How to Play Måneskin – HONEY (ARE U COMING?) on Guitar

About Måneskin and the Guitar Behind HONEY (ARE U COMING?)

Måneskin are a four-piece rock band from Rome, Italy, built around Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raggi and Ethan Torchio. Their sound combines modern production with a very physical rock-band approach: strong bass lines, aggressive drums, big vocals and guitar parts that often work through rhythm, texture and attitude rather than unnecessary complexity.

The guitarist is Thomas Raggi. His playing is a good example of why effective rock guitar is not always about playing more notes. The parts often depend on attack, groove, muting, dynamics and knowing exactly where the guitar should sit in the arrangement.

“HONEY (ARE U COMING?)” is a particularly useful example because the guitar riff is central to the identity of the song. It sounds immediate and aggressive, but much of that impact comes from precision rather than sheer technical difficulty.

Why the HONEY (ARE U COMING?) Guitar Riff Works So Well

The riff combines several elements that create its sense of urgency: a strong 16th-note pulse, fast slides, short position changes, controlled muting, staccato accents and a very deliberate picking attack.

None of those ingredients is especially exotic by itself. The challenge is making them work together. The riff needs to sound tight without becoming mechanical, aggressive without becoming noisy, and fast without feeling rushed.

That is why this is such a useful song for intermediate guitarists. You are not simply memorising a sequence of notes. You are training the relationship between your picking hand, fretting hand and internal pulse.

If rhythm and subdivision are still difficult to control, spend some time on rhythm and timing for guitarists as well. This riff becomes much easier once you can actually feel the 16th-note grid underneath it.

Who Plays Guitar in Måneskin?

Thomas Raggi handles the guitar work in Måneskin. He has spoken publicly about playing Strat-style guitars, including an older Japanese Squier that became one of his main instruments, as well as Fender guitars.

That does not mean you need the same guitar to play HONEY (ARE U COMING?). The important lesson is almost the opposite: the character of this riff comes largely from the hands. Picking attack, muting, note length and timing matter more than copying somebody else’s exact guitar.

That is a useful principle for guitar tone in general. Tone and feel begin with articulation, dynamics and timing; gear shapes the result, but it cannot create disciplined playing for you.

What Guitarists Can Learn From This Song

Compact picking movement

If your picking hand travels too far away from the strings, the riff becomes harder immediately. Every unnecessary movement takes time. At higher tempos, those small delays begin to destroy the groove.

Keep the pick close to the strings and use only as much movement as the phrase requires. The goal is not to make the hand rigid. It is to remove wasted motion while staying relaxed.

Controlled muting

Muting is a major part of the sound. Let everything ring openly and the riff loses its punch. Mute too aggressively and it becomes lifeless.

Think of palm muting as a tone control you perform with your hand. Small changes in where the palm touches the strings can make the sound tighter, darker, more open or more percussive.

Relaxed slides

The slides need energy, but they should not require extra tension. Many guitarists squeeze harder as soon as they move quickly across the neck. That makes the movement slower and can pull the notes out of tune.

Use enough pressure to keep the note connected, but let the hand travel rather than forcing it across the fretboard.

A stable 16th-note pulse

The riff only works when the subdivision underneath it stays stable. Even when you are not striking every subdivision, you need to feel where those subdivisions are.

A metronome is extremely useful here. The free Smart Click metronome can be used to practise the riff at lower BPM values and build the tempo gradually instead of jumping straight to full speed.

Why Guitarists Struggle With the HONEY Riff

The most common mistake is starting too fast. Because the riff sounds exciting at full tempo, players want the finished result immediately. The picking hand tightens, the slides become forced, unwanted strings start ringing and the pulse becomes unstable.

Another common mistake is concentrating almost entirely on the fretting hand. You may have the correct positions under your fingers and still sound nothing like the record because the right hand is doing most of the work that creates the articulation.

This is why the riff is a surprisingly honest technical test. If your timing, muting and movement efficiency are weak, the song exposes them quickly.

