Ever heard a song and instantly wanted to play it? That’s the magic of “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes. This iconic track, with its instantly recognizable riff, is a favorite for guitarists of all levels, and especially rewarding for beginners. If you’ve been wondering How To Play White Stripes Seven Nation Army On Guitar, you’ve come to the right place.
Many guitarists, when asked how they learned a song, might simply say, “I just do it.” While intuitive playing is great, it’s not very helpful for someone starting out. This lesson breaks down the secrets of “Seven Nation Army”, focusing on that killer rhythmic hook and the song’s surprisingly simple structure. We’ll dissect each part, making it easy for you to learn and master this rock anthem on your guitar. Whether you’re just picking up the guitar or looking to add a classic to your repertoire, understanding the mechanics behind this song is key to unlocking your musical potential. Get ready to plug in and learn!
Decoding the Rhythmic Hook of Seven Nation Army
“Seven Nation Army,” from The White Stripes’ 2003 album Elephant, is structurally straightforward. Think of it as built from musical building blocks. The song is primarily composed of verses (three, or four if you count the guitar solo section as a verse). These verses are built around two main parts. The first part, the famous riff, repeats throughout the song, sometimes played by just the bass, and sometimes layered with multiple guitars for a fuller sound. This riff serves as the intro, outro, and instrumental breaks. The second part is a shorter two-measure pattern that acts as a kind of musical punctuation, formally ending each verse and also appearing during the guitar solo and instrumental sections.
It’s the first part, the main riff, that holds the rhythmic key to the song. Originally a bass line, we’ll adapt it for guitar. Here it is:
Takedown Notice
Let’s break down this notation. The first two notes, both Es played at the 2nd fret of the D string, are your starting point. The first E is a dotted quarter note, held for one and a half beats. The second E is an eighth note, lasting half a beat. While the notation shows these notes on the D string, remember guitar is versatile! You can also play these E notes at the 7th fret of the A string or even the 12th fret of the low E string if that feels more comfortable for you. The goal here is to get your fingers in a comfortable position to play the sequence smoothly.
Now, let’s look at the last three notes. At first glance, they appear to be quarter notes. If they were, that would add up to five beats in a measure marked in 4/4 time – which only has four beats per measure! Look closer, and you’ll see a bracket above these three quarter notes with a small “3” inside. This is a triplet marking. It means these three notes are a quarter note triplet. Instead of taking up the space of three regular quarter notes, these three notes are evenly squeezed into the space of two beats.
This triplet rhythm can be tricky to grasp at first. Counting triplets over two beats isn’t always intuitive, even for experienced players. So, let’s simplify things for a moment. We’re going to temporarily pretend the song is in 2/4 time. This means we’re essentially halving the value of each note – half notes become quarter notes, quarter notes become eighth notes, and eighth notes become sixteenth notes. A triplet over two beats now becomes a triplet over a single beat.
Why this trick? It makes counting and internalizing the rhythm much easier. Most people count sixteenth notes as “One-ee-and-ah, Two-ee-and-ah”. Triplets are typically counted “One-and-ah, Two-and-ah”. By combining these, we can count our simplified 2/4 measure as “One-ee-and-ah, Two-and-ah.”
The key is to make the triplet sound like a triplet – three evenly spaced notes within the beat – and not just three quick sixteenth notes followed by a rest. If you’ve listened to the Guitar Noise Podcast 3 (linked in the original article, though not essential here), you’ll know exactly what we mean by rushing triplets!
To help you get this rhythm into your fingers, tap your foot to a slow, steady beat. Once you’re comfortable, try saying a four-syllable word evenly across each beat. “Alligator” is a good one to start with. Say “Alligator, Alligator, Alligator…” for a few beats. Then switch to a three-syllable word – “Elephant,” given the album title, is fitting! Again, make sure you’re spacing the three syllables evenly within each beat.
Once you’re comfortable counting and feeling the rhythm, you can put it back together, first in our simplified 2/4 time, and then back to the original 4/4 time. Here’s an audio example to help you hear it:
Download MP3
Listen closely to how the triplet is played in the 4/4 version. You’ll notice the count emphasizes stretching the triplet across the third beat. Counting even beats while playing quarter note triplets isn’t easy, so this method can make it more manageable. Since this rhythmic figure is the heart of “Seven Nation Army,” mastering it is crucial. Practice it until it becomes second nature. Whatever counting method you choose, don’t hesitate to count out loud – it really helps!
