#TAB007 - Suga Suga
Free Tabs + Pro Tips
Suga Suga
Difficulty Level: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Song: Suga Suga
Artist: Baby Bash ft. Frankie J
Genre: English/Hip Hop
Tuning: Standard (EADGBe)
Capo: Fret 1
BPM: 164
*arranged by MeloLe
Personal Take
This week, we are diving into an R&B classic from 2003! I think many of us, including myself, rediscovered this song through different platforms (I found it on TikTok). We’ve heard this song before on various platforms, but we might not have known what it was called.
What makes this song so special is its instrumental arrangement. The iconic guitar riff is easily recognizable.
Did you know that Robin Schulz’s hit “Sugar” sampled the guitar riff from “Suga Suga”? This just goes to show how influential and timeless this riff truly is.
However, I have to be honest—I had actually never listened to the whole song with the lyrics before. I always chose to listen to the “instrumental version” because the riff really is something else. Especially when I was trying to make the arrangement and practice (I practice a lot, ngl).
I’ve made two different versions of the arrangement. The first version is slightly easier (really slightly…), and the second version is harder. If you close your eyes and listen to both of them, they kind of sound the same. The second version just has more finger movements on the left hand, which is why I said it’s slightly harder than the first one.
I gave the song an overall 4 ⭐️ because of the speed. If we were to play it slowly, I guess most of you can do it without much effort, but to match the original speed and make those notes fluid and connected to each other, like how it sounds in the song, I guess PRACTICE is required.
But before we dive deeper into that, let’s talk about a few things that some of you might not have seen before or might not be familiar with on the tab.
Number 1: Slur
The curve (no.1) is what we call a “slur” in musical terms. Generally, it means the notes it connects should be played smoothly and without separation. For guitar, slurs are typically executed using hammer-ons and pull-offs. In this case, it is going to be:
Pick the 0 (open string) of G (3rd string)
Hammer-on to the 2nd fret of G (3rd string)
Pull-off back to the 0 of G (3rd string)
*It is shown like this on ASCII tab
Number 2: Slide
The line (no.2) is a “slide”, a technique of “sliding” your left-hand finger across one or more frets to reach another note. In this case, it is going to be:
Pick the 3rd fret of A (5th string)
While maintaining the pressure, slide your finger up to the 5th fret
Ensure the note at the 5th fret rings out clearly
*It is shown like this on ASCII tab
Riff (version 1)
The reason why I said it is slightly easier is because the finger positions lie around the first few frets, and more open strings are played in this version. As we covered how to play slurs and slides above, this version should be pretty manageable as long as we are playing slowly.
Just try to practice slurs and slides more before increasing the speed. Once you are very comfortable, then slowly increase the speed to match the original rhythm!
Riff (version 2)
So this is a different version. Fewer open strings are used here. You will see that your left-hand fingers are moving from the 5-7th fret back to the 3-5th position, then go to the 7-9th fret, then come back to the 5-7th fret (sounds troublesome 🤯). So, the movement is more, making it more difficult to locate your left-hand fingers, especially to match the original speed.
However, there is one ADVANTAGE that many of you might miss out on. The pull-offs are to a fretted string on the 2nd/6th bar, rather than pulling off to an open string.
When you pull off to a fretted string, the fret provides some resistance which helps the string vibrate and produce a clearer sound. But if it is an open string, no fret is providing that resistance, making it harder to get a clean pull-off. More precise control is required to ensure that the string vibrates without buzzing or muting.
For this version, I would suggest you memorise the score, be familiar with which fret to go to, and also which finger to use. Then you can slowly practice it without the score, making your eyes focus more on your left hand moving around the fretboard, so that you can locate your finger more accurately.
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Riff (version 1):
Riff (version 2):
