Alice Cooper - Poison

How to play Alice Cooper - Poison by AliceCooper on guitar

This song is a great beginner play-along because the groove is steady, the tempo sits around 120 BPM, and the progression feels instantly familiar. You get a strong, catchy rhythm part that is fun to lock into, so it feels rewarding even when you keep the shapes simple.

Most of the easy work comes from open shapes like D, Dm, F, C, Am, and G, but you will also need the barre shapes A#, Gm, D#m, D#, Cm, G#, and A#m. The main change to watch is the opening move D - Dm - A# - F, since it asks you to switch from open shapes into a barre shape and keep the timing clean.

Start by looping the opening progression very slowly and making each change sound clear. Then practice the open shapes on their own, add the barre shapes one at a time, and only after that bring it up to full tempo. Once your hands know the moves, focus on staying relaxed and keeping the rhythm even.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.