Rock Guitar Lessons

Rock music started as the sound of youth and energy! It was born by a young generation of musicians and performers that grew up listening to blues, country, jazz and swing. They made something entirely new from all those influences and it captured the imagination of the next generation. That energy and excitement keeps inspiring each new generation of kids to constantly reinvent rock and roll.

The sound of rock music is defined by a propulsive backbeat and driving electric guitars. Even though it was a combination of blues, county, jazz or swing, those influences are streamlined into a faster machine!

Rock is usual played on electric guitar, and it’s usually loud and energetic! It can be light hearted and fun, or it can serious and angry. But it always has a unique power and intensity.

Here at Guitar Tricks^® the best way to get started learning how to play rock is with our step-by-step rock guitar courses:

Rock Level 1 Course
Rock Level 2 Course

To learn rock songs on guitar, check out the songs page: Rock Song Lessons

If you are more experienced, you can explore rock guitar topics in more detail from the lessons below.

Anders: Artist Studies

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: David Gilmour Style Artist Study			Anders Mouridsen
1: David Gilmour Style Artist Study In this artist study, Anders Mouridsen will show you some techniques and approaches in the style of the great David Gilmour. Anders will talk about tone and effects, and then examine triads. He'll then show how to use delay, and also look at a funkier side of Gilmour's style. Next, you'll learn ways you can make your guitar sound like a pedal steel. We'll look at an acoustic style example, then delve into some epic soloing! Instructor: Anders Mouridsen My Progress 0% viewed
	2: The Keith Richards Style			Anders Mouridsen
2: The Keith Richards Style In this tutorial we're going to break down some of the key elements in Keith Richards style of rhythm guitar playing. His style of playing is inspired by everything from early rock 'n' roll and blues to country and gospel music. In these lessons we'll break down some rockin' vocabulary in an open G tuning, adapt it to standard tuning, and finally play through a series of musical examples in the style of this true rock legend. Instructor: Anders Mouridsen My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Playing Rhythm Like The Masters: Classic Rock			Anders Mouridsen
3: Playing Rhythm Like The Masters: Classic Rock An introduction to the rhythm styles of classic rock guitarists such as Keith Richards, Mark Knopfler, and more. Instructor: Anders Mouridsen My Progress 0% viewed

Andy: Rock

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: A Blues Guitarist Walks Into A Rock Bar...			Andy Gurley
1: A Blues Guitarist Walks Into A Rock Bar... This series will demonstrate simple, bluesy licks derived from the minor pentatonic and blues scale over riffs that we've created previously in Rock Level 1. Lead guitar work will be discussed more in depth in Level 2, but this will give you the idea of how a rock guitarist borrows from the blues more completely. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Borrowed Time			Andy Gurley
2: Borrowed Time This tutorial will demonstrate how to take the three tonal centers of the 12 Bar Blues (the I, IV, and V chords) and create great rock riffs based on each one. We'll borrow these tonal centers to build memorable riffs in the style of your favorite rock acts. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Break It Down!			Andy Gurley
3: Break It Down! In this series of lessons we'll learn the essential technique of arpeggiation, or how to break chords apart, using barre chords. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Developing A Hook			Andy Gurley
4: Developing A Hook This tutorial looks at creating hooks with open, barre, and power chords. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Extracting the Power!			Andy Gurley
5: Extracting the Power! In this series, we'll teach you what a power chord is, how to pull a power chord out of any major or minor barre chord, and how to put that power into some great examples. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	6: I've Heard That Somewhere Before			Andy Gurley
6: I've Heard That Somewhere Before We'll take the 12 Bar Blues Form reviewed in the first lesson and treat it with the style of artists such as Jack Johnson and the Counting Crows to demonstrate how rock artists borrow the 12 Bar Form. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	7: It Ain't 12 Bars, But It'll Work			Andy Gurley
7: It Ain't 12 Bars, But It'll Work This series of lessons will demonstrate how to create and use a bluesy feel over progressions that are not in the 12 Bar Blues Form. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	8: More On Strumming: Ghost Strums, Muting, Accents			Andy Gurley
8: More On Strumming: Ghost Strums, Muting, Accents To bring the student along into more advanced rhythmic ideas. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	9: Open Chords Vs. Barre Chords: When Worlds Collide			Andy Gurley
9: Open Chords Vs. Barre Chords: When Worlds Collide This series of lessons will demonstrate the composition of riffs using open chords and their variations, barre chords and power chords. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	10: Putting It All Together: Rock Song In Real Time			Andy Gurley
10: Putting It All Together: Rock Song In Real Time We take all the techniques you have learned and put them in the context of new groupings: the parts of a song. We'll learn how these techniques effect the sound of the verse, bridge and chorus of a song. Hopefully we'll get your chops up and your creative juices flowing. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	11: Raising the Barre With Riffs			Andy Gurley
11: Raising the Barre With Riffs Riffs are a standard part of the Rock vocabulary. This series of lessons will define riffs and teach the fundamentals of building solid riffs using the barre chord as a basic tool. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	12: Revenge of the Open Chords			Andy Gurley
12: Revenge of the Open Chords Scale tones make open chords sound mean, sweet, or symphonic. This technique is used by the best, therefore you should use this to convince your sweetheart you love her/him or to rip the face off "The Man". Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	13: Riff Deconstruction			Andy Gurley
13: Riff Deconstruction This tutorial will break down riffs from the inside out so that you learn to SEE them as well as HEAR them. This will help you get the most out of this course as well as the Guitar Tricks site. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	14: Rock, I Am Your Father			Andy Gurley
14: Rock, I Am Your Father This tutorial sets the tone for what we'll learn in all the tutorials in this chapter. You should see that there is value in learning the blues to put a sharper edge on your playing. Rock has a huge history with the blues and hopefully these candid interviews will give you an idea of how each player is influenced by this history. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	15: Walk the Talk			Andy Gurley
15: Walk the Talk These lessons explore simple riff composition based on a two chord progression. This is the kind of progression you would play at a jam session with friends or when sitting in with a band onstage. These techniques are the building blocks for all great riff composition. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	16: We Must Have More Power!			Andy Gurley
16: We Must Have More Power! This tutorial will teach more difficult ways of playing riffs using power chords and more complex rhythmic ideas. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed

Andy: Rock Tone

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Rock Tone: Effects			Andy Gurley
1: Rock Tone: Effects In these lessons we'll give you an overview of several FX pedals commonly used in rock. We'll start with overdrive and stacking overdrives, then examine distortion. Next we'll compare overdrive, distortion, and fuzz. After that we'll look at delay, chorus, and the wah pedal; followed by compression, the phaser, and the octave pedal and volume pedal. We'll finish with the ring modulator. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Rock Tone: Amplifiers			Andy Gurley
2: Rock Tone: Amplifiers This tutorial is better than trying to fight your way through the crowd of weekend window shoppers at your local music store. We take a look at how different models of amplifiers sound. These amps are a good cross-cut of the main models your will choose from in the market today. Also, we pair each model with the main guitar models you probably own to show how this choice changes the amp tone. This is what you want to know in designing your rig and purchasing your gear! Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Rock Tone: Guitars			Andy Gurley
3: Rock Tone: Guitars How can you try guitars in your local music store when that kid keeps butchering Smoke On the Water next to you? Let us do the dirty work for you and help you think it through before you get there! We'll give you a good listen to what the most common guitar models sound like - SG, Les Paul, Strat, and more - and how an amplifier can effect that tone subtlely or drastically, so you can make informed choices. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Rock Tone: Setups			Andy Gurley
4: Rock Tone: Setups This is a series of non-playing lessons that give you a look at the guitar/amp/effects setups that make rock actually ROCK. You'll be surprised at how simple most setups are (some literally guitar and amp only). Most legendary players use a "less is more" principle. By using the models we give you here, you'll be able to build a great tone from the ground up. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Rock Tone: Miscellaneous			Andy Gurley
5: Rock Tone: Miscellaneous In these 5 lessons, we'll learn how other miscellaneous factors influence your rock guitar tone. We'll first hear how using a pick affects your tone, then the contrast from playing with just your fingers. Next we'll hear how a slide affects your tone in a rock context. A capo is sometimes used in rock, and we'll learn how that affects your tone as well. Lastly, we'll take a look and listen to the eBow. Instructor: Andy Gurley My Progress 0% viewed

Ben: Focus on Lead Playing

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Pentatonic Speedster			Ben Lindholm
1: Pentatonic Speedster In this tutorial we will look at six very useful ways of playing the pentatonic scale fast. We will limit ourselves to using ONLY the standard pentatonic scale so that we're forced to stay within the patterns and fingerings that the pentatonic scale offers. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Tapping: Level 1			Ben Lindholm
2: Tapping: Level 1 This tutorial will be very beginner friendly. Over the course of seven lessons I will teach you the basic tapping technique, and we'll practice it over a few backing tracks. Let's go! Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Tapping: Level 2			Ben Lindholm
3: Tapping: Level 2 In this tutorial consisting of 9 lessons, I will get you started with learning your fretboard horizontally, so you know what notes to pick for your tapping licks. We'll start with scales and then move to arpeggios. As usual, there are 4 examples with backing tracks so you can put theory into practice. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Tapping: Level 3			Ben Lindholm
4: Tapping: Level 3 In this tutorial, I will teach you how to tap harmonics, and we will work on three fairly advanced tapping examples over backing tracks. At the end of the tutorial, I included slower versions of the backing tracks that gradually increase in tempo, so you can take your time and build speed. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Tapping: Level 4			Ben Lindholm
5: Tapping: Level 4 In this tutorial, we will leave triad arpeggios behind for a bit, and focus on licks where the notes are closer together, as well as tap sliding. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	6: Speed Building			Ben Lindholm
6: Speed Building In this tutorial, I will show you a series of methods that are very useful when it comes to building speed. With each method, I included an example of me playing, so you can see how it can be used. At the end of this tutorial, you will find practice tracks that gradually increase in tempo. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	7: 10 Ways To Play Arpeggios			Ben Lindholm
7: 10 Ways To Play Arpeggios In this series of lessons, I will show you ten of my favorite ways to use arpeggios in a musical context. In the first lesson I'll introduce you to the tutorial, and in the lessons that follow I will teach you examples covering many styles of music, from classical, to rock and metal, with backing tracks of course. At the end of the tutorial you'll find slower versions of the backing tracks, so you can gradually build your speed up. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed

