Alter Bridge - One Day Remains

Riff Guitar Lesson

Tuning: E A D G B E (Standard)
This lesson features the main riff from the title track of Alter Bridge's first album - One Day
Remains. A fantastic piece of guitar playing that tears through the song with unrelenting
momentum.

As intimidating as it sounds, the riff is actually pretty straight forward when broken down.
You’ll need solid alternate picking skills and plenty stamina (which will come naturally with
practise) in both your picking and fretting hand to be able to play this.

To make this easier to digest, I've split the lesson into three main sections. In the video
lesson (YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMHloeSeyhU) each section is
slowed down to about half-speed (70 BPM) and features two camera angles; One focusing
on the picking hand and the other on the fretting hand. For each section of the video refer
to the tablature provided below.

My advice is not to be intimidated by the speed and complexity of this riff. Start slowly, at a
tempo you can comfortably play at, and as you gain confidence gradually increase your
speed. I suggest using a metronome for this and increment the tempo by 5 or 10BPM each
time. When you feel you can't play any faster, take a break and come back to it. The key is
stick at it, even when you feel you're not getting anywhere. Perseverance always prevails!

Good luck.

Section 1:
As you can see from the tablature below, the riff isn’t all that complex when broken down.
Every note is played at an equal length (16th Notes or Semi Quavers) and there are no fancy
hammer ons, pull offs or other tricks involved. Just straight alternate picking.

The first and second sections are pretty similar in terms of hand placement minus a few
subtle changes. First of all, I recommend using your first (index) finger for the 5th fret and
your 4th finger (pinkie) for the 9th fret. While at first this may seem tricky, or for some an
impossible task, with time it’s get easier. Now the 2nd and 3rd fingers are free we can then
use them for the 7th and 6th fret. You can refer to recommended finger placements (just to
the left of each note) as you play through the tab.

For the right hand, I’ve labelled the tab with the notation to indicate where to pick up
and to pick down. For those who aren’t competent in alternate picking this is a great
exercise to really dig deep and build that stamina in your right hand. Like always, start off
slow and as you gain confidence gradually bring up the speed.

Section 2:
Follow the same steps as you did for Section 1 but notice the change in finger position.

Section 3:
The last section is a bit tricky due to the big stretch between your index and pinkie finger. If
you’re having difficulty reaching try some finger stretching exercises to improve your
flexibility. This last section is the longest and can catch you out with its subtle changes.

When you are competent in playing each section try and play it all the way through. As
always, start off slowly and gradually bring up the speed.