9 Halloween Guitar Songs You Can Play No Matter Your Playing Level
If you’re coming here right now, it’s because you’re hoping there’s more halloween songs to play than just the Michael Myers Halloween Theme.
Well, it wasn’t easy but I got some classics right here for ya!
A warning though…..
I don’t see or approach the guitar the same way lots of others do. I use voice leading, passing chords, and chromaticism when I can get away with it.
That means I don’t just give you some chords to strum and call it day.
Not sure what I’m talking about?
Let me show you some of the ways to play guitar that maybe you haven’t seen before….
Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.
I’ve never seen anyone attempt to arrange this song into a guitar riff and I’m pretty proud of what I came up.
But it’s not very easy I’ll admit.
Here’s some pointers:
For the first riff, be ready to change from A to E just like you would with full open chords. Just be mindful of the other strings and avoid hitting them
On the riff where I arranged the horns part, I’d use hybrid picking to quickly hit those single notes while downpicking/upstroking the fuller chord voicings
The riff starting with that Bm chord voicing should be played where you keep your fret hand in a position where you can easily change between the bass notes. I’d play the m7b5 chord with your fret hand thumb playing the 4th fret on the low E string.
Want to make this whole riff easier?
You can just play the top notes! Or, simply play the chord shapes and ignore everything else.
Spooky Scary Skeletons Guitar Tab
This one I wanted to make a lot simpler because it’s primarily a dance song and the melody sticks pretty closely to the rhythm.
To play this one, I like to use my 1st and 2nd fingers to play the double stops of 33 and 22, which keeps my third and fourth fingers free to play the 440 voicing, which then lets me play the X2440X voicing.
It sounds great with distortion IMO.
Halloween Theme Guitar Tab
I didn’t want to start the article with this one because I know some of you hardcore players will roll your eyes. I know you’ve probably seen this one before.
In order to replicate that staccato feel, I like to heavy palm muting on the B string, while using just a little bit on the high E string. I also like to use my middle finger to pluck the string to give it even more of a staccato feel.
I believe doing this helps to give more separation to the notes, but you can also let that B string blend in with the top notes.
However I highly recommend being ready to mute the strings with your pick hand when starting the sequence again.
Thriller Michael Jackson Guitar Tab
For this one I wanted to keep it fairly simple again in order to replicate the dance feel.
When arranging music, I think it’s a good idea to avoid too many heavy voicings when the song doesn’t really need it.
This song is all about the bass, the drums, and the vocals, which is reflected in the horn arrangements in the song.
Everything comes from the key of E major, and the C#m minor pentatonic scale fingering patterns can help with playing these riffs.
This Is Halloween Guitar Tab (From Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas)
This song has lots of key changes and chords, which makes creating a quick arrangement challenging.
I decided to take the first few bars of the vocal melody to create a riff for you.
This riff will be challenging if you’re not great at barre chords yet, which many of my beginner students didn’t work on.
Knowing the familiar chord shapes in lots of these bars, like the common Am minor chord shape, will help you keep all the parts in your head.
Monster Mash Guitar Tab
This arrangement I’m also really proud of because I was able to keep simple chords and I got the vocal fills to fit in nicely.
Now I’ll admit I use sheet music to help a lot with these arrangements. I don’t have a perfect ear, and I like to use sheets because it speeds up my workflow.
That said, I take some liberties with the exact rhythms in hopes you’ll take the notes you see and match it to what you hear.
For instance, the 5th fret in the 3rd bar does a sort of vocal downward glissando to the note represented in fret 3. You could play the 15th fret on the low E string to replicate the same sound.
Addams Family Theme Song On Guitar
This is another one that I’m happy it came out so well as those initial four notes fit so well in the fret hand.
Instead of the finger snaps, I just put a double stop of the chord at a higher octave.
When you get to the vocal melody line, I like to use some light palm muting to sound out the notes. I do this because I think it’s another song that’ll benefit from clear note separation instead of letting the notes ring together.
If you want people to sing along with you, I’d use these chord shapes:
Bb = X13331
Cm7 = X35343
F7 = 1X121X
For you fellow theory nerds, this is a I – ii – V7 – I progression in Bb major.
A Nightmare To Remember by Dream Theater Guitar Tabs
I not only put a piece from this epic song to appease my fellow guitar nerds….
But also because I believe this is a great halloween song that hasn’t yet been accepted by the mainstream canon.
It’s also not too hard to play as long as you can manage the finger stretches.
I’m also aware of the C standard tuning. The chord symbols reflect that.
I Ain't Superstitious by Megadeth Guitar Tab
This is a last minute addition to the article as I was listening to my metal playlist and this came on.
Although it’s not the definitive version of this song, which rightly probably should go to Jeff Beck, this is my personal favorite version.
The outro riff is absolutely amazing to hear and to play!
It’s not for those who haven’t played a lot of thrash metal riffs yet, but go ahead and try it if you’re up for it.
If you want the GP tabs for all of this song, and most of Megadeth’s catalog, then go check out abysslord.com, where I got the tab above from.