Christopher: Building Speed

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Speedy Ideas Series 1: Building Speed			Christopher Schlegel
1: Speedy Ideas Series 1: Building Speed In this tutorial series of lessons we will look at a method of building speed. We will do exercises using the minor and major scale on one string. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Speedy Ideas Series 2: Major Scale Patterns			Christopher Schlegel
2: Speedy Ideas Series 2: Major Scale Patterns In this tutorial series of lessons we will look at a further method of building speed. We will use the E major scale on two adjacent strings covering a complete octave in three note per string groupings. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Speedy Ideas Series 3: Minor Scale Patterns			Christopher Schlegel
3: Speedy Ideas Series 3: Minor Scale Patterns In this tutorial series of lessons we will look at a further method of building speed. We will use the E minor scale on two adjacent strings covering a complete octave in three note per string groupings. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Speedy Ideas Series 4: Advanced Minor Shredding			Christopher Schlegel
4: Speedy Ideas Series 4: Advanced Minor Shredding In this tutorial we will look at a further methods of building speed in a minor key. We will also apply these advanced skills to playing licks over a backing track. Among the techniques covered are: harmonic minor scale use, phrygian dominant mode use, fast scalar sequence passages, fast minor and diminished arpeggios, pedal point. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Speedy Ideas Series 5: Advanced Major Shredding			Christopher Schlegel
5: Speedy Ideas Series 5: Advanced Major Shredding In this tutorial we will look at a further methods of building speed in a major key. We will also apply these advanced skills to playing licks over a backing track. Among the techniques covered are: major scale use, mixolydian mode use, fast scalar sequence passages, fast major arpeggios, pedal point. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed

Christopher: Introduction to Improvisation

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Improvisation in a Major Key			Christopher Schlegel
1: Improvisation in a Major Key Christopher will show you the concepts required to improvise. You will learn how to improvise a single note melody, lead or solo over a major key chord progression. This includes finding the key signature as the scale that relates all chords in a progression, rhythmically targeting chord tones, building melodies and musical phrases from the scale and chord tones as a basis for improvising over the chord progression. You will also gets a lot of practice applying those concepts. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Improvisation in a Major Key Series 2			Christopher Schlegel
2: Improvisation in a Major Key Series 2 Christopher will show you more ideas on how to improvise. You will learn how to improvise a single note melody, lead or solo over a major key chord progression. In this tutorial we'll learn more about finding the key signature, rhythmically targeting chord tones and building melodies and musical phrases. We'll also practice alternating between playing the chord progression and the lead melody. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Improvisation in a Minor Key Series 2			Christopher Schlegel
3: Improvisation in a Minor Key Series 2 Christopher will show you more ideas on how to improvise. You will learn how to improvise a single note melody, lead or solo over a minor key chord progression. In this tutorial we'll learn more about finding the key signature, rhythmically targeting chord tones and building melodies and musical phrases. We'll also practice alternating between playing the chord progression and the lead melody. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed

Christopher: Music Theory

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Altered Minor Scales			Christopher Schlegel
1: Altered Minor Scales In this tutorial we will learn how the minor scale can be altered to make different scales, chords and harmonies. We'll build a minor chord progression and learn how to play the natural diatonic minor scale as melodic lines along with those chords. Then we'll alter the chords and scales to show the different possible minor sounding flavors that are used in music. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Harmony Guitar Series 1 Part 1			Christopher Schlegel
2: Harmony Guitar Series 1 Part 1 This tutorial series is about creating and playing two part harmony guitar lines in rock style music. This is often one guitar part playing a melody, lead or solo part that is harmonized by a second guitar. Major scale harmony will be used to explore the basic types of contrapuntal motion. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Harmony Guitar Series 1 Part 2			Christopher Schlegel
3: Harmony Guitar Series 1 Part 2 This tutorial is part two in a series is about creating and playing two part harmony guitar lines in rock style music. This is often one guitar part playing a melody, lead or solo part that is harmonized by a second guitar. Major scale harmony will be used to explore the basic types of contrapuntal motion: similar, oblique and contrary. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Harmony Guitar Series 2 Part 1			Christopher Schlegel
4: Harmony Guitar Series 2 Part 1 This is the third tutorial about creating and playing two part harmony guitar lines in rock style music. This is often one guitar part playing a melody, lead or solo part that is harmonized by a second guitar. Minor scale harmony will be used to explore the basic types of contrapuntal motion: similar, oblique and contrary. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Harmony Guitar Series 2 Part 2			Christopher Schlegel
5: Harmony Guitar Series 2 Part 2 This is the third tutorial about creating and playing two part harmony guitar lines in rock style music. This is often one guitar part playing a melody, lead or solo part that is harmonized by a second guitar. Minor scale harmony will be used to explore the basic types of contrapuntal motion: similar, oblique and contrary. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed

Christopher: Pentatonic Shapes

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 1			Christopher Schlegel
1: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 1 In this tutorial we will learn a lick that incorporates all 5 fretboard shapes/positions that form the pentatonic minor scale. The idea is to play a simple repeating pattern of six notes on the top two strings (E and B strings). We use the first pentatonic position and this results in a pattern that has two notes on each string, both three frets apart. Then, we build the same type of pattern and lick, but using the second pentatonic position. We continue on to the third, fourth, fifth and finally first position again one octave higher. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 2			Christopher Schlegel
2: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 2 In this tutorial we will learn another lick that incorporates all 5 fretboard shapes/positions that form the pentatonic minor scale. The idea is to play a simple repeating pattern of five notes on two adjacent strings, then move the pattern up an octave, and again another octave. Using this little pattern of five notes we can wind our way up through each pentatonic box after another until we cover the entire fretboard. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 3			Christopher Schlegel
3: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 3 In this tutorial we will learn another lick that incorporates all 5 fretboard shapes/positions that form the pentatonic minor scale. The idea is to play a simple 4 note lick that is very widely used in many rock solos (and other genres). The lick involves a hammer-on and a pull-off. Using this little pattern of four notes we can wind our way up through each pentatonic box after another until we cover the entire fretboard. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Pentatonic Power Tapping			Christopher Schlegel
4: Pentatonic Power Tapping In this tutorial we will learn to connect the 5 pentatonic box patterns using tapping technique. This is another tutorial in the overall series of connecting pentatonic boxes in rock style guitar. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed

Christopher: Rock Basics

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Ritchie Blackmore Artist Study			Christopher Schlegel
1: Ritchie Blackmore Artist Study In this set of lessons we'll learn some essentials in the style of legendary rock guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, starting with a look at his tone. We'll then lay out finger-plucked riffs, blues licks, and minor triad sweeping followed by a play along. Next up is octave riffing, scale sequencing, and 2-string arpeggio pull-offs and a play along; then we'll look at "snake charmer" riffs and licks and phrygian triads, and another play along! Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Rock Amp Setup: Solid State			Christopher Schlegel
2: Rock Amp Setup: Solid State This tutorial covers controls and usage of solid state amplifiers. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 1			Christopher Schlegel
3: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 1 In this tutorial we will learn the basics of syncopated rock rhythm guitar playing patterns. We'll start with a few simple open major chords and learn to apply a technique that alternates palm muted bass notes on the strong beats and punchy chords on higher strings on the backbeats. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 2			Christopher Schlegel
4: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 2 In this tutorial we will learn the basics of syncopated rock rhythm guitar playing patterns. This time, we'll use a few simple open minor chords and learn to apply a technique that alternates palm muted bass notes on the strong beats and punchy chords on higher strings on the backbeats. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 3			Christopher Schlegel
5: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 3 In this tutorial we will learn more about playing syncopated rock rhythm guitar patterns. This time we'll use open chords but add more notes to our rhythmic pattern that alternates between palm muted bass notes and punchy chords on higher strings. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	6: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 4			Christopher Schlegel
6: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 4 In this tutorial we will learn more about playing syncopated rock rhythm guitar patterns. This time we'll use barre chords to play our more addvanced syncopated pattern that alternates between palm muted bass notes and punchy chords on higher strings. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	7: Whammy Bar from the Beginning			Christopher Schlegel
7: Whammy Bar from the Beginning In this tutorial, we'll learn some rock whammy (or "vibrato") bar techniques. I'll start by looking at some basic techniques and licks, then talk about how the whammy bar works and some insights into tuning issues. Then I'll teach you a rock riff with whammy, some "divebombing", and some ornamental dips. Next up are a few lessons using hammer-ons and pull-offs, followed by "harmonic dipping and screaming". We'll end with a play along. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	8: 70s Arena Riff Rock			Christopher Schlegel
8: 70s Arena Riff Rock In this tutorial we will learn some rocking riffs in the style of 1970s arena rock bands. I grew up in the 1970's listening to and learning the music of Deep Purple, Montrose, Kiss, Van Halen, ACDC. These bands were well known for their powerful, energetic, melodic take on rock music. They played, sounded (and often performed) in a way that was larger than life! Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed

Christopher: Sweep Picking

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Sweep Picking Series 1: The Basics			Christopher Schlegel
1: Sweep Picking Series 1: The Basics By the end of this tutorial, you understand the basics of sweep picking technique and be able to play a simple 3 note triad chord sweep in major and minor chords and keys. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Sweep Picking Series 2: Expanding The Sweep			Christopher Schlegel
2: Sweep Picking Series 2: Expanding The Sweep In this tutorial we will expand the basic 3 note triad chord sweep picking technique into a 4 note chord sweep in major and minor chords and keys. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Sweep Picking Series 3: Basic Applications			Christopher Schlegel
3: Sweep Picking Series 3: Basic Applications By the end of this tutorial, you understand how to apply sweep picking technique to a simple chord progression in a variety of ways using major and minor chord tones and scale notes. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Sweep Picking Series 4: More Basic Applications			Christopher Schlegel
4: Sweep Picking Series 4: More Basic Applications By the end of this tutorial, you understand more about how to apply sweep picking technique to a simple chord progression in a variety of ways using major and minor chord tones and scale notes. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Sweep Picking Series 5: Advanced Applications			Christopher Schlegel
5: Sweep Picking Series 5: Advanced Applications By the end of this tutorial, you understand advanced sweeping applications and shred arpeggios using major and minor chord tones and scale notes. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	6: Sweep Picking Series 6: More Advanced Applications			Christopher Schlegel
6: Sweep Picking Series 6: More Advanced Applications In these five lessons in this final tutorial on sweep picking, I'll be teaching you some more advanced applications of this technique. First I'll show you a shred sweep lick over an A minor based progression, then we'll look at an E harmonic minor arpeggio pattern. I'll follow that up with using diminished arpeggio sweeps, and using shred sweeps in a "bluesy" way. I'll finish with playing sweeps over a long descending chord progression. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed

