15 Easy Rock Riffs for Ukulele Beginners

AC/DC – Hells Bells

This is a fantastic riff to play on the ukulele. It sounds super full when the open note on the C string rings out. You can see a video of me playing this song and grab some more AC/DC tabs here.

Playing Tips

To make this riff easier to play, we are going to play a two note chord. Place your first finger on the 8th fret of the E string. Then your ring finger on the 10th fret of the A string.

After you have played the first three notes, use your first finger to cover the 8th fret on both the E and A string. That is going to set us up to move that finger down to the 6th fret for the next set of notes. Then we would move back up to the 8th fret again.

A|-----10-----8--------6--------8-----------|-----10-----8--------6--------8-----------|
E|---------8-----8--------6--------8--------|---------8-----8--------6-----8-----------|
C|--0---------------0--------0--------0--0--|--0---------------0--------0-----3--2--0--|
G|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|

Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know

Indie heroes Arctic Monkeys combined with the ukulele has been a big hit with fans of this website. I have arranged every one of their albums for the uke. You can see my medley of AM here.

Playing Tips

This riff uses a technique called hammer-ons — that's the "h" sitting in between two numbers. Hammer-on means you pluck the first note, then place your finger on the next note without plucking again. This creates a smooth transition between notes. Similarly, we have some slides "/". Instead of using a new finger, we use the same finger and slide up (or down) to the new note without plucking again.

A|---------------------6/8--6-----------|
E|------6-----------6----------8/10--8--|
C|-5h7-----7---5h7----------------------|
G|--------------------------------------|
A|------------------------------|
E|-6-8-10--8----6--8--10--10----|
C|----------------------------7-|
G|------------------------------|

Fleetwood Mac – The Chain

For anybody reading this from the UK, chances are you first heard this song on the Formula One soundtrack. Regardless of where you first heard it, it sounds great on the ukulele.

Playing Tips

This is a straightforward riff to play and probably one of the easiest on this list. The opening A minor chord makes the transition from chords to riff an easy one.

A|--0-----0--2--3-----2--0-----2-----------|
E|--0-----------------------3--------3-----|
C|--0--------------------------------4-----|
G|--2--------------------------------------|

For guidance in playing this riff, you can watch my medley of the Rumours album above — The Chain starts at around 1:58. You can also grab some more Fleetwood Mac tabs here.

Green Day – American Idiot

The first riff on this list that's based all around chords — check out my full arrangement of the American Idiot album and some more Green Day ukulele tabs too.

Playing Tips

What makes this an easy riff to play is that we remain in the same chord shape throughout. It's a barre chord and we are using 3 fingers on our fretting hand.

Place your first finger across all the strings on the 3rd fret. Then use your ring finger for the 5th fret of the G and your middle finger on the 4th fret of the E.

When Billie Joe plays this on his guitar he uses all down strums. That's fine if you want to do that too. However, if you want to skank it up a bit, try using the strumming pattern above the chords.

    D  U  D     U      U   D      U     U  D   D  D
A|--3--3--3-----8------8---8------1-----1--8---3--1--|
E|--4--4--4-----9------9---9------2-----2--9---4--2--|
C|--3--3--3-----8------8---8------1-----1--8---3--1--|
G|--5--5--5-----10-----10--10-----3-----3--10--5--3--|

Guns N Roses – Sweet Child O' Mine

Would this riff list be complete if it didn't feature one of Slash's masterpieces? I created a full medley of the Appetite For Destruction album too!

Playing Tips

When you look at the tab, this could be considered an imposter on this list — maybe not one of the easiest riffs for ukulele beginners, but let's give it a go anyway.

We are using lots of notes and also every string. It's one of those riffs that once you get the hang of it, it's going to play really nicely. This is a fingerpicking riff and it translates very well to the uke. You will notice that the last 6 notes of each section are the same, so each part has 2 opening notes and then we are repeating ourselves. Thinking of it that way will make it much easier for you to play.

A|---------8---7---|---------8---7---|---3-----8---7---|---3-----8---7---|
E|---8-------------|---8-------------|-----------------|-----------------|
C|-0-----5---------|-0-----5---------|-2-----5---------|-2-----5---------|
G|-----0-----0---0-|-----0-----0---0-|-----0-----0---0-|-----0-----0---0-|
A|---------8---7---|---------8---7---|---------8---7---|-5---3---2---3---|
E|---8-------------|---8-------------|---8-------------|-----------------|
C|-5-----5---------|-5-----5---------|-0-----5---------|-----------------|
G|-----0-----0---0-|-----0-----0---0-|-----0-----0---0-|---0---0---0---0-|

Linkin Park – Breaking The Habit

With the amount of instruments that Mike Shinoda is able to play, I'm surprised he never incorporated the ukulele into Linkin Park's music. Check out my uke arrangements of Hybrid Theory, Meteora and Minutes To Midnight.

Playing Tips

This is another fingerpicking style riff. The benefit of fingerpicking this riff is that it allows the notes to ring out, making the entire song sound fuller. You can keep your fingers in the same position: use your ring finger for the 4th on the C string, then place your first finger on the 2nd fret of the E string, and lastly put your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the same string. Setting up like this means you can just lift your middle finger off the 3rd fret each time you need to play the 2nd — that's going to allow all the notes to ring out.

A|---0-------0-------0-------------|
E|-----3-2-----3-2-----3-2---2-3-2-|
C|-4-------4-------4-------4-------|
G|---------------------------------|

MGMT – Kids

One of the most iconic riffs of the late 2000s! Featured on the Oracular Spectacular album, you can learn some more MGMT songs here.

