[Being the first in a new series of brief transcriptions of righteous riffs. "Into the Void" was previously discussed, though not transcribed, here.]

There are many Black Sabbath riffs worth knowing for any guitar player, novice or otherwise; in this new section, I’ll be transcribing somewhat-lesser-known Sab riffs (not the whole songs) for your listening and performing pleasure.

The first is of course (in my mind) the Riff of Riffs, the first 1:15 of “Into the Void” from Master of Reality.

First, give a listen: Into The Void

Then proceed, Sir!

INTO THE VOID
As recorded by Black Sabbath
(From the 1971 Album MASTER OF REALITY)

Gtr is detuned three 1/2 steps (C# F# B E G# C#)

 75 bpm
 4/4 time
                              ~
                                 |-3--|  |-3--|
    E E E E Q  Q  Q  Q  q  Q  Q  Q Q  Q  Q Q  Q
||-----------------------------------------------|
||o----------------------------------------------|
||-----------------------------------------------|
||-----------------------------------------------|
||o------------7-----6-----5---------------------|
||--0-3-5-6-7-----7-----7-----6--5-4p-3p-5-4p-3p-|

                                                      ~
  |-3--|
  Q Q  Q  Q.   q  E E E E     Q  E E E E Q  E E Q  Q  H    Q  E E E
|--------------------------||----------------------------------------|
|-------------------------o||----------------------------------------|
|--------------------------||-9--9-9-9-9-7--7-7------------9--9-9-9--|
|--------------------------||-9--9-9-9-9-7--7-7------------9--9-9-9--|
|-----------------5-7-----o||-7--7-7-7-7-5--5-5-7--6--5----7--7-7-7--|
|-5-4p-3p-5----7------5-3--||----------------------------------------|

         ~~
  E Q  E H.      Q  E E E E Q  E E E E E Q  Q  Q  Q  Q  E. W
|-------------------------------------------------------------------*|--|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------*|--|
|-9-7--7---------9--9-9-9-9-7--7-7-------5--5--5--5--5--7--4--------*|--|
|-9-7--7---------9--9-9-9-9-7--7-7-------5--5--5--5--5--7--4--------*|--|
|-7-5--5---------7--7-7-7-7-5--5-5-7-6-5-3--3--3--3--3--5--2--------*|--|
|--------5----------------------------------------------------------*|--|

Duration Legend
---------------
W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th; S - 16th; T - 32nd; X - 64th; a - acciaccatura
+ - note tied to previous; . - note dotted; .. - note double dotted
Uncapitalized letters represent notes that are staccato (1/2 duration)
Irregular groupings are notated above the duration line
Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
duration for.  Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests.  Multi-
bar rests are notated in the form Wxn, where n is the number of bars to rest for.  Low
melody durations appear below the staff

Tablature Legend
----------------
 h   - hammer-on
 p   - pull-off
 b   - bend
 pb  - pre-bend
 r   - bend release (if no number after the r, then release immediately)
 /\  - slide into or out of (from/to "nowhere")
 s   - legato slide
 S   - shift slide
 - natural harmonic
[n]  - artificial harmonic
n(n) - tapped harmonic
 ~   - vibrato
 tr  - trill
 T   - tap
 TP  - trem. picking
 PM  - palm muting
\n/  - tremolo bar dip; n = amount to dip
 \n  - tremolo bar down
 n/  - tremolo bar up
/n\  - tremolo bar inverted dip
 =   - hold bend; also acts as connecting device for hammers/pulls
 <> - volume swell (louder/softer)
 x   - on rhythm slash represents muted slash
 o   - on rhythm slash represents single note slash

Misc Legend
-----------
 |  - bar
||  - double bar
||o - repeat start
o|| - repeat end
*|  - double bar (ending)
 :  - bar (freetime)
 $  - Segno
 &  - Coda
Tempo markers -  = BPM(8/16=s8/s16), where s8 = swing 8ths, s16 = swing 16ths

** Generated using Power Tab Editor by Brad Larsen: The Official Power Tab Web Site