Dave: Artist Studies

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: AC/DC Artist Study			Dave Celentano
1: AC/DC Artist Study In this tutorial we're going to study the guitar tone and playing style of the legendary classic rock band AC/DC. AC/DC’s legendary sound is built on the foundation of brothers Angus and Malcolm Young’s playing. Angus played lead, while his older brother Malcolm handled the rhythm guitar parts. Combined they were the perfectly blended one-two punch of all the classic AC/DC rock tunes! Their playing styles were firmly grounding in the early rock & blues rock of the 60s bringing those traditions to the present and expanding on them into the future! Instructor: Dave Celentano My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Joe Perry Artist Study			Dave Celentano
2: Joe Perry Artist Study Dave will show you Joe Perry’s playing style by breaking it down into several key factors, learn what makes it special and then learn to play some licks in his style! His style was a key component of the unique, instantly identifiable sound of Aerosmith. Perry’s playing was a great combination of powerful, but always grooving rhythm playing, electrifying lead lines that were informed by early 50’s rockers up through his own 60’s guitar heroes & blazed a path of his own to the future of rock guitar. Instructor: Dave Celentano My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Dickey Betts Artist Study			Dave Celentano
3: Dickey Betts Artist Study Betts plays with a clean to sweetly rounded sustained tone using mostly pentatonic major scales with a country flavor adapted to the Allman Brothers rock style. He plays mostly simple, but flowing phrases that emphasized melodic devices of repetition, variation, and rhythmic displacement. Along with Duane, Dickey’s style is a key component of the unique, instantly identifiable sound of the early Allman Brothers Band. Their sweet as sugar twin harmony leads are an iconic sound of rock and roll guitar vocabulary. Instructor: Dave Celentano My Progress 0% viewed
	4: George Lynch Artist Study			Dave Celentano
4: George Lynch Artist Study George Lynch’s legendary playing formed the foundation of Dokken’s hair metal sound. His rhythm riffing held their songs together and his solos were often the high point of the songs. Like many 80s guitarists, Lynch was among the first generation directly influenced by Van Halen’s innovative playing. This included hot-rodded, humbucker loaded guitars with locking vibrato bars, high gain tones, lots of heavy rhythm and speedy fretwork for solo lines! Instructor: Dave Celentano My Progress 0% viewed
	5: Van Halen Artist Study			Dave Celentano
5: Van Halen Artist Study Dave will show you the signature licks and tricks including two VH inspired mini-songs and a stand alone guitar solo, fast boogie rhythms, two hand tapping, a solo using the MXR Phase 90, hybrid picking, and palm muting triads. Instructor: Dave Celentano My Progress 0% viewed

Doug: Jamming and Improvisation

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Jam Over Cmaj7 to Fmaj7			Doug Fearman
1: Jam Over Cmaj7 to Fmaj7 In a previous tutorial you were introduced to the C to F chord progression. This progression can be difficult; especially for beginning players. In my newest tutorial I'll demonstrate the Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 chord progression. These chords are much easier to play than their major counterparts. You'll see and hear how various scales played against this progression sound. Instructor: Doug Fearman My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Jam Chords and Break Songs			Doug Fearman
2: Jam Chords and Break Songs It's not fun to go to a jam session only to discover that you don't know the songs they want to do and they don't know yours either. A simple solution is to lay down 2 or 3 chords and jam over them. It's a lot of fun and everyone gets to play. This series of lessons covers several different, simple chord patterns and the scales that can be used to jam along with them. Instructor: Doug Fearman My Progress 0% viewed

Eric: Sweep Picking Technique

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Introduction to Sweep Picking			Eric Barnett
1: Introduction to Sweep Picking In this tutorial, Eric Barnett gives you the essentials of sweep picking, to get you started on this rock and metal guitar technique. We'll go through what sweep picking is, the right and left hand functions, and detailed exercises on both and how to put them together. Instructor: Eric Barnett My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Advanced Sweep Picking I			Eric Barnett
2: Advanced Sweep Picking I In this tutorial, Eric Barnett takes you up into advanced levels of sweep picking. Picking up where he left off in "Introduction to Sweep Picking", Eric will show you how to embellish 5 string shapes in a couple of different ways, how to sweep tap, and moveable shapes. Instructor: Eric Barnett My Progress 0% viewed

Hanspeter: Rock Concepts

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Advanced Rock Improvisation Concepts			Hanspeter Kruesi
1: Advanced Rock Improvisation Concepts This is an introduction to advanced rock improvisation concepts. This entire tutorial will get you to the point where you can start to be creative with the minor pentatonic across the entire fretboard. Please take your time to really work out the theoretical and practical background which is needed to understand the whole concept. These seven lessons will give you a good basis to get into creative improvisation. Instructor: Hanspeter Kruesi My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Rock Riffing: 10 Rock Riffs			Hanspeter Kruesi
2: Rock Riffing: 10 Rock Riffs Here you can learn a selection of rock riffs which I created. I'll take you through distinct ten rock riffs that will help you understand what riffs are, and how to start creating your own. Instructor: Hanspeter Kruesi My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Slow Rock			Hanspeter Kruesi
3: Slow Rock A summary of rhythm guitar tricks, typical 80s rock lead licks with bendings, melodic phrasings, runs and a full solo as an example. Instructor: Hanspeter Kruesi My Progress 0% viewed