Playing Tips

This is another one of those easy riffs for ukulele beginners. If you are familiar with this song you should be able to pick it up quite quickly. You can either use your thumb to pluck the notes or your fingernail to amplify the sound.

A|-----4-7-9---11-9-7-4-------|-----4-------------------|
E|-5-7--------------------7---|-5-7---7-5-7-5-----7-5---|
C|----------------------------|-----------------6-------|
G|----------------------------|-------------------------|

Muse – Starlight

It's fair to say that Matt Bellamy is a riff god! He has consistently churned out amazing guitar work on the Muse albums. One of them is Plug In Baby — I put together a video tutorial and tabs of how to play that here.

Playing Tips

The song opens up with a chord, so let's get prepared. Use your first finger on the 6th fret of the C, middle finger on the 6th fret of the A, and your ring finger on the 7th of E. Then it's a case of following the notes and picking out the rest of the melody.

A |-6-----6-7-4---7-6-4-6-----6-7-----7-6-4-
E |---7---------4---------7-------7-4-------
C |-----6-------------------8---------------
G |-----------------------------------------

Nirvana – Come As You Are

The first instrument Kurt Cobain learned to play was a ukulele! How cool is that? If you are ready for some more Nirvana on a uke, I put together arrangements of Nevermind, Bleach and In Utero.

Playing Tips

Again, if you know this song, it's going to be super easy to follow. I would use your first finger on the 4th fret and then add a finger for each further fret. You should have your ring finger on the 6th fret of the C at this point — that's going to free up your other fingers to play the rest of the notes.

A|-----------|--------------------------------------------------
E|-----------|--------5-----5--------------7-----7--------------
C|--4--4--5--|--6--------6-----6--6--5--4-----4--------4--4--5--
G|-----------|--------------------------------------------------

Paramore – Hard Times

Hayley Williams and co have gone from strength to strength with their music. Hard Times from their album After Laughter is one of the standout tracks.

Playing Tips

For this song, we can make it easier for ourselves by using just one finger. Place your first finger across the 6th frets of the E and A strings. Then it's just a case of moving it up and down for the first 3 sections — use your middle finger for the last note.

A |---6----8-----8-----6---------6-----8-----8---10----
E |-6----8---------8-----6-----6-----8---------8----11-
C |----------------------------------------------------
G |----------------------------------------------------

Radiohead – No Surprises

One of the more melancholic songs on this list. Me, Radiohead and the ukulele have been super busy — I have arranged Kid A, The Bends, In Rainbows, The King Of Limbs and A Moon Shaped Pool.

Playing Tips

This could be tricky if you are using a soprano ukulele — they often run out of frets after the 12th. Other than that, it's another very simple lick to play.

A|-12----12----12----------------
E|----13----13----13-------13-15-
C|-------------------10-13-------
G|-------------------------------

Rage Against The Machine – Bombtrack

It's just another BWOMBBTRACK! Rage Against The Machine's debut album is laden with riffs.

Playing Tips

To replicate the sound of the original song, we are going to use a technique called palm muting. This involves placing the palm of your plucking hand across the strings, about 1cm away from the bridge of the uke. This is going to dampen the sound and make the notes sound more sudden and sharp.

A|---7-5---5---------7-5---5-7-10-|---7-5---5---------7-5---5-------|
E|-0-----7---7-5-3-0-----7--------|-0-----7---7-5-3-0-----7---3-2-0-|
C|--------------------------------|---------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------|---------------------------------|

Smashing Pumpkins – Today

I'm calling it now, this is the easiest riff to play on this list. Check out my Siamese Dream arrangement here.

Playing Tips

For this riff we can help ourselves by placing our first finger across the 5th fret on both strings. Then it's just a case of using your middle finger for the 7th fret and your pinky on the 9th. For the plucking, I use my thumb on the E string and first finger on the A string.

A|--5-----7-----5-----9p5-----|
E|-----5-----5-----5-------5--|
C|----------------------------|
G|----------------------------|

The Strokes – 12:51

This guitar riff sounds like it was played on a keyboard. It's actually just some studio wizardry from producer Gordon Raphael. This tab is taken from my arrangement of the Room On Fire album.

Playing Tips

This is a straightforward riff to play — just follow along to the song to get the timing.

A|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|-
E|-4-------4----------------------|-4-------7-5-4------------------|-
C|---4-6-4---6-4----6-3-4-3-6-4-3-|---4-6-4----------6-3-4-3-6-4-3-|-
G|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|-
A|------------------------------------|-
E|-7-4---4-7-4---4----7-4---4---4---4-|-
C|-----6-------6----------6---4---6---|-
G|------------------------------------|-

Twenty One Pilots – Lane Boy

You made it to the end of the list and we are returning to fingerpicking for this one. Tyler Joseph is a huge fan of the uke — arguably he has been one of the key people in its rise in popularity over the past few years.

Playing Tips

Although this may look confusing, it's very simple to play and we are only using one finger.

Place your first finger on the 2nd fret of the C string. After the first note, move your finger up to the 5th fret. Then instead of just fretting the C string, place your finger across the bottom 3 strings. Repeat this process for the 7th, 9th and 12th frets.

For the plucking hand, we need to assign a finger per string: use your thumb for the C string, finger for the E and middle finger for the A string.

A|---------5----------------12-----------------12-----------------12-------|
E|-------5---------------12-----------------12-----------------12----------|
C|-2-5-5-----5----7-9-12-------12----7-9-12-------12----7-9-12-------12----|
G|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|