Emo guitar
Emo guitar twinkles: fast arpeggios on the top strings, open strings ringing over the chords, hammer-ons right inside the pattern. Below are the chords, scale, techniques, an arpeggio and a melody you can hear and slow down.
1980s100–160 BPMAsus2–E–F#m–Darpeggio
What is emo
Emo grew out of hardcore punk in the mid-1980s: the same bands began singing about personal things and playing more melodically. In the 90s the American Midwest developed a "twinkly" style with clean guitars and intricate arpeggios, and in the 2000s emo became mainstream pop-punk.
For an emo guitarist the arpeggio is everything. Two guitars interlock: one plays the low chord tones, the other rings open strings on top. Many bands use open tunings, but you can get a similar sound in standard tuning.
Signature chords
Asus2, E, F#m, D (I, V, vi, IV in A major) are played in emo not as full chords but as two moving notes on the 4th and 3rd strings. The open B and E on the 2nd and 1st strings fit all four chords and turn them into chords with added notes.
Scale for soloing
A major suits the melodies. The melody on this page is played on the top two strings between the 5th and 12th frets, with a slide up to E and vibrato on the long notes.
Techniques
The twinkly arpeggio
Your fretting fingers move only on the 4th and 3rd strings, while the 2nd and 1st stay open. The pattern runs in sixteenths, and every note rings into the next. Listen to the arpeggio below.
Hammer-on in the pattern
Inside the arpeggio, one note on the 3rd string is hammered on from two frets below. The picking hand does not play it; the fretting finger makes the sound. This makes the pattern smoother and faster.
Sus2
A second replaces the third, and the chord becomes open: neither major nor minor. Emo loves sus2 for its bright sadness. Tap Asus2 to hear it.
Emo arpeggio
Every half bar: a low note, a hammer-on on the 3rd string and open strings on top. Only two notes change from chord to chord. Start at 60%: what matters is that every note sounds equally loud.
Emo-style melody
The phrase starts on C# on the first string, slides up to E at the 12th fret and falls to E on the second string. The second half passes through F# and A and ends on a long A with vibrato.
The riff opens as a draft: change notes, tempo and tracks however you like.
Open in RiffonicWhat to listen to
Listen to these songs and pay attention to what is described next to each one.
- American Football - “Never Meant”. Two clean guitars in an open tuning interlock an arpeggio with ringing open strings: the model of "twinkly" emo.
- Sunny Day Real Estate - “In Circles”. A quiet verse and a huge distorted chorus: the loud-soft contrast that became a trademark of the genre.
- Jimmy Eat World - “The Middle”. Emo gone mainstream: tight palm-muted chords in the verse and wide strumming in the chorus.
Every riff and solo on this page is an original exercise in the style of the genre, not the notes of someone else’s song.
FAQ
What tuning is emo played in?
Many bands use open tunings where the open strings form a chord. But you can get a similar sound in standard tuning: keep the 1st and 2nd strings open, as in the arpeggio on this page.
How is emo different from pop-punk?
90s emo is slower and more intricate: clean guitars, arpeggios, unexpected time changes. Pop-punk is fast and direct, built on power chords. In the 2000s the two styles blended a lot.
How do I learn fast arpeggios?
Play each half bar separately, slowly and with a metronome. Once your hand remembers the string order, join the halves and raise the tempo little by little.