" guitar channel.

[@Foodgeek]

What a flex to just call up Dominic Miller like that. Love it ❤

[@armandoarciniega1462]

On Dominic’s radar Paul went from “The Guy of the internet to Hey Paul How are you?!”

[@chriskona7652]

It's always the best when I get a notification of a new Paul Davids video. It's the only channel where I have notifications turned on.

[@ninjaowl9881]

Paul, you have to be one of the best guitar players in the world. Thank you for your videos.

[@FFVison]

Another classic exercise that became a legendary riff is Sweet Child O' Mine. I remember first hearing Thunderstruck and thinking that it was pretty crazy sounding, then I thought nah, he's probably just doing hammer ons and pull offs most of the time and this is how I figured out how to play it. Then I saw the music video showing him clearly picking along to it... dang nabbit, time to learn it again. Also, I never did get it good with picking it like that as I was always more a fingerstyle picker over using a pick. People say it's harder, but I just cannot seem to get the hang of figuring out where the strings are when holding a pick.

[@misteramerica3610]

You can learn all the theory in the world, and while it is tremendously helpful, in understanding further, somehow going against the grain of what is expected in theory, you find yourself musically and stumble upon great transitions. Blues seems to be the easiest understandable breakthrough to introduce this. If you play while playing and find something pleasant to your ear, odds are it sounds great to others also.

[@Friszo]

Super gaaf Paul. Ff bellen met Dominic. Ik geniet trouwens van je online curses. Ik speel al een tijdje maar toch voor de beginners cursus gekozen. Veel waardevolle theorie en nog steeds leerzaam genoeg voor mij.

[@lewismacdonald1516]

Love the mutual respect you and Dominic have for each other

[@jtd3421]

1:18 that was awesome

[@TerryTrowbridge]

Ditto, I had to rewind. That was a sick transition.

[@douglassloan6831]

Great video. Some really cool stuff. If it's okay I'd like to add one more to the list that is more than 40 years old but still can be heard all the time. When I was a kid, my guitar teacher was the one and only Randy Rhoads. I went every Friday to take a lesson at Musonia, the music store owned by Randy's mom. The first day I was there, Randy gave me a finger warm up exercise that I had to do whenever I practiced as a warm up. It was a short riff than later went on to become the opening of Crazy train...note for note. I remember driving one day and the song came on the radio. I hadn't spoken to Randy since he left to go do the Blizzard thing. But I heard that warm up coming out of my speakers and I could not believe what I was hearing. To this day it still blows my mind.Thanks!

[@themikereda]

My short stubby hands have been DYING when I play Edge of Desire John's way. Using my thumb is killing me. Definitely gonna try to play it your method from now on!

[@davidcarey7382]

Right on. The next level is beyond my skill level but the rudiments of these hit songs was very entertaining.

[@PatienceHayes]

Paul will take any and every opportunity to fangirl over sting.

[@akbarshabazzjenkins6970]

I had never heard Satellite before now (to my shame) but as soon as it played I heard Edge of Desire. That song is very special to me; takes me right back to discovering John Mayer with friends at school. Very cool to learn that two wonderful songs were born out of exercises. Brings new meaning to the phrase, “Practice makes perfect.”

[@MariaMocanu1]

Your videos are always inspiring and motivating for new achievements. Thank you for your creativity!🌒✋👋

[@John_Hudson_922]

Satellite from Live at Luther College is a song that changed my life. Gives me chills to this day.

[@michaelvarney.]

That modern eagle V is sweet. I have a pure white MEV with roasted maple neck… one of a kind… and I love it.

[@0num4]

4:18 I'm reminded of Darren Korb's (of Supergiant Games) " In Circles", sung by the wonderful Ashley Barrett.