Start Much Slower Than the Recording

Begin at roughly half to sixty percent of the speed you eventually want. At that tempo you should be able to hear whether every note starts and stops where you intend it to.

Do not treat slower practice as a temporary version of the real thing. This is where you build the real thing.

Check four things before increasing the tempo:

• Is the picking hand relaxed?
• Are unwanted strings quiet?
• Do the slides arrive in time?
• Does the riff still groove without a backing track?

Only raise the BPM when those four things remain stable. Speed should be the consequence of good movement, not an attempt to hide bad movement.

How to Practice HONEY (ARE U COMING?) Efficiently

Step 1: Learn the movement without pressure

Start slowly and focus on the physical route through the riff. Keep the pick close to the strings, use light fretting-hand pressure and make the slides comfortable.

Step 2: Isolate the difficult transitions

Do not repeat the complete riff twenty times when only one transition is failing. Take the difficult movement out, repeat that small section cleanly, then put it back into context.

Step 3: Add the metronome

Once the mechanics are clear, introduce a click. Listen for places where you speed up during an easy section or hesitate before a difficult movement.

Step 4: Build tempo gradually

Increase the BPM in small steps. If the riff becomes tense or sloppy, return to the previous tempo instead of forcing another ten bad repetitions.

Step 5: Add the backing track

Only after the riff works by itself should you practise it against the full musical context. Now listen to how your attack sits with the drums and bass rather than simply checking whether you survived the notes.

Step 6: Record yourself

Record a short take and listen back without playing. Timing problems that feel invisible while you are concentrating often become obvious immediately during playback.

How to Get a HONEY (ARE U COMING?) Style Guitar Tone

You do not need an exact copy of Thomas Raggi’s rig to create a convincing version of this sound. For this kind of riff, clarity and attack matter more than huge amounts of gain.

A practical starting point is:

• electric guitar with a clear, punchy bridge sound
• medium overdrive or distortion rather than extreme saturation
• controlled low end
• enough midrange for the guitar to remain present
• limited ambience while practising the riff
• optional noise gate if your gain setup is noisy

Too much distortion can actually make this riff sound smaller. Heavy saturation compresses the attack and makes unwanted string noise harder to control. Start with less gain than you think you need and add only what improves the sound.

If you are building the sound with pedals, the position of drives, EQ and other effects also matters. See Guitar Pedal Order: What Is the Best Order for Placing Effects? for a practical signal-chain starting point.

Stompboxes, Multi-FX or Plugins?

Any of them can work. This is not a song that requires one magical pedal. A traditional overdrive or distortion pedal, a multi-effects unit, an amp modeller or a good plugin can all produce a suitable modern rock sound.

Choose the system that lets you create a clear, repeatable tone without distracting you from the playing. If you are deciding between different approaches, see Stompboxes vs Multi-FX Floor vs Rack.

The important part is that the rig supports the riff. Do not spend three hours searching presets when ten minutes of right-hand practice would improve the sound more.

Do You Need the Same Guitar as Thomas Raggi?

No. A Strat-style guitar can certainly work, but so can many other electric guitars. Pickup output, amp settings, gain structure and—most importantly—your attack all influence the result.

If your current guitar plays well and produces a reasonably clear rock tone, start there. Buying another instrument is unlikely to fix inconsistent timing or muting. That is exactly the point behind You Don’t Need 26 Guitars to Get Results.

For players who are still unclear about the basic differences between electric, acoustic and classical instruments, the guide to the main types of guitars for contemporary music gives the broader picture.

Common Mistakes When Learning the Riff

Using too much pick depth

Digging the pick deeply between the strings creates resistance. Use enough contact for a confident attack, but do not make every note physically expensive.

Using too much gain

More distortion feels exciting while you play, but it can blur the edges of the riff. Reduce the gain until you can clearly hear what both hands are doing.

Ignoring unwanted strings

Noise between the intended notes changes the whole character of the riff. Muting is part of the performance, not a cleanup job for later.

Pressing too hard during slides

Excess pressure creates friction and tension. Keep enough contact for the note to speak, but let the hand move freely.