Hanspeter: Solo and Lead

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Sound & Expression on Lead Guitar			Hanspeter Kruesi
1: Sound & Expression on Lead Guitar Sound and expression on lead guitar is mainly a matter of a proper technique. The equipment you use is only to amplify the tone you have created on your fretboard. Here I give you some tips how you can work on your sound and expression in order to start sounding great. Even if you are already a advanced player and you have never thought about this, you should go through this tutorial to get more aware of your technique and your sound. Instructor: Hanspeter Kruesi My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Megachops			Hanspeter Kruesi
2: Megachops Here you can learn to play rock guitar licks in different positions on the neck, and in some cases all over the fretboard. This will help you to get more flexible and creative in your soloing. Instructor: Hanspeter Kruesi My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Rock Ballad			Hanspeter Kruesi
3: Rock Ballad Learn the essentials on how to play a professional rock ballad. Your sound settings should be a lead sound with high gain distortion, some delay and optional a wah-wah (a cry baby - not an autowah). Pay close attention to all parts of this tutorial even if you think it seems too easy for you. The details make the big difference! Instructor: Hanspeter Kruesi My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Bottle Neck Rock			Hanspeter Kruesi
4: Bottle Neck Rock Bottle neck rock is a tutorial where I give you some ideas to play high gain solos with a bottle neck slide. Instructor: Hanspeter Kruesi My Progress 0% viewed

Mike: Artist Studies

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Billy Gibbons Artist Study			Mike Olekshy
1: Billy Gibbons Artist Study This tutorial will cover his gear and tone over the years, his rhythm playing, his approach to lead guitar, the 80s-era Eliminator style, and his take on slide guitar. So let's dive on in and check it out! Instructor: Mike Olekshy My Progress 0% viewed
	2: Brian May Artist Study			Mike Olekshy
2: Brian May Artist Study Mike will show you Brian May's playing style by breaking it down into several key factors, learn what makes it special and then learn to play some riffs and licks in his style! This tutorial will cover his gear and tone, his melodic approach to riffs, major scale licks, guitar harmonies, and using a delay effect to create a guitar orchestra. Instructor: Mike Olekshy My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Jimmy Page Artist Study			Mike Olekshy
3: Jimmy Page Artist Study Mike will cover the essential aspects of Jimmy Page's gear and tone, his single note bluesy rhythm riffing, blues solo licks, epic riffing, and acoustic playing. Instructor: Mike Olekshy My Progress 0% viewed
	4: Pete Townshend Artist Study			Mike Olekshy
4: Pete Townshend Artist Study Mike will show you Pete Townshend’s guitar style by breaking it down into several key factors to learn what makes it special and then learn to play riffs & licks in his style! Instructor: Mike Olekshy My Progress 0% viewed

Mike: Free Lessons

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Free Lessons With Mike Olekshy			Mike Olekshy
1: Free Lessons With Mike Olekshy These free lessons are a preview of what you get with a Full Access membership. If you enjoy these preview lesson and want to learn even more, click the yellow button on this page to try Full Access, which includes thousands of lessons and more about hammer ons & pull offs, power chords and palm muting, boom chick rhythm playing, pedal steel guitar tricks, playing licks with the pentatonic scale and chicken pickin' techniques. Instructor: Mike Olekshy My Progress 0% viewed

Neal: Channel Episodes

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: GT Channel: Rock with Neal 1			Neal Walter
1: GT Channel: Rock with Neal 1 These Guitar Tricks Channel episodes will teach you rock palm muting techniques, whammy bar tricks with harmonics, pick scraping, getting more notes with hammer-ons and pull-offs, chord riffs, and pentatonic soloing. Instructor: Neal Walter My Progress 0% viewed
	2: GT Channel: Rock with Neal 2			Neal Walter
2: GT Channel: Rock with Neal 2 These Guitar Tricks Channel episodes from 2011-2013 will teach you rock style and tone secrets of some of the greatest guitarists in rock: Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Carlos Santana, plus you'll also learn about southern rock, unison bends, and a get a large helping of southern rock licks from classic rock tone expert Neal Walter. Instructor: Neal Walter My Progress 0% viewed
	3: GT Channel: Rock with Neal 3			Neal Walter
3: GT Channel: Rock with Neal 3 There are lots of fun topics in this series, including several wah-wah lessons, whammy technique, tap harmonics, Slash-inspired riffs, Alex Lifeson-inspired riffs, Joe Perry-inspired riffs, plenty of rock and southern rock riffin' and lots of tips on soloing. Instructor: Neal Walter My Progress 0% viewed

Neal: Rock Techniques

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	1: Harmonics: Pinch & Natural			Neal Walter
1: Harmonics: Pinch & Natural In this short tutorial, Neal Walter will explain two types of harmonics for you: pinch and natural. Pinch harmonics are often used in rock soloing, and natural harmonics are often used to give color. Neal will break down how to approach these harmonics so you can add them to your expressive arsenal. Instructor: Neal Walter My Progress 0% viewed
	2: In the Palm of My Hands			Neal Walter
2: In the Palm of My Hands Palm muting is an essential technique for every rock guitarist, and is simple to learn! This tutorial will walk you through the mechanics of how to use palm muting with power and barre chords, accents, and more. Instructor: Neal Walter My Progress 0% viewed
	3: Back For More: The Return of Palm Muting			Neal Walter
3: Back For More: The Return of Palm Muting This series of lessons will teach the user how to combine barre, power and open chords along with palm muting and arpeggiation to create chord progressions that rock. Instructor: Neal Walter My Progress 0% viewed

