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Aerosmith – Walk This Way – Rock Guitar Lesson

Jane — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:27:01 +0000

Written by Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry, “Walk this Way” was released in 1975 on Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic” album.

In a February, 2006 Q magazine issue, Aerosmith discussed the song’s beginnings:

“We were still searching for a hit when Joe Perry came up with the stuttering riff during a soundtrack in Hawaii in March 1975. Tyler quickly wrote the lyrics and called the song Walk This Way.”

According to some sources, when Tyler arrived to the studio to record the song he accidently forgot the lyrics he had written in a cab. Instead of trying to recover them, he walked to the stairwell, let out a savage scream, and wrote new lyrics on the wall. What exactly the original lyrics were, we will never know.

A classic riff based song that anyone who enjoys classical rock music will recognize immediately. Not to mention, a lot of fun to play as well.

Below you will find a basic instruction video and a video that shows you the first solo break to the song. I have included a backing track as well. Enjoy!

Walk This Way – Main Riff And Verse

Walk This Way – First Solo

Author Note: The first Solo from “Walk this way” Played by Darren Armitage at speed then broke down into easy manageable chunks.

Walk This Way Backing Track

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Van Halen – Running with the Devil – Guitar Lesson

Jane — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:51:43 +0000

“Running with the Devil” is a rock song and the first track from Van Halen’s 1978 eponymous debut album.

The track fades in with the sound of a car horn. In many ways, this track is the song that started it all, being the first song from the first album and that it sets the tone for the Van Halen attitude when David Lee Roth was the singer in the band. The song has the interesting distinction of being one of the few songs from Van Halen’s early days where Eddie Van Halen used a guitar overdub. The car horns at the beginning were taken from the band’s cars and linked together with a battery.

Running With the Devil Backing Track

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Kansas – Dust In The Wind – Travis Picking Guitar Lesson

Jane — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:57:47 +0000

The single “Dust in the Wind” was released by the rock band Kansas on their album “Point of no Return”, in 1977. Later, Kansas also released a live version of the song on their album entitled “Two for the Show”.

According to some sources, Kerry Livgren wrote the song after reading a book of Native American poetry. One of the lines that caught his eye while reading the poetry was:

“For all we are is Dust in the Wind”

Kerry was a little hesitant to show his band members the song, since it was not typical of their current sound. Fortunately, he ultimately did, and they went ahead and released it. It went on to become became their biggest hit, and arguably, their best-known song.

The song will not be too hard for the beginner who has spent some time learning Travis picking. For those that are not familiar with Travis picking, some practice will be required (don’t give up).

I have managed to find a backing track for the song, which is included at the end of this post, along with a PDF chord chart. Any time spent mastering this song, in my opinion, is time well spent. A great song to add to your repertoire – have fun!

AUTHOR NOTE: Some of my YT friends have been kind enough to request a tutorial video on this great song. I hope this helps, please contact me with any questions you may have. Thanks for watching!

Dust in the Wind Backing Track

Dust in the Wind Song Chord Sheet

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Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water – Guitar Lesson

Jane — Sun, 10 May 2009 03:31:25 +0000

Released by Deep Purple in 1972, the classic song, “Smoke on the Water” can be found on their album entitled Machine Head.

When the song was originally recorded, the band did not think it would be a hit. It was not until it was released in the United States as a single, a full year after the album was released, that it became popular.

According to a report in the London Times newspaper, Ritchie Blackmore was not very comfortable when he presented the song to his fellow band members because it was such a simple tune for a guitarist with his skills to come up with.

At the end of this post I’ve also included a backing track that you can use to jam along with. A fairly easy song to learn. Enjoy!

Smoke on the Water Backing Track

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Chuck Berry – Johnny B Goode – Electric Guitar Lesson

Jane — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:12:54 +0000

Written by one of the founders of rock n’ roll (if not THE founder) Chuck Berry, Johnny B. Goode is considered by many as the ultimate rock song of all time.

According to Chuck Berry, the song is loosely based on his life with a few details changed.

Performed live by too many artists to count, Johnny B. Goode is a song that every aspiring rock or blues guitarist should know.

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