Learn "Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes on guitar!

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play Blister In The Sun by Violent Femmes on the guitar. This is a worldwide hit and an easy acoustic song for advancing beginners. :)

There are some tricky parts, but take it slowly and you’ll get there. Also – don’t worry a lot about precision. This song will sound great even if you play it sloppily!

💡 Following my guitar lessons? This song best suits Grade 3+ guitar players!

Follow the song tutorial for details, and grab your free trial for JustinGuitarTABS to get lyrics, chords, and tab to follow along.

And if you’d like some extra inspiration, check out Violent Femme’s live versions – there’s lots of killer stuff in there! Definitely improvise and make your own cover of Blister In The Sun too. :)

Now, let’s grab our guitars and get stuck in.

How to Learn Blister In The Sun by Violent Femmes

Let’s start by learning that cool intro riff. Don’t worry about counting the rhythm here. The best way to learn it is by listening a lot to the original recording.

Start with finger 3 on 6:3 (string 6, fret 3). Finger 2 then plays 5:2, we pick string 6 again, then lay finger 3 over on 5:3, before lifting it off to play 5:2.

Repeat that three times before finishing on 6:3 with finger 3. After each repetition of the full riff, strum down-up with muted strings. See the video for a demo. :)

💡Start slow! You can gradually build your speed to match the original song’s tempo.

Gordon Gano's Picking

It turns out I was playing this song wrong for years! When researching for this video, I realized that Gordon Gano – the lead guitarist of Violet Femmes – plays all down picks. You’ll notice this in the live videos!

He also uses a sweep motion when he picks 6:3 then 5:3. This is part of what gives this tune that swing. The sweep is a smoother motion than two separate downpicks – it feels like a mini strum. It takes a bit of practice to make this effortless!

Let’s look at the verse riff now.

Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes – Verse Riff

The verse riff sounds very similar to the intro riff. In fact, it’s pretty much the same melody but in a higher octave. :) It uses double stops and mini chords instead of individual notes.

🚨 Start your transcribing journey: this song has a simple riff that's perfect for guitarists getting started with transcribing, a crucial skill for great musicianship. Learning songs by ear is also super motivating. So let's get going by transcribing five famous riffs. :)

Replace 6:3 with XXX00X, 5:2 with XXX43X, and 5:3 with XXX55X. And we use XX500X in place of the first 6:3 of each rep. On the final rep, we go XXX55X to XXX43X to XXX21X and finish with XXX00X.

Blister in the Sun by Violent Femmes – Chorus

The chorus is pretty simple. All we need are these chords: Em (022000), C/G chord (332010), and D (XX0232). The sequence is Em, Em, C/G, C/G, Em, Em, C/G, D, D. And the Old Faithful strumming pattern sounds great here. :)

Explore Timing and Dynamics!

For songs like this, the feeling is more important than playing the right notes. It’s all about the timing.

In many parts, it’s not clear what’s going on musically. It’s somehow messy, but in a beautiful way! Some transcribing will help you make sense of it. :)

Blister in The Sun is also the perfect acoustic song to explore dynamics. Why are dynamics so important? When playing live, they are a fun way to get people’s attention. It allows the audience to be part of the build-up.

🧐 This song goes very, very quiet for one verse. If you play low, you’ll get the audience’s attention, and they’ll respond. The louder parts will be that much more fun – people might even start singing along with you!

So if you find quiet parts in a song, take advantage of them! Incorporating dynamics into your guitar playing will take your sound to a whole new level.

Have loads of fun with this tune! Laters. :)

Play along with Blister In The Sun karaoke-style with the JustinGuitar Lessons & Songs App! Try it out for free. :)