How To Play Sharp Dressed Man On Guitar

The intro riff to ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” is one of the most recognizable in blues rock — and it’s easier than it sounds. It’s built from doublestops (two-note chords) in the C pentatonic minor scale. In this lesson, you’ll learn the full intro riff plus the C-F-G chord progression for the verses. Two video tutorials below walk you through both parts.

Sharp Dressed Man was originally performed by Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top.

The intro riff is one of those catchy signature riffs that are actually fairly easy to play. It’s basically using a few different fourths out of the C pentatonic minor scale. You play these fourths as doublestops (also called diads sometimes). The basic idea is that you’re hitting two strings (and ONLY two) at the same time. Be careful, if you hit more than these strings it is going to sound muddy.

Sharp Dressed Man Intro Riff

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The song is in the key of C major, using the chords of C, F and G. Here’s a short video explaining the riff that leads into the chords, and the rhythm. Sometimes the chords aren’t played as full chords, but just as power chords or even as perfect fifth intervals (just the I and the V).

Sharp Dressed Man Guitar Chords

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If you want to solo over Sharp Dressed Man, then you should use the C pentatonic minor scale.