Rock Topics

info	title	style	difficulty	instructor
	5 Ways to Improvise on One Chord			Tom Finch
5 Ways to Improvise on One Chord Whether it's in a jam situation or a "simple" composition, it's not uncommon to find yourself playing over a single chord or tonal center at some time or another. In this tutorial we'll take a look at different ways to use chords, rhythms, and scales to help make your experience of playing over a single chord more interesting and exciting. Instructor: Tom Finch My Progress 0% viewed
	AC/DC Style Artist Study			Prashant Aswani
AC/DC Style Artist Study Our instructor Prashant Aswani takes you through some of the elements of style that make AC/DC one of the most popular bands in rock. In these lessons we'll look at the foundations of tone, the style in which Angus and Malcolm voice their chords and give them movement, some of the pentatonic licks they use, the use of open string licks, and double stops. In the final lesson you can jam along to a rockin' custom jam track! Instructor: Prashant Aswani My Progress 0% viewed
	Advanced Dropped D Concepts			Douglas Showalter
Advanced Dropped D Concepts There are many times during the process of learning the guitar that players at any level hit a wall. You are stuck playing the same chords, the same riffs; literally running circles within the same idea. While it is always important to study the instrument from it's standard tuning, altering the instruments tuning is always a great way to explore new territory. All of a sudden those same shapes sound different, and a wealth of new riffs and songs evolve from a simple altering of one string. Instructor: Douglas Showalter My Progress 0% viewed
	Alt Rock Guitar 101			Michael Eisenstein
Alt Rock Guitar 101 The 90's were all about using a sort of "sloppiness" that was grungy and fun. Piles of guitar tracks doing all sorts of different things were combined into a thick soup of beautiful dissonance and tension. Let's find out some things we can do to recreate that vibe. Instructor: Michael Eisenstein My Progress 0% viewed
	Chord Tone Soloing			Douglas Showalter
Chord Tone Soloing In this tutorial I am going to give you an introduction to the world of "Chord Tone Soloing." In short, "Chord Tone Soloing" means that when soloing you are only using notes of the chords by which you are playing over. If you are playing over a G chord, you solo only using the notes G, B, D, etc. This doesn't sound like an exciting idea in the beginning, but having the discipline to work with this idea will do wonders for your soloing and phrasing. I have provided a handful of progressions and examples along with backing tracks that you can explore and than take it into your own musical universe. Work through each example slowly and really grasp the concept of using chord tones. You will be glad you did. Instructor: Douglas Showalter My Progress 0% viewed
	Eric Clapton Artist Study			Tom Finch
Eric Clapton Artist Study Tom will show you the essential ingredients of Eric Clapton's style ranging from his early fiery Blues with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, to Cream, to pop rock to acoustic blues work. Instructor: Tom Finch My Progress 0% viewed
	Exotic Scales			Michael Elsner
Exotic Scales Knowing your way around some exotic scales has the power to open up a whole new world of melodies and ideas that you can add to your compositions. The use of exotic scales can also add that extra melodic flair to a well crafted solo. Michael Elsner takes you through five different exotic scales, explaining what they are and how to use them. He plays some examples over custom backing tracks to give you a "real time" feel of using the scale. Instructor: Michael Elsner My Progress 0% viewed
	GT Channel: Christopher Schlegel			Christopher Schlegel
GT Channel: Christopher Schlegel In this short tutorial on tips and tricks, Christopher Schlegel is guest host for the GT channel and examines diatonic notes, first inversion chords, and how to play melodic phrases. Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	In The Style of The Edge			Lawrence Katz
In The Style of The Edge The Edge has a style that lays a foundation for one of the most popular bands in history. In this artist study we're going to look at some of the elements in his style: delay settings, rhythmic approaches, chord voicings, and harmonic techniques. The finale is a play along to a custom backing track. Instructor: Lawrence Katz My Progress 0% viewed
	Punk Style			Ralph Spight
Punk Style This tutorial gets down low to examine 3 seminal bands that defined punk: The Ramones, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols. Punk is a guitar genre, and you might be surprised that's there's more to it than meets the ear! Instructor: Ralph Spight My Progress 0% viewed
	Scalar Exercises			Ben Lindholm
Scalar Exercises In this short tutorial, I will guide you through a couple useful exercises that will help develop your technique. One is a sequence exercise, and the other involves playing a scale in thirds. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	Tasty Chord Moves			Ben Lindholm
Tasty Chord Moves In this tutorial, consisting of 15 lessons I will show you some of my favorite chord progressions. After each explanation and a bit of theory, we will play an example with a backing track, so you can practice it in a real life situation. Instructor: Ben Lindholm My Progress 0% viewed
	The Eric Johnson Style			Tony Lee
The Eric Johnson Style In this tutorial, Tony Lee will teach you elements of the Eric Johnson style. Tony will introduce the tutorial, then talk about EJ's gear and tone. Then it's time to learn the two rhythm riffs in this mini-composition; after that we'll learn the different licks that make up the full solo that's played over the rhythm riffs. We'll finish with a play along performance, then you'll take over in the jam along. Instructor: Tony Lee My Progress 0% viewed
	The Jimi Hendrix Style			Joe Delia
The Jimi Hendrix Style Even though the style of Jimi Hendrix was based on blues and rock techniques, he may have been from another planet. His style - a combination of melodic and rhythmic tools - made him stand out from other players of his time period. This tutorial will explain some of the core "tricks" in the Hendrix style that influenced the future of guitar playing. Instructor: Joe Delia My Progress 0% viewed
	The Star Spangled Banner Electrified			Christopher Schlegel
The Star Spangled Banner Electrified In this tutorial we will learn an electrified arrangement of "The Star Spangled Banner". We'll start by working through melody, note by note, in E major. After we get the notes down, we'll focus on getting the best electric, overdrive tone for the tune. Finally, we'll add some performance flair by means trills and bending. Let's get started! Instructor: Christopher Schlegel My Progress 0% viewed
	Trills			Sharon Aguilar
Trills In this series of lessons, Sharon Aguilar will teach you about the legato technique called trills. Sharon will introduce the concept, then go over the basics of trills. Next we'll look at using different intervals for your trills, then how to use different rhythms. A couple of exercises are next, first using combinations of intervals on one string, then vertically across strings using the A minor pentatonic scale. Instructor: Sharon Aguilar My Progress 0% viewed
	Using Triads			Dave Celentano
Using Triads In music theory the word triad refers to a group of three specific notes from a scale that form a chord. There are four basic types of triads in music. In this tutorial series we will take an introductory look at how to play all of them. Then we'll mix & match them in some musical examples. Instructor: Dave Celentano My Progress 0% viewed
	Wired for Truth: The Jeff Beck Style			Nick Kellie
Wired for Truth: The Jeff Beck Style Within this set of lessons you'll learn some elements of the Jeff Beck style: how to choose notes and bend them, technique and phrasing, how to manipulate your guitar's hardware, and what hardware to choose to get the style of the master's tone. The ability to fight off fans afterward is not taught in this tutorial! Instructor: Nick Kellie My Progress 0% viewed

