Time is on My Side: Lead Sheet

This lead sheet captures one of rock's most recognizable riffs in a format that lets guitarists study exactly how The Rolling Stones voiced and approached it. The inclusion of that signature guitar figure alongside the melody makes it practical for both learning the song as written and for improvisation around its core musical identity.

Immediate and hypnotic. The riff sits so deep in the pocket that once it's in your fingers, the song becomes almost involuntary to play. There's a confident, understated cool in how the melody and riff interlock.

Guitarists studying classic rock repertoire, ensemble players preparing covers for performance or jam sessions, and instructors teaching students to read lead sheets with functional guitar figures included. This works equally well for solo study and band arrangements.

• Lock into the groove by studying the recorded version first; this riff sits on specific beat subdivisions that define the song's swagger.
• Use the provided instrumental riff as your reference point for comping behind a soloist, rather than defaulting to generic chord strumming.
• If performing with drums and bass, establish the riff's relationship to the backbeat early in rehearsal so the rhythm section stays anchored to its pocket.

Pair this with other blues-based rock standards when teaching lead sheet reading to intermediate guitarists, or feature it in a rock ensemble concert where students can reference both the original recording and the notated figure side by side. It's also valuable for understanding how a single riff can define an entire song's identity.

• Reading lead sheets with embedded instrumental figures
• Understanding riff-based song structure in rock music
• Translating recorded guitar parts into notation
• Playing melody and accompaniment from the same lead sheet
• Studying classic rock guitar vocabulary and phrasing