Audioslave – Cochise
Cochise is the lead single from Audioslave’s self-titled 2002 debut album. An absolute belter of a record, featuring Tom Morello’s signature crushing riffage over driving bass and pounding drums. The track was nominated for a Metal Hammer Golden God’s award, and it’s not hard to see why.
I’ve chosen Cochise for my Easy but Awesome guitar series – inspired as always by the neighbours of the guitar player who only knows one track. This one has two main riffs, a pre-chorus and a couple of easy chords. I’ve even included all 4 (four!) notes of the solo for you.
So… onward to Cochise! Broken down in to the main sections below, the video runs through the whole song, for all you TL;DR types! You will also find a downloadable PDF of the full track at the foot of the page.
Cochise Riff 1
After 16 bars of tremolo picked open low E string, we’re in to Riff 1:
Slide in to the opening note and pick everything. You will find the flow of the riff easier to master if you maintain a strict down/up/down/up alternate picking motion.
Cochise Pre-Chorus
After ten trips around Riff 1, we’re in to the pre-chorus:
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that the first half of this bar is the same as Riff 1, with a D and then a D# power chord tagged on the end. And that’s it! Onward to…
Cochise Riff 2
I love this riff! Just like Riff 1, you will find it easier to master if you maintain a strict down/up/down/up alternate picking motion – missing beats when necessary but keeping the speed of your picking hand consistent.
The record has 4 rounds of Riff 2, 11 of Riff 1, another trip through the pre-chorus and 8 more runs through riff 3… and we’re in to the Solo!
Cochise Guitar Solo
OK, so this guitar solo isn’t exactly technically challenging – but each of the notes is left to ring so you really cannot afford to be scruffy here:
The track closes out with 8 more trips around Riff 2 and a couple of stabs at an E power chord – all in the PDF link below the video.
Download Track Notation PDF HERE
And that’s Cochise! If you dream of playing like Tom Morello, this is probably as gentle an introduction as you’re going to get. You can find lessons on scales, chords and guitar techniques to help you develop as a player here, as well as the guitar grades here. If you’ve got any questions please get in touch on Facebook or Twitter, or leave a comment below.
