This is the first part of the Intro riff for Johnny B. Goode.

Since first recording this song, Chuck Berry has played the riff a million different ways, but this will give you a good start if you’ve ever wanted to learn it.

The riff is based out of the “A” Pentatonic Blues scale, which is a great one to know if you’re going to play rock or blues music.

Look at the example below.

The intro riff you will learn today is comprised of the notes circled in red. Notice the “fret” marker indicating the 5th fret on the illustration above.

Now look at the TAB below for the riff. If you are unfamiliar with TAB, please see our tutorial on “How to Read TAB“.

There are three lead in notes, and then the riff goes to dual notes played simultaneously (5 times)  on the 1st and 2nd strings at the 5th fret, then the riff ends with a three note walk down comprised of the same three notes as the lead in.

You can play this with all “down” strokes with the pick.

Enjoy…