How to play Creep by Radiohead
Radioheadβs 1992 debut single Creep was not a hit initially. Regarded as too depressing for mainstream radio, itβs fame grew slowly and it gradually became a global alt-rock anthem. Creepβs powerful instrumental contrasts and raw lyrics seem more suited to the 2020s and it has become one of the top tracks of the streaming era.
Chords : Gβ βBβ βB4β βC C4 Cmβ βG5β βB5β βC5
Pick or Fingers? Pick works best throughout. You can hybrid-pick the arpeggio verses but the heavy sections of Creep certainly need the energy of the pick.
Acoustic or Electric? If you are aiming to emulate the Radiohead original, use electric guitar. Donβt risk your hand health playing full bar-chords on an acoustic guitar for a whole song; only the electric guitar is designed for this kind of chord work.
Can I finger pick this song? Yes, finger-picking Creep on acoustic guitar creates a nice alternative version to the electric original. The G and C can be played as open position chords but the B and C minor still need to be played as shown in this chart.
Is this chart complete? This chart is a distillation of the accompaniment lines for Creep. It gives you a workable part that allows the song to work on one guitar but doesnβt include the lead guitar part.
How does the TAB timing work? The timing of the arpeggio patterns in Creep are a simple mix of one-beat and half-beat note values. The numbers that have a single stem are one-beat notes. The numbers that are beamed (joined) to the next stem, or a curved tail, are half-beat values. The thing to take particular care with is the half-beat rest at the start of some bars (itβs the symbol that looks a bit like a 7).
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 2 : to learn more about the bar-chords and rhythm techniques used in Creep go to pages 4 - 5, 7, 8 - 9 and 14
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 2 is a must-have guide to Electric guitar chords and rhythm styles. It teaches you how to read the rhythm slash notation used in our charts (as used in professional theatre & studio charts) and is specially designed to build your strength and stamina with bar-chords, and extend your moveable chords vocabulary. An excellent tutor for the developing electric guitarist.
