Welcome to this unabashed celebration of rock guitar. The aim of the lesson is to provide you with some core concepts and techniques which will help you build a really good vocabulary in a whole range of rock guitar styles.
The guitar is one of the key instruments in the rock ensemble; it provides much of the harmonic backing and of course is also used to play riffs, fills and solos. Some rock bands are three-piece outfits where the guitar provides the majority of the melodic and harmonic content. Other line-ups include guitar and keyboards working in tandem. Then there are twin-guitar assaults, either with or without keys. All these band types require subtly diffferent ways of interacting with the other musicians, and we will see many of these approaches in the following 50 licks.
Many of the greatest rock songs are written in guitar-friendly keys like G, A, E and D and this allows the guitarist to utilise various open strings and resonant, first-position chords. When creating riffs, lead lines and guitar solos the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales are a popular starting point, and many of our examples use these as their basis. Both of scales are constructed from five notes, with the intervals as follows:
MANY OF THE GREATEST ROCK SONGS ARE WRITTEN IN GUITAR-FRIENDLY KEYS THAT ALLOW THE GUITARIST TO UTILISE VARIOUS OPEN STRINGS
Major Pentatonic: R-2-3-5-6.
Minor Pentatonic: R-b3-4-5-b7.
The Major and Minor triad arpeggios are also commonly employed. Their intervals are: Major triad arpeggio: R-3-5. Minor triad arpeggio: R-b3-5.
This story is from the December 2020 edition of Guitar Techniques.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2020 edition of Guitar Techniques.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
Stuart Ryan presents another hero of the \"outlaw country' movement alongside Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.
GEORGE KARAYIANNIS
In this month's JTC Guitar lesson we meet a brilliant Greek guitarist, teacher and performing musician who mixes rock and metal with jazz and prog influences.
LARRY CARLTON
This month Stuart Ryan has five intro licks from his latest Fundamental Changes book, based on the sophisticated style of a guitar icon.
BLUES SCALE LICKS
This month Simon Barnard shows how adding one chromatic note to the scale can dramatically spice up your standard Minor Pentatonic licks.
ERIC JOHNSON
This month Andy G Jones focuses on the legendary Texan guitarist whose fast flowing lines and Pentatonic flurries continue to amaze.
MATTEO MANCUSO
Charlie Griffiths takes a journey through the style of an Italian virtuoso who chooses classical guitar fingerstyle over other picking approaches.
JUDAS PRIEST
This month Jamie Hunt examines the riffs and rhythms of Glen Tipton and KK Downing, from one of Birmingham’s greatest ever metal bands.
KINGS OF LEON
Kings Of Leon formed almost 25 years ago in Nashville, Tennessee and consist of the Followill brothers Caleb, who plays rhythm guitar and sings lead vocals, drummer Nathan, and bassist Jared, along with their lead guitar-playing cousin Nathan Followill.
ALBERT COLLINS
Put a cold shot into your playing this month as David Gerrish explores the ultra-cool licks of the Master Of The Telecaster, aka The Iceman.
WOLFGANG A. MOZART Marriage Of Figaro: Duettino
Dust off your cravat as Declan Zapala has prepared a charming arrangement of the classic scene from Mozart’s opera masterpiece, as heard in The Shawshank Redemption.