How to Play "IRON MAN" on Guitar | School of Rock Back to School Miniseries Ep. 1

Welcome to the School of Rock Back to School Miniseries. This is the 1st installment of a series that covers 3 beginner-level rock songs that appear in a transformative scene in the movie The School of Rock. I am very excited to share this miniseries with you because it's a hat tip to my favorite movie of all time. If you haven't seen The School of Rock, I HIGHLY recommend you check it out.

In lesson 1, I will show you how to play “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath. “Iron Man” is one of 3 songs that “Mr. Schneebly” teaches Zack in a pivotal moment in the movie. This version of “Iron Man” is not necessarily how Black Sabbath plays it, but it’s how Zack plays it in the movie and it’s how this Zak is going to teach you. First, we are going to lock down the rhythm, then I'm going to show you how to play the riff.

Rhythm

Before we dive in, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with what the riff sounds like if you don't already know it. From there, we will tap our hands to establish solid rhythm playing. In this case, I just tap my hands on my lap. Rhythm is a crucial component of guitar playing–even more important than hitting the right notes. The tapping rhythm can start like this:

1 2 3 + 4

This part makes up half of the riff. Use your picking hand to tap the rhythm as you do this. The tapping of the picking hand will represent downstrokes.

Next, we are going to finish the riff’s rhythm like this:

1 e + a 2 + 3 + 4

You will need to alternate between both hands for the “1 e + a” part as these are 16th notes. Again, your picking hand (my right hand) will represent downstrokes. This time, your other hand (my left hand) will represent upstrokes for when we start picking the melody.

Here's the whole rhythm in action:

1 2 3 + 4 | 1 e + a 2 + 3 + 4

The Riff

Now that we gave ourselves a good base with the rhythm, it’s time to tackle the riff. The entire riff takes place on the low E string. It starts with a quarter note on the open low E string, followed by a quarter note on the 3rd fret. Both of these notes may be played with the index finger. From there, we will play two eighth notes by repeating fret 3 and playing the fifth fret. Play the 5th fret one more time but for a quarter note. You can play the fifth fret with your ring finger, or you can slide up to that note with your index finger. I personally prefer to slide up to the note with my index finger because it sets me up better for the remainder of the riff. Repeat this sequence as many times as you need and listen to how it sounds.

We will then play 4 sixteenth notes. This is the fastest part of the song--you got this! Here we will use alternate picking to go back and forth between downstrokes and upstrokes. Keep your index finger on the 7th fret and put your middle finger on the 8th fret. Play the note on the 8th fret with a downstroke and follow that with an upstroke on the 7th fret. Those 2 notes will be played the same way one more time before hitting an eighth note on the 8th fret. Repeat this part of the riff as many times as you need, then play what we have from the beginning as many times as you need. Finally, all we do is use downstrokes to play 2 eighth notes on the 3rd fret followed by an eighth note and a quarter note on the 5th fret. The riff is complete!

Conclusion

Now you’ll have an iconic riff to play for your friends and family. Make sure you get the hang of the rhythm and that the notes you’re playing are accurate to what I showed you. You may need to work more on the rhythm and the notes separately before bringing them together in the riff. Once you’ve got the riff down, you’ll be on your way to playing like Zack Attack! Have fun with this riff and let me know if you have any questions.

Check out the full lesson video HERE: How to Play "IRON MAN" on Guitar | School of Rock Back to School Miniseries Ep. 1