Always With Me, Always With You by Joe Satriani

Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced

First, I’m going to show you how to play the main rhythm part to this Joe Satriani ballad. Next, I’ll show you how to play the lead guitar part to the 1st theme that goes over this rhythm part. The lead guitar part is actually a little easier to play than the rhythm part… at least the very 1st theme is.

The song is at a fast 148 beats per minute and it’s in 3/4 time. That means that there are only 3 beats per measure instead of the more common 4/4. In simple terms that means you’ll want to count along with the beat with 1-2-3, 1-2-3, instead of the standard 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4.

I’ve broken down the rhythm part below into 2 sections. In the song, the 1st section repeats 3 times and then the 2 section is played once. Then it’s all repeated from the beginning. You should apply a slight palm mute throughout both sections of the riff.

It’s not an easy riff to play at the normal speed of 148 bpm. It’s very tough on the picking hand. You may find that the muscles in your picking arm and shoulders ache after practicing this. Don’t give up! If there’s no pain, then there’s no gain. Right?

Here’s what it sounds like:

Below is the 1st section:

Below is the 4 measures above at a slower tempo looped over and over
for you to practice:

Here it is at normal speed:

Below are the scary-sounding chord formations. These aren’t everyday chords!

Badd4	Emaj7add6	F#sus4

Verse

Here’s the 2nd section (the change):

Below is the riff looped at a slower speed:

Here it is at normal speed:

Here are the two additional chord formations found in this 2nd section:

F#sus4/G#	F#

Lead Guitar

Below I’ll show you how to play the lead guitar part to the 1st theme that goes over this rhythm part. The lead guitar part is actually a little easier to play than the rhythm part… at least the very 1st theme is.

The lead part outlined below uses a lot of slides.

I’ve broken the 1st lead theme down into 4 different phrases. Practice each phrase separately. Try playing along with the rhythm track at the bottom of the page once you think you’ve got all 4 of them down.