John Fogerty is one of my all-time favorites. If you ever get the chance to see his show, don’t miss it. He’s not a shredder — he plays with taste. And that taste is exactly what makes his riffs so memorable.
In this lesson, I’m breaking down a Fogerty-inspired riff that uses one of his favorite tricks: the flatted fifth. It’s got that swampy, bluesy sound you hear all over songs like Old Man Down the Road, and once you get the feel of it, you’ll understand why Fogerty keeps coming back to it.
The Open Pentatonic Scale
Fogerty loves the open E pentatonic minor scale. A ton of his hits use it — Old Man Down the Road, Suzy Q, Run Through the Jungle, Green River. It’s a simple, open-position scale, and it’s where this riff lives.
If you already know your open pentatonic shapes, you’re in good shape. If not, learn this one first, because the riff will make a lot more sense once you can see where the notes come from.
The Bend and Pull-Off
The riff starts with a string stretch on the third string, second fret, using your second finger. Pick the note, bend up a whole step, let it come back to pitch, then pull off to the open string. It’s one smooth motion: pick, stretch, release, pull-off.
The strings are pretty tight down near the nut, so if you’re struggling with the bend, get another finger behind it for support. Just remember to lift that extra finger off before you do the pull-off, otherwise you’ll mute the string and lose the note.
The pull-off itself uses the fleshy tip of your finger — you’re actually plucking the string as you pull away. Treat it like three distinct notes happening in one fluid movement.
The Flatted Fifth
After the bend and pull-off, walk down through the scale: fourth string second fret, then open fourth string. Now here’s the Fogerty trick — instead of playing the normal fifth of the scale on the next string, drop to the flatted fifth. That’s the first fret on the fifth string.
On its own, the flatted fifth sounds “wrong.” But inside this riff, surrounded by the other scale notes, it sounds perfectly right. It’s a passing note — you’re not hanging on it, you’re moving through it. And it gives the whole phrase that dark, swampy character.
From there: open fifth string, third fret sixth string (G), open sixth string (E, your tonic), and then hit the octave E on the fourth string second fret. Let those last two notes ring out together. That overlap creates a much richer sound.
That Swampy Blues Feel
The whole riff has a bayou feel to it. It’s not fast, it’s not flashy — it’s got groove. And that flatted fifth is what pushes it from regular pentatonic territory into something with real character.
Ready for more Fogerty? Part 2 covers the minor third interval riff that shows up in Green River, Suzy Q, and more. For the full lesson library, check out the guitar riffs page.
I love that riff. I hope you do too. Come check me out at riffninja.com. Colin Daniel, over and out.
