If this riff sounds oddly familiar, that’s because it started life as The Police. Ruff Sqwad, the East London grime crew, built this one around the guitar hook from Message in a Bottle, pitched it up and roughed it into something grimier, with Wiley on the mic.
I love a good sample flip, and this is a cracking one to play because the whole tune is really just that one looping riff. It sounds far more complicated than it actually is. Here’s how to get it under your fingers on the uke.
What Are We Learning To Play?
Below is a video of what you will be able to play by the end of this post.
Ukulele Tabs
Fair warning before you start: the whole riff is one shape moved up and down the neck, and it’s a big stretch, so take it slowly until your hand gets comfortable with it.
The shape uses three fingers across three strings. Your first finger goes on the C string, your ring finger three frets higher on the E string, and your pinky two frets above that on the A string. Once your hand knows that stretch you never change it, you just slide the whole thing around.
Start with your first finger on the 6th fret of the C string, ring finger on the 9th of the E, pinky on the 11th of the A. Pluck those three in order, C string, then E, then A.
Slide the shape up three frets: first finger on the 9th, ring on the 12th, pinky on the 14th. Same three plucks.
Now jump the shape right down to the 2nd fret: first finger on the 2nd, ring on the 5th, pinky on the 7th.
Then drop one more fret to finish: first finger on the 1st, ring on the 4th, pinky on the 6th. This last one is the widest stretch of the lot, so really slow down here and let your hand settle into it.
That’s the whole thing. Four positions of the same shape, rolled C to E to A each time.
A|--------11------------14-----------7-----------6--|
E|-----9------------12------------5-----------4-----|
C|--6---------9-------------2-----------1-----------|
G|--------------------------------------------------|
The shape the whole riff is built on, at its starting position. Keep the stretch and slide it up and down the neck.