Rock Guitar Lessons

Anders: Artist Studies

1: David Gilmour Style Artist Study

2: The Keith Richards Style

3: Playing Rhythm Like The Masters: Classic Rock

Andy: Rock

1: A Blues Guitarist Walks Into A Rock Bar...

2: Borrowed Time

3: Break It Down!

4: Developing A Hook

5: Extracting the Power!

6: I've Heard That Somewhere Before

7: It Ain't 12 Bars, But It'll Work

8: More On Strumming: Ghost Strums, Muting, Accents

9: Open Chords Vs. Barre Chords: When Worlds Collide

10: Putting It All Together: Rock Song In Real Time

11: Raising the Barre With Riffs

12: Revenge of the Open Chords

13: Riff Deconstruction

14: Rock, I Am Your Father

15: Walk the Talk

16: We Must Have More Power!

Andy: Rock Tone

1: Rock Tone: Effects

2: Rock Tone: Amplifiers

3: Rock Tone: Guitars

4: Rock Tone: Setups

5: Rock Tone: Miscellaneous

Ben: Focus on Lead Playing

1: Pentatonic Speedster

2: Tapping: Level 1

3: Tapping: Level 2

4: Tapping: Level 3

5: Tapping: Level 4

6: Speed Building

7: 10 Ways To Play Arpeggios

Christopher: Building Speed

1: Speedy Ideas Series 1: Building Speed

2: Speedy Ideas Series 2: Major Scale Patterns

3: Speedy Ideas Series 3: Minor Scale Patterns

4: Speedy Ideas Series 4: Advanced Minor Shredding

5: Speedy Ideas Series 5: Advanced Major Shredding

Christopher: Introduction to Improvisation

1: Improvisation in a Major Key

2: Improvisation in a Major Key Series 2

3: Improvisation in a Minor Key Series 2

Christopher: Music Theory

1: Altered Minor Scales

2: Harmony Guitar Series 1 Part 1

3: Harmony Guitar Series 1 Part 2

4: Harmony Guitar Series 2 Part 1

5: Harmony Guitar Series 2 Part 2

Christopher: Pentatonic Shapes

1: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 1

2: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 2

3: Connecting Pentatonic Patterns: Series 3

4: Pentatonic Power Tapping

Christopher: Rock Basics

1: Ritchie Blackmore Artist Study

2: Rock Amp Setup: Solid State

3: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 1

4: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 2

5: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 3

6: Syncopated Rock Rhythm Series 4

7: Whammy Bar from the Beginning

8: 70s Arena Riff Rock

Christopher: Sweep Picking

1: Sweep Picking Series 1: The Basics

2: Sweep Picking Series 2: Expanding The Sweep

3: Sweep Picking Series 3: Basic Applications

4: Sweep Picking Series 4: More Basic Applications

5: Sweep Picking Series 5: Advanced Applications

6: Sweep Picking Series 6: More Advanced Applications

Dave: Artist Studies

1: AC/DC Artist Study

2: Joe Perry Artist Study

3: Dickey Betts Artist Study

4: George Lynch Artist Study

5: Van Halen Artist Study

Doug: Jamming and Improvisation