Guitar Pop Rock Beginner–Intermediate 🎬 MJ Movie 2026

25 April 2026  ·  Open Fretboard

From the Big Screen to the Fretboard: 5 Iconic MJ Hits You Can Play on Guitar Today

Michael, the long-awaited biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring MJ's real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson, landed in cinemas on April 24, 2026. It's already one of the most talked-about films of the year — and within hours of people leaving theatres, guitar searches for Michael Jackson songs spiked across the internet. That reaction tells you everything. His music doesn't just sit in a playlist; it makes you want to play.

The film covers MJ's journey from the Jackson 5 era through his stratospheric rise as the King of Pop. Whether you've already seen it or you're heading to the cinema this weekend, there's no better time to pick up your guitar and plug into one of the greatest songbooks in pop history. The MJ movie is a reminder that this music has a pulse — and that pulse translates to six strings in ways that might surprise you.

Here's the thing most casual fans don't realise: while Michael Jackson was the undisputed King of Pop, the tracks on Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous featured some of the greatest guitarists who ever lived. Eddie Van Halen played that alien solo on Beat It — for free, as a favour. Slash laid down the iconic riff on Black or White. Jennifer Batten toured the world with MJ for over a decade as his lead guitarist. These songs are guitar music, just wrapped in pop clothing.
13× Grammy Awards
750M+ Records Sold
5 Songs to Learn Today
1983 Thriller Released

Below you'll find five MJ songs arranged for guitar — from pure beginner territory all the way to tracks that will genuinely stretch your technique. Each one has the core chords, a breakdown of what makes the guitar part special, and a pro tip to help you sound like you've been playing it for years. Let's go.

Billie Jean

Thriller (1982) · Key of F# minor · Capo 2 · Beginner

The Vibe

Billie Jean is arguably the most recognisable bass line in the history of popular music. The Thriller album track that launched a thousand moonwalks, it sits in a hypnotic F# minor groove that locks you in from the first beat and doesn't let go. On guitar, the magic of Billie Jean is that the two-chord vamp — back and forth, over and over — forces you to develop genuine rhythmic feel. You can't fake it. Either you're in the pocket or you're not.

The Technique

Place a capo on fret 2 and play in the key of E minor (sounds as F# minor). The entire verse is built on a two-chord vamp: Am → G, repeating in a tight, funky 16th-note pattern. The real skill here is not the chord shapes — it's the muting. Use the heel of your strumming hand to lightly mute the strings while you strum, giving that clipped, staccato feel that defines the groove. The pre-chorus adds F and E, and the whole song never strays beyond these four chords.

Am G F E
🎸 Guitar note: The original recording features guitarist David Williams playing a tight, percussive rhythm part layered with Michael's iconic bassline. The guitar is barely audible in the mix — which is exactly the point. It's all feel.
Pro Tip: Practice the Am → G switch with a metronome at 90 BPM before attempting the full song tempo (117 BPM). The transition needs to be automatic — your fretting hand should switch while your strumming hand keeps moving. Once you can do it without thinking, you've unlocked the groove.

Beat It

Thriller (1982) · Key of E minor · No Capo · Beginner–Intermediate

The Vibe

Beat It is where Michael Jackson walked into rock's territory and planted his flag. He commissioned Eddie Van Halen to play the guitar solo — a decision that changed both pop and rock history. The song was MJ's deliberate statement that barriers between genres were his to break. The result is one of the most electric two-minute guitar solos ever recorded, wrapped around a deceptively simple but ferocious rhythm guitar part. For guitarists, learning Beat It is a rite of passage.

The Technique

The main riff centres on Em and D power chords, played with heavy palm muting. Rest the heel of your picking hand lightly across the strings near the bridge — not too heavy, or you'll choke the sound completely — and strum with short, aggressive downstrokes. That tightness is the defining sound of the intro riff. The verse transitions to Em → D → Am → Em, still muted. For the Eddie Van Halen solo: don't attempt it until you've built speed with a metronome. Start at 60% tempo and work up over weeks.

Em D Am C
🎸 Guitar legend: Eddie Van Halen recorded his solo in one session, reportedly in under 30 minutes, and refused payment. He called it "a favour to Michael." That solo features hammer-ons, pull-offs, tapping, and whammy bar dives — pure Van Halen vocabulary layered over a simple pop structure.
Pro Tip: The difference between Beat It sounding great and sounding average is entirely in the palm muting. Spend 10 minutes just muting open Em and D chords — no chord changes — until the tone sounds tight and punchy. Then add the changes. Players who skip this step never quite capture the aggression of the original.

Black or White

Dangerous (1991) · Key of G major · No Capo · Beginner

The Vibe

Black or White was Michael Jackson's most overtly rock song — and the world's introduction to it was Slash, in a leather jacket, shredding on the roof of the White House in the music video. The track topped charts in 10 countries simultaneously and the music video set viewership records in 1991. More than three decades later, it still sounds like the world's most expensive garage band loosening up. For beginner guitarists, it has one of the most satisfying opening riffs in pop history — loud, crunchy, and immediately recognisable.

The Technique

The iconic opening riff is built on a G power chord figure that resolves downward — G5 → F5 → G5 — played with a slightly overdriven tone and a steady downstroke attack. The main song groove then sits on a G–C–D–Em progression. All open chords, all beginner-friendly shapes. The key to the riff sounding right is pick angle: keep your pick perpendicular to the string and let it dig in rather than gliding across. That's where the crunch lives.

