Rock Guitar Lessons with Marty Schwartz
Rock guitar is all about power, attitude, and unforgettable riffs. These rock guitar lessons from Marty Schwartz teach you the essential techniques that define rock music—power chords, iconic riffs, pentatonic scales, and the solos that inspired generations of guitarists.
Whether you want to play classic rock anthems or modern alternative, Marty breaks down every technique into clear, manageable steps. You’ll learn the exact finger positions, picking patterns, and rhythms used in legendary rock songs.
What You’ll Learn
These rock guitar lessons cover all the fundamental techniques:
- Power chords – The backbone of rock guitar, simple but massive-sounding
- Iconic riffs – Smoke on the Water, Sweet Child O’ Mine, and more classics
- Pentatonic scales – The rock guitarist’s secret weapon for solos
- Palm muting – Creating tight, punchy rhythm parts
- Barre chords – Taking your playing beyond open position
- String bending – Adding emotion and expression to solos
Essential Rock Guitar Techniques
Power chords are your foundation. Two or three strings, moveable shapes, huge sound. Learn power chords and you can play thousands of rock songs. Start with root-5th shapes, then add the octave for fuller sound.
The pentatonic scale unlocks solos. Every rock solo you’ve ever heard uses the pentatonic scale. Learn the box patterns, practice them until they’re automatic, then start creating your own licks.
Palm muting controls the energy. Rest your palm lightly on the bridge while picking. This creates the tight, controlled sound in verses that makes choruses explode when you lift your hand.
Bending strings adds emotion. Rock guitar isn’t just about notes—it’s about how you play them. String bending, vibrato, and slides make the difference between playing notes and making music.
Classic Rock Songs to Learn
- Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Essential southern rock groove)
- Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana (The grunge anthem that defined a generation)
- More Than a Feeling – Boston (Classic rock guitar mastery)
- Back in Black – AC/DC (Perfect power chord workout)
- Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads’ legendary riff)
- Enter Sandman – Metallica (Iconic metal progression)
- Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page’s blues-rock genius)
Rock Guitar Styles
Classic Rock: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, AC/DC. Blues-based riffs, pentatonic solos, powerful rhythm work. Focus on groove and feel over speed.
Hard Rock/Metal: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath. Down-tuned power chords, fast alternate picking, chromatic riffs. Precision and power.
Punk Rock: Ramones, Green Day, The Clash. Simple power chord progressions, aggressive downstrokes, energy over complexity. Fast and furious.
Grunge/Alternative: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden. Heavy distortion, dynamic shifts, mixing clean and dirty tones. Raw emotion and power.
Rock Guitar Gear Essentials
Humbuckers handle distortion better. Single coils can work, but humbucking pickups give you that thick, saturated rock tone without excessive noise.
Overdrive vs. Distortion: Overdrive keeps some dynamics, good for classic rock. Distortion gives you sustained, compressed power, better for metal. Many rock guitarists use both.
Your amp matters more than your guitar. A cheap guitar through a good amp sounds better than an expensive guitar through a bad amp. Invest in tone.
Practicing Rock Guitar
Start with the riff. Most rock songs are built around a memorable riff. Learn the riff first, then add rhythm parts and solos. The riff is what people remember.
Use a metronome for tight rhythm. Rock guitar needs precision. Sloppy power chords sound muddy. Practice with a click until your timing is rock solid.
Build finger strength gradually. Barre chords and bending strings requires strength. Don’t hurt yourself trying to play like Slash on day one. Build gradually.