There are riffs you learn, and then there are riffs you have already been playing for years on an invisible guitar in your kitchen. The Crazy Train intro is firmly in the second category — you know the notes, your air-guitar hands know the notes, the only thing missing is a real fretboard and, ideally, Randy Rhoads' good taste.
This clip is the intro riffs to Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train laid out cleanly, no distortion smoke and mirrors to hide behind. It is one of the most beloved openings in all of metal, and — good news for your ego — it is a lot more approachable than it sounds when it comes screaming out of a stadium PA.
How the Crazy Train riff works
The whole thing lives in F# minor, and here is the nerdy secret to why it sounds triumphant and dark at the same time: F# minor shares every single note with A major, its relative major. So while the riff keeps its feet planted on that low F#, your ear keeps hearing the bright A-major sunshine hiding inside it. That tug-of-war between the gloomy root and the happy relative major is the entire mood of the song in one gesture. It is basically minor-key theory doing a magic trick on you.
The engine underneath is pure palm-muted eighth notes — the famous "gallop" chug that makes it sound like an actual train. Concrete takeaway: park your fretting hand at the 2nd-fret F# as home base, keep those low notes short and palm-muted, and let the melody notes ring on top. Steady right hand first, speed later. The riff outlines an F# minor pentatonic shape, so if you know your pentatonics, you already have the map.
And if you nail it and immediately play it forty more times until your neighbours consider filing a noise complaint — congratulations, that is the correct number of repetitions. For the tab, the Guitar Pro file and the slow-motion breakdown, hop aboard my Patreon. All aboard. Ay ay ay.