How to play “Feel Good Inc” by Gorillaz on guitar (beginner lesson)
What you will learn in this Feel Good Inc lesson
Feel Good Inc is one of the most recognisable riffs of the 2000s, and it is a great first song for an electric guitar player. In this free video lesson, our CoachGuitar teacher plays the whole song at full speed, then again in a slow version so you can follow every finger position.
The lesson uses the CoachGuitar visual method: colours on the fretboard show you exactly where to put your fingers, with the lyrics and a backing track so you can play along from the very first try. No music theory or tab reading required.
The Feel Good Inc riff: tips for beginners
The verse riff is a single-note line that doubles the bass. Play it with the side of your picking hand resting lightly on the strings near the bridge (palm muting) to get the dry, bouncy sound of the record, and use downstrokes only so every note has the same attack.
The song runs at about 139 beats per minute, which is fast for a first riff. Start with the slow version at 5:04, play it three times in a row without a mistake, then move back to the full-speed version at 0:21. Speed comes from clean repetitions, not from forcing the tempo.
Chorus chords: Ebm – B – Gb – Db
The “Windmill, windmill” chorus moves through four chords: E flat minor, B, G flat and D flat. If your guitar is tuned a half step down like on the original recording, these are the familiar shapes of E minor, C, G and D. Change chords on the first beat of each bar and keep a light, even strum with a clean sound.
If a chord buzzes, press just behind the fret with the tip of your finger and check that your thumb sits in the middle of the back of the neck. Fixing one chord at a time is faster than replaying the whole chorus.
How to practise with the video
Use the chapter links above to jump straight to the section you are working on, and play along with the backing track as soon as you can follow the colours. Playing with the track is the best way to lock your rhythm.
Once you have the video down, open the same song in the CoachGuitar app to get the interactive tablature, loop any section, slow the tempo further and track your progress.