[@josephkroliv3714]

That PRS is the most gorgeous electric guitar that I have ever laid eyes on 10:14

[@Gregorypeckory]

My neighbors might not come over in their sleepwear to give me a beating if you can solve the volume spike problem that I experienced at 4 am (poor sleep habits), when you switched from your own playing to the Dust In The Wind rendition by its author; that kind of spike makes me turn down in a panic enough to where I can't understand a thing you say after the clip is over because now it's way too quiet, and I have to weigh the risk of blasting my neighbors again if there's another unexpected volume spike, against the fact that I need more volume to hear you clearly. I love your production overall, as well as the top notch content, and I respect your superior expertise, because I have no clue how you do your cool effects and transitions, so don't take this as disrespect. I only thought since I enjoy your work, you might want to know that if you can get the volume more steady, I would be more inclined to watch all the way through, depending on the time I watch it. The likely result of turning it off and thinking I'll save it for the daytime, is that I'll forget and miss the experience, and you'll get one less view of the video. Obviously that's no big deal, except if you lose a view from me, you might be losing views from others too.

[@HawksNHabsPC]

When I saw John Mayer in the Thumbnail, Edge of Desire was the first song that came to mind.

[@rackhamlerouge]

I've yet to find a Paul David's video that doesn't motivate me to pick up the guitar and play 🙏🙏🙏

[@sh33pyyy]

A quite lovely song that actually started as an exercise, and still works as such, is Marcel Dadi's "Le Derviche Tourneur".

[@ReadyMindsetGo]

I'm pretty sure Dimebag Darrell also came up with the Walk riff (or maybe it was I'm Broken?) while warming up for a rehearsal. Shame Dimebag isn't featured as much as he should be on guitar channels.

[@martinredondo4692]

Hey Paul you could have added the absolutely forbidden intro of Sweet Child O' Mine, as it was as well a guitar exercise! Love your videos man!

[@christiansmyth1466]

I guess the misconception re: Thunderstruck being an "all legato" riff came from the video for the song, which showed it being played that way (at least during the intro). Right? You can hardly blame guitarists at the time; the technique looked COOL AF 🙂

[@ToilaCarissa]

It's amazing how finger exercises lead to AwEsOmE songs 😍🥰🤘

[@zac3392]

That’s what she said…

[@stereoroid]

I'm sure Andy Summers once said that his Every Breath You Take part was also derived from an exercise, a Bartok exercise taught to him by Fripp.

[@drsteviejasengnsangma8739]

Excellent video Paul!!! Enjoyed to the fullest..

[@fractalist]

Have always wondered if Robert Fripp started the intro to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt III" as a guitar exercise. I have used it as such for many years. Does wonders for comfort with cross-picking

[@1lastry344]

I like how Dom just sits around his house with a guitar on

[@mauriziobiagini2825]

i think that also Sweet Child O' Mine started as technical exercise between guitar and drums! nice video! ciao!!

[@reppepper]

Paul Shaffer, Thunder Bay! 🇨🇦 Woo!

[@MarksUkuleleTips]

I'm glad I caught this before The il-Eagles take it down.

[@Apocalypse3]

Without even watching it I know it's a lit video❤

[@ChuckWortman]

I forget which song, but one of GnR's classic songs was from Slash warming up. Axl heard oit and camecup with lyrics on the spot and then Duff joined in. It might have been Sweet Child of Mine

[@dglvt7383]

Sweet Child o' Mine was also a Practice Exercise... Slash Played the into pattern and the story says that Axl rushed down the stairs and had instand the melody for the song in his head

[@oishikplays]

i actually really like playing edge of desire with my thumb since it makes it easier to let the bass note sustain

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

Vic Flick had a warm up scale exercise that ended up being the main riff for Silhouettes by Herman's Hermits.

[@MrCREWCRUSHIN95]

Sweet Child O'Mine riff was also an exercise. Also- I feel bad for Angus having to play that Thunderstruck riff at every concert. It's a killer.

[@ivopetrovi]

Always great videos! Thanks for all this education 🙌🙌🙌

[@summerof67]

I remember hearing that Jimmy Page played the riff in Kashmir as a way to test if his guitar was in tune. He turned it into a song much later.