Practising only with the full recording

The original track can hide weaknesses because the bass, drums and other production elements fill the space around you. Make sure the riff also sounds convincing when your guitar is completely exposed.

Increasing tempo before the groove is stable

If the riff already feels rushed at a lower tempo, increasing the BPM will only magnify the problem.

Is HONEY (ARE U COMING?) Hard to Play on Guitar?

The riff is best described as intermediate rather than technically advanced. The basic movements are manageable, but performing them cleanly at speed requires more control than the part initially suggests.

For an intermediate guitarist, it is an excellent study in rhythm playing. A stronger beginner can also learn it by slowing it down aggressively and treating it as a longer-term technical project.

Advanced players may not find the notes difficult, but the song is still useful as an exercise in groove, economy of motion and consistency. Simple material played with authority is never really simple.

What This Måneskin Song Can Improve in Your Playing

Learning this riff properly can improve several transferable guitar skills:

• 16th-note timing
• right-hand efficiency
• palm muting
• noise control
• slide technique
• tempo discipline
• pick attack
• playing tightly with drums and bass

Those skills matter far beyond one Måneskin song. They appear constantly in modern rock, alternative music, funk-influenced guitar, pop-rock and heavier rhythm playing.

What You Really Need to Remember

Do not attack this riff as a speed exercise. Treat it as a groove exercise that happens to be fast.

Keep your movements small. Use less gain than you think you need. Control the unwanted strings. Practise the difficult transitions separately. Build the tempo gradually and make sure the riff sounds good without the original recording covering your mistakes.

Once those elements are stable, the speed becomes much easier—and the riff starts sounding like Måneskin rather than a collection of hurried guitar movements.

Final Thought

“HONEY (ARE U COMING?)” is worth learning because it sits in a useful middle ground: the guitar part sounds exciting immediately, but the real lesson is hidden underneath the notes. It teaches timing, muting, attack, efficient movement and the relationship between technique and tone.

Learn the riff slowly enough to control it, then make the groove the priority. That approach will improve this song, but it will also make you a tighter rhythm guitarist in everything else you play.

For more articles about guitars, effects, tone, signal chains and practical setup choices, explore Gear, Tone & Setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HONEY (ARE U COMING?) by Måneskin hard to play on guitar?

It is best suited to intermediate guitarists. The notes themselves are not extremely advanced, but the riff requires tight picking, controlled muting, relaxed slides and a stable 16th-note pulse to sound convincing.

Who plays guitar in Måneskin?

Thomas Raggi is the guitarist in Måneskin. His playing combines rhythm and lead work with a strong focus on attack, groove, articulation and rock guitar tone.

What guitar technique is most important for HONEY (ARE U COMING?)?

The most important skills are compact picking, controlled palm muting, relaxed slides and consistent rhythmic subdivision. The riff depends more on clean execution and groove than on complicated fingering.

How should I practice the HONEY guitar riff?

Start at roughly 50 to 60 percent of your target tempo, practise difficult transitions separately, add a metronome, and increase the BPM only when the riff stays relaxed and clean. Use the backing track after you can already play the part consistently on its own.

What guitar tone works for HONEY (ARE U COMING?)?

Start with a clear bridge-pickup sound and medium overdrive or distortion. Keep the gain controlled so the picking attack and palm muting remain defined. You do not need Thomas Raggi’s exact guitar or amplifier to create a convincing version.

Can a beginner learn HONEY (ARE U COMING?) on guitar?

A stronger beginner can learn the riff if it is slowed down significantly and approached in small sections. It is a useful next-step song for developing tighter rhythm playing, muting and picking control.

Do I need the same guitar as Thomas Raggi to play the song?

No. Many electric guitars can produce a suitable sound. A clear bridge tone, sensible gain settings and good picking technique matter more than owning the exact same instrument.

What skills will this Måneskin riff improve?

It can improve timing, palm muting, slide control, right-hand efficiency, pick attack, rhythmic consistency and your ability to play tight modern rock riffs with more punch and precision.