Learn How To Play "Killing In The Name" by Rage Against The Machine on Guitar!

In this lesson, we'll learn how to play Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine on guitar. What a great guitar song for rocking out!

This is a MEGA popular song, and you'll need to put your guitar in Drop D tuning to play it. Ready to put your power chords to work? Let's get stuck in & learn this song riff by riff.

💬 Man, I LOVE this song ... had far too much fun filming this lesson! I was rocking out with the track over and over for a good half an hour before I remembered I was supposed to do a lesson on it :)

Killing In The Name - Tuning

First things first, put that guitar into Drop D tuning. Tune your thickest string down one tone to the note D. Use the fourth string as a reference.

Once that's done, your thickest three strings will give you a D power chord - the first chord you'll need to play this song! As you already know, there are loads of power chords to put to work here! But, it's really important not to let them sound sloopy!

💡 Use your palm mute techniques to keep your notes nice and tight. You want to get that crunchy sound without letting them ring out.

Killing In The Name - Playing Tips

Learn this song in chunks by learning the riffs one by one. Once you're ace with them, weave them all together. This Rage Against The Machine song has an effects-based solo; you need a whammy pedal to play it. Definitely something worth exploring if you got one and you really dig this tune!

Now, if you're a big fan of this band and want to sound just like them, you'll need to listen to the original recording. There might be some embellishments & variations worth exploring on your own! Better yet, transcribing this song will get you playing close to the original recording.

Try out the JustinGuitar Tabs website feature for FREE. :)