Mother's Little Helper: Guitar TAB

This collection lets guitarists step directly into Keith Richards' creative voice during the band's most fertile period. The arrangements preserve the signature riffs and textural details that made these songs iconic while remaining accessible to intermediate players, so students can experience the satisfaction of playing authentic parts rather than simplified versions.

Raw, bluesy, confident. These are songs built on lean riffs that cut through the mix, played with a swagger that comes from understanding the relationship between rhythm and lead. There's swagger without pretension here; the guitar work serves the song's storytelling.

Intermediate guitarists who want to learn the actual parts from recordings rather than generic rock covers. This works equally well for students in a guitar class, ensemble, or private studio, and for players building a repertoire of touchstone rock songs.

• Focus on the rhythmic pocket before chasing speed. These songs thrive on feel and timing; lock into the groove first, then build tempo gradually.
• Pay close attention to tuning notations for each song. Open tunings and alternate tunings are core to Richards' sound and won't translate correctly in standard tuning.
• Use the fingering suggestions as guides for hand position and efficiency. They're designed to help you move between chords and passages the way they were originally played.
• Emphasize the percussive quality of muted or partially muted strings where indicated. The attack and dynamics matter as much as pitch in classic Stones riffs.

Use individual songs as showcases for a student recital or ensemble performance, or assign them as part of a rock history unit that explores how blues-based songwriting shaped popular music. They also work well as motivation for technique practice, since studying them reveals why hand position, fingering logic, and rhythmic precision matter.

• Reading TAB and standard notation simultaneously
• Playing in alternate and open tunings
• Identifying and executing rhythm guitar textures (muting, dynamics, touch)
• Transferring recorded performances to the fingerboard with accuracy
• Understanding blues-based chord progressions and riff construction
• Developing fingerpicking and strumming patterns across multiple songs