[@gregmiller7123]

On the It Might Get Loud video, Page explains that it was based on a classical song that he played and for Kashmir he turned around the riff and played it in reverse.

[@xamislimelight8965]

Thank you for not continuing the false rumors that Sweet Child O' Mine was originally an exercise. Slash himself has said more than once that was false.

[@marc.lepage]

@@xamislimelight8965 The problem is he's also said it was true.

[@jamesball9623]

I have never woken up happier to see a Paul David’s video

[@SilojensenDK]

Intro to Beatles' Octopus's Garden has to be a warm up exercise.

[@reNINTENDO]

Finally you show the private stock PRS again. I see it hung up in the background on some videos, but I don't recall you using it since your solo video. Such a gorgeous instrument. I immediately knew it must be Edge of Desire once you mentioned that type of riff inspiring John Mayer. Didn't know it started as an exercise, but that could be why the way John plays it is harder than it needs to be. Not much of an exercise if you aren't pushing yourself in some way. That said, the way you play it and he plays it does sound quite different to my ear, but I'd have to break it down to figure out why. Is it purely different string timbre or is there more to it?

[@Rhettbakermusic]

I had a reel of my cover of desperado with 11 veiws taken down. Amazing. 1:33

[@chorazytorpeda16]

That's quality content. Excelent!

[@adriandelacroix]

This is how my dad and I wrote half our riffs too. I think the consensus here is just “always practice, all the time”. 😆

[@jvgauthier]

Not electric guitar, but bass guitar : no more tears from Ozzy Osbourne started as a warm up as well. Pretty epic result.

[@paulgibbs8194]

That made my day, 2 thumbs up!

[@andrewwilson9394]

Randy Rhoads’ intro for Diary of a Madman was borrowed from a classical guitar study by Leo Brouwer

[@imonghose553]

I recently got to know "Neon" by John Mayer was a result of him not being able to exactly replicate a slapping technique taught to him by Tomo Fujita. These stories are always so interesting !

[@kriscowher5606]

Great video! You should check out Billy Strings. He’s easily one of the best blue grass flat pickers/guitar players of the last century.

[@ianguitar7532]

Thank you Paul. I didn't know that they had begun as 'warm-up' riffs. Nicely played, as always! I do know that the Sweet Child o' Mine intro was an exercise originally, though. I was waiting for that one. Too obvious, perhaps... ; ) Best wishes.

[@omphalos85]

Paul. What shirt are you wearing? It looks great and comfy. You have some great clothes man. You should do a video of your wardrobe or favorite brands. Great style.

[@MattODonnell-v6v]

I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS MAN TY FOR ALL THE HARD WORK

[@SuicidalLemonade]

I heard somewhere that thunderstruck started off as a legato riff but when it sounded better picked so thats what was recorded. Also damn the prs fretboard looks good.

[@joakimhug417]

Frank Zappa uses that Eagles riff. I belive it has capt beefheart on some crazy vocals

[@BobGnarley.]

The mistake Eddie was talking about is that he "accidentally" mixes up the tapping order for a second or two in the recording. Remember him acknowledging that in previous videos

[@tcpUtube1]

Always worth watching.

[@doppelhopfen]

Finally some Dave Matthews 😁 I'd be curious if you can do his Black and Blue Bird with singing 😅 crazy time signatures

[@NelsonMontana1234]

I don't believe for a second that "Life in the Fast Lane" was an exercise. It's clearly just a riff.

[@PaulDavids]

You can kinda practice a riff. These are all riffs after all 😄

[@markmalanaphy3374]

Nice video Dave, thank you for sharing

[@odemirkesen]

Was waiting for sweet child the whole video Paul;)

[@marc.lepage]

IIRC Joe Satriani wrote Circles (on Surfing With the Alien) from a tapping exercise.