Once you’ve nailed this rhythmic snippet, the rest of the song will feel much smoother.
Power Chords and the Verse Structure
The second part of the verse, which we’ll call “Example 2,” consists of two measures of power chords: G5 and A5, played with straight eighth notes. Here’s how it looks:
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There are various ways to play this section. On the original recording, you can hear at least two guitar parts. One uses two-string power chords, while another uses two-string power chords for G5 and then switches to an open A chord shape for A5. In these examples, we’re using three-string power chords for a fuller sound, as we’re aiming for a single guitar arrangement. Experiment with different voicings and find what you prefer.
The next section of “Seven Nation Army” is essentially a repeat of the first riff section, but this time it’s “fleshed out” with full chords, using the single-note bass line as the root notes for the chords. Again, the original recording features multiple guitar parts. One guitar plays Root 5 position three-string power chords. (This example isn’t in the MP3s provided in the original article, but we’ll describe it).
If you’re unfamiliar with “Root 5 Power Chords” or power chords in general, Guitar Noise has helpful lessons like The Power of Three and Building Additions (and Suspensions) that can bring you up to speed. “Root 5” power chords are power chords where the root note is on the fifth (A) string. You’ll notice all the power chords in this example are rooted on the A string.
Alongside the power chords, another guitar in the original recording plays full major chords on the D, G, and B strings, often using a slide. To keep things simple, we’ll skip the slide for now in our example:
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Hopefully, you can now see why using the open position A chord shape in Example 2 can be useful. Your hand is already in a shape that can easily slide up and down the neck for this section. If you’re careful with your strumming and avoid hitting the high E string, you can use a single finger to barre across the second fret for the open A shape and easily move through Example 3.
Another detail to note is that in the original recording, the slide guitar sometimes plays a single quarter note of the final B chord (which is shown here as a half note) followed by a quarter note of A (X0222X). Both approaches sound good.
Once you’re comfortable with Example 3, the final step is smoothly transitioning between all the sections – from Example 1 to Example 2 to Example 3, and back again. This back-and-forth is demonstrated in this MP3:
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Putting these sections together is essentially the whole song! Feeling completely at ease with the main riff rhythm is essential, especially if you plan to sing and play simultaneously. So, practice it thoroughly, and then practice it some more!
Song Structure and the Guitar Solo
Here’s a basic outline of the song’s structure:
(Structure outline from original article – maintain this info in the new article, but format it better for readability if needed. Original article already has a good structure outline, keeping it as is.)
As mentioned, there’s a guitar solo between the second and third verses. It’s played with a slide in the original, but you can definitely play it without a slide and still get a great sound. You might need to make a few adjustments, which we’ll discuss.
The solo itself is relatively simple, using mostly notes from the E minor pentatonic scale in these positions:
(Scale positions from original article – keep this information.)
We’ve added two notes in parentheses that are outside the Em pentatonic scale (C at the 13th fret of the B string and F# at the 14th fret of the high E string) so you can incorporate them into your scale practice.
The solo is played over four repetitions of “Example 3” and ends by returning to “Example 2.” Since the solo takes you higher up the neck, playing the G5 in the same three-string style as the slide guitar – barring across the 12th fret (X X 12 12 12 X) and playing only the D, G, and B strings – can feel natural. For the A5, just slide that shape up two frets (X X 14 14 14 X).
Here’s the solo example:
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Notice that in the first half of the solo (the first eight measures), there are double stops at the 7th fret of the D and A strings. These notes are A and E, essentially an A5 inversion, played against an E chord in the rhythm part. This creates a slight dissonance, which is part of the original recording’s character, likely due to the slide guitar.
This solo transcription isn’t note-for-note perfect, but it’s very close and captures the essence of the solo.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed learning “Seven Nation Army.” It’s a fantastic song to add to your guitar repertoire. We’ll be revisiting this song later to explore how to create a single acoustic guitar arrangement. That should be an interesting challenge!
Keep practicing, and don’t hesitate to ask questions or share your progress on guitar forums or communities. Learning guitar is a journey, and songs like “Seven Nation Army” make it an exciting one.
Happy playing!
