10 Classic Riffs Every Guitarist Should Know
9. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Ironically, given his association with glam rock guitar hero Mick Ronson, Bowie's most memorable riff was written after Ronno left and was played by Bowie himself. As simple as it sounds it is actually quite tricky to get it right.
The secret is to keep the open D string ringing over the first half of the phrase and maintain consistency. The riff is played 16 times by Bowie before moving on to the next part, give it a go yourself and see how many circuits you can manage without fluffing - it's harder than it looks.