♪🎵🤘

Sweet Leaf

Black SabbathView all Black Sabbath tabs

31.6Kviews

401likes

Track Your Progress

⚡🎸⚡

Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath

Sweet Leaf landed on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality in 1971, a landmark in early heavy metal. The track's title and lyrics celebrate cannabis, a nod to the band's countercultural stance and the era's notorious stoner culture. Built around Tony Iommi's iconic, down-tuned riff, it packs a heavy groove that would become a blueprint for countless metal riffs.

During recording, Sabbath leaned into a darker, heavier tone, with Iommi's guitar driving the song's hypnotic rhythm and Geezer Butler's bass locking into the groove. The track's raw power and memorable hook helped cement Master of Reality as a touchstone of early metal, influencing generations of players to chase that chugging, chant-like groove in tone and feel as much as speed.

🎸 Want to know the techniques, practice tips, and lesson details? Scroll below the lesson!

Open in YouTube

What You'll Learn

In this lesson, you'll learn the signature opening riff and the verse groove, how to lock in palm muting with down-stroke power chords, and how the rhythm drives the song's structure. We'll break down the riff shapes around the low strings, show you how to stay tight in a heavy 4/4 feel, and provide a practical plan to build speed and tone safely. You'll also get guidance on dialing in a heavy Sabbath-like tone and keeping the groove even when the tempo shifts slightly. The trickiest parts to watch for are consistent palm muting and clean hand transitions between the main riff and the verse sections.

Intermediate — prior skills in clean palm muting, power chords, and steady 4/4 rhythm will help you tackle the main riff and groove with confidence.

🎸 Techniques Used

Palm MutingPower Chords and Riff-based RhythmDown-Tuned Riffs / Heavy ToneStaccato/Muted Picking

Practice Tips

💡Dial in a tight, heavy tone with a moderate amount of gain and deliberate palm muting to mimic the classic Sabbath chug.
💡Practice the main riff slowly with a metronome, focusing on even muting depth and clean transitions between shapes before speeding up.
💡Break the song into small sections (intro/main riff, verse, chorus) and loop each part to build muscle memory before playing the whole tune straight through.