La Grange — ZZ Top

Picking style is key to the percussive sound of this piece. Under each section I have placed the following symbols:

^ indicates picking with an upward motion v indicates picking with a downward motion

With a little practice, you can get a smooth up/down pattern esatblished, and it stays the same throughout the song.

(clean sound) v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

During the first verse, keep repeating the section above between |: and :| occasionally playing it this way to emphasize the words:

^ v ^ v ^ v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Then after 'They got a lot o' nice girls' comes the break. Resume playing the same as above with heavy distortion:

v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Keep repeating the part in between |: :| during the second verse, then after 'I might be mistaken', switch to:

v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ v ^ v ^ v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Then, during the guitar solo, keep playing the above section between |: :| When the solo comes to an end, this is the pattern and the break:

v ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ v ^ v

(I usually play the D string with my pick and the E string with my middle finger. You can, of course, play both with your pick)

Repeat the break between |: and :| twice, then go back to the clean part (same as the very first section). Play it 4 times, hit the distortion, and play the same as the first verse until the fade...