The Rotosound Blog

This week we get to grips with Rival Sons’ Pressure and Time guitar parts. Rival Sons is a blues hard rock band from Long Beach California that started around 2009. Their 2011 hit “Pressure and Time” is not just catchy and riff laden, but also a perfect song to play for someone learning how to play guitar. It has a mix of beginner, intermediate, and advanced techniques and it follows a common blues rock structure. Here is a quick song lesson on the Rival Sons song “Pressure and Time.”

Despite the lead singer Morrissey being quite controversial and moody, The Smiths have endured popularity even though they broke up many years ago. In fact, the singing style of Morrissey and his demeanour is one reason the band has likely achieved such success. There are many great Smiths songs to play, especially if someone is just learning how to play guitar, but today we take a closer look with a song lesson on “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.”

The Irish rock band Thin Lizzy has some great songs to study in your guitar lessons. While predominantly known for blues rock, they also mixed a variety of genres into their music. Besides being riff and power chord heavy they used extended jazz chords and even had traditional folk music as inspiration. One of their best song examples to learn how to play guitar with is the popular hit “The Boys Are Back in Town.”

For many years in the music industry it was common to record Christmas covers and even try creating a new classic on occasion. Paul McCartney was one of the handful of artists to succeed with a tune that still sees heavy rotation to this day. In this song lesson we will show you how to play “Wonderful Christmastime” on your guitar.

The Oasis song “Wonderwall” is one of the most streamed 90’s songs on Spotify. Since its release it has never slowed in popularity. One of the reasons it is so enduring is that it has all the classic hallmarks of 90’s Britpop and Alternative music. The tune “Wonderwall” falls into the category of beginner guitar songs, and it is one of the beginner song lessons that will also prepare you for similar hits of the era.

“And I Love Her” is a Lennon-McCartney composition from the 1964 album “A Hard Day’s Night,” the Beatles’ third studio album. The Beatles’ first two albums included covers along with original compositions, but this album is all originals by Lennon and McCartney. The soundtrack was written intentionally for use in a movie feature of the same name. This song was included on the A side in the British release and on the B side in the American release, with an instrumental arrangement of the song appearing on the A side.

If you are a fan of the Irish pop rock band U2, it may be because of the unique sound of the guitars and vocals. Their guitar player simply known as The Edge uses a specific combo of pedals and guitar amps to get his signature sound. In this article we will look at the pedals he uses and how his style of playing helps create the famous U2 guitar tone.

Unfortunately there are no simple approaches to being able to play every Beatles song. One of the reasons they were so popular is because they were influenced by a huge variety of styles. However there are some guitar chords, progressions, and tones that stand out in their music. In this lesson we will look at how to play songs by The Beatles for all guitar skill levels.

Electric guitar strings are the most crucial component of producing great tone. (Aside from guitar picks, they are also the least expensive guitar accessory!) Strings are the “vocal cords” of a guitar, and the set we select fundamentally shapes our instrument’s voice. However, with so many different kinds of electric guitar strings available, it can be difficult to decipher what makes each special. Even more daunting is figuring out which type of string is best suited for the music you love to play.

One of the most important factors in playing guitar is the string you choose! Of course your technique and approach are a big factor, but the quality and style of your string can make all the difference in the final sound.

Is your playing in a rut? Are you looking for something to spark your creativity and experimentation? The solution may lie in a few twists of your machine heads. Dive in as we journey to the land of alternate tunings!