G C D Em
🎸 Guitar legend: Slash (then fresh from Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion sessions) played the lead guitar on Black or White. Michael Jackson reportedly called Slash personally and asked him to bring "that Guns N' Roses thing." He did exactly that. The partnership remains one of pop's greatest left-turns.
Pro Tip: For the opening riff, even a clean electric guitar tone with the bridge pickup selected sounds massive. On acoustic, dig in harder with your pick and let the body do the work. The riff lives in the attack, not the sustain — short, sharp, and loud is the goal.

They Don't Care About Us

HIStory (1995) · Key of B minor · Capo 2 · Beginner

The Vibe

They Don't Care About Us is Michael Jackson at his most politically charged — a driving, percussive anthem built on pure rhythmic tension. The Brazil version of the music video, shot by Spike Lee in the favelas of Rio, remains one of the most visually striking music videos ever made. The guitar part on this track is almost entirely rhythmic and percussive rather than melodic, which makes it a brilliant training ground for developing timing, feel, and groove — three things that separate good guitarists from great ones.

The Technique

The song is built on a relentless Am → G → F → E minor progression — the same fundamental minor key movement that drives a huge amount of rock and pop music. With a capo on fret 2 it matches the original key (sounds as Bm). The key technique here is scratch strumming — releasing chord pressure mid-strum so the strings produce a muted "chk" sound. Alternate this with fully fretted chords and you'll create the percussive groove that makes the original so propulsive.

Am G F E
🎸 Guitar note: The original recording layers multiple rhythm guitars with heavy studio processing — but the underlying chord movement is elegantly simple. The percussive feel comes almost entirely from muting technique rather than any complicated chord shapes.
Pro Tip: Once you're comfortable with the chord shapes, try the scratch strum: fret the chord normally, then loosen your grip so the strings go dead — without completely releasing the chord — and strum through. That "chk" sound is the pulse of the song. Alternate: fretted chord (sound) → loosened grip (chk) → fretted chord (sound). It feels awkward for the first hour. Then it clicks.

The Way You Make Me Feel

Bad (1987) · Key of E major · No Capo · Beginner

The Vibe

If the other four songs on this list show MJ's darker, more aggressive side, The Way You Make Me Feel is pure sunshine. It's one of the most joyful guitar-groove songs of the entire 1980s — a strutting, wah-soaked funk number that makes it physically impossible to sit still. The guitar work on the original is deeply funky and full of attitude. On acoustic, it becomes something warmer and more intimate. Either way, this is one of those songs where playing it well just feels good.

The Technique

The groove is centred on an E major chord with a funky 16th-note strum pattern. The main hook moves through E → A → D → A, staying in first position the whole time. The secret is in the right hand: use a wrist-driven, loose strum — not tight and rigid — and emphasise beats 2 and 4 slightly harder than 1 and 3. That backbeat emphasis is what makes funk feel like funk rather than just fast strumming. On electric, a little wah pedal adds the original flavour. On acoustic, just relax and let the wrist bounce.

E A D B7
🎸 Guitar note: Jennifer Batten — MJ's long-time touring guitarist — elevated this song live into something transcendent. She toured with Jackson for the Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory world tours, playing to over 4 million people. Her approach: lock into the groove and never let the rhythm breathe wrong for a single bar.
Pro Tip: Record yourself playing this at 80 BPM and listen back. Funk grooves expose every tiny timing inconsistency — your ear will immediately hear where your strum hand is rushing or dragging. This feedback loop, even with just your phone as a recorder, will improve your rhythm playing faster than almost anything else.

Take It From the Screen to the Strings

Michael Jackson's music has always been more than pop. It's rhythm science, emotional architecture, and guitar gold all at once. The new biopic is a reminder of just how enormous that catalogue is — and how much of it was built on the back of some of the greatest guitar performances ever committed to tape.

You don't need to solo like Eddie Van Halen or groove like Jennifer Batten on day one. Start with the Am → G vamp from Billie Jean. Get the palm muting locked in on Beat It. Crank the G riff from Black or White until your neighbours know every note. These songs reward every hour you put in.

The film will leave theatres eventually. The music won't.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The easiest MJ songs for beginners are Billie Jean (two-chord Am–G vamp), The Way You Make Me Feel (E–A–D groove), and Black or White (open G riff with G–C–D–Em chords). They Don't Care About Us and Beat It are slightly more technique-dependent but still very approachable once you've learned the basics.
Beat It is built on Em, D, Am, and C chords. The main riff uses Em and D with heavy palm muting. Eddie Van Halen's iconic solo uses advanced techniques — tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, whammy bar — but the rhythm guitar underneath is very accessible for beginners working on palm muting.
Yes — and it sounds great. Place a capo on fret 2 and play an Am–G vamp for the verse. The full song uses Am, G, F, and E chords. The bassline is iconic but the guitar part complements it beautifully, especially the tight, muted rhythmic strumming that drives the groove.
MJ recorded with legends: Eddie Van Halen soloed on Beat It, Slash played on Black or White, and Jennifer Batten was his long-time touring lead guitarist across three world tours. Session players including David Williams and Paul Jackson Jr. contributed to many Thriller and Bad era recordings.
The Michael Jackson biopic, titled Michael, was directed by Antoine Fuqua and released in US cinemas on April 24, 2026 (Lionsgate). It stars MJ's real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role. The film premiered in Berlin on April 10, 2026, and covers MJ's life from the Jackson 5 era onwards.
The song is built on a driving Am → G → F → E minor chord progression. With a capo on fret 2, this matches the original recorded key (sounds as B minor). The percussive groove comes from scratch strumming — alternating between fully fretted chords and muted "chk" strums within the same pattern.