Posted July 13, 2011 at 8:51 am | No comments
“Number of the Beast” could very well be considered the legendary Iron Maiden’s signature song, as it is the title song from their most well-known album of the same name. They almost never neglect to play it at concerts, and it introduced the concept of the evilness of the number 666 to the masses. After a creepy-sounding poem intro, the driving guitars, bass, and drum kick in with power chords punctuated by riffs in unison. Bruce Dickinson’s amazing wail at the end of the first verse came from his immense frustration at being forced to sing the intro vocal part so many times in a row by producer Martin Birch. It wasn’t planned, but it sounded so awesome they had to keep it.
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Posted July 12, 2011 at 5:51 am | No comments
As the first single from Iron Maiden’s famous Number Of The Beast, “Run to the Hills” remains one of the metal legends’ most beloved songs. With a slower intro that quickly gives way to a speeding metal verse and chorus, “Run to the Hills” is the first single that features Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals. The ripping guitar solo heavily shows off Dave Murray’s tapping and shredding skills, and certainly won’t be an easy one to learn, so get practicing!
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Posted July 11, 2011 at 7:51 am | No comments
“Pardon Me” is a hit in typical Incubus fashion. The song, which was the first single released from their February 2000 album Make Yourself, features uniquely funky verses that move into a huge overdriven chorus where singer Brandon Boyd morbidly sings, “Pardon me while I burst into flames.” Mike Einziger’s guitar work in “Pardon Me” is interesting. In the verses, while the drums are frenetically driving alongside Boyd’s rapid-fire lyrics, he plays relaxed swelling chords, punctuated by an occasional staccato chord with heavy delay.
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Posted July 10, 2011 at 5:58 am | No comments
“Drive” is the most famous song by modern rock band Incubus, a group that has a long history of hits. Guitarist Mike Einziger’s catchy acoustic chord action provides the perfect background for vocalist Brandon Boyd’s clear tenor. The song also features a melodic guitar solo by Einziger, who can rip with the best of ’em but chooses to play a beautifully simple melody instead. Although Boyd sings “Drive” over Einziger’s guitar, this is another great song to learn how to play and sing together. Take that one to Potbelly!
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Posted July 9, 2011 at 9:57 am | No comments
“Lips of an Angel” is a power ballad by Hinder. As their breakout hit, the song was the second single from their 2006 album Extreme Behavior. Beginning with a tenderly picked acoustic guitar, “Lips of an Angel” quickly builds into a huge overdriven chorus as a power ballad should. Vocalist Austin Winkler sings about an ex-girlfriend calling him in the night, causing repressed feelings to come hurtling back. The song builds to a simple but effective guitar solo into the last chorus, and of course the obligatory soft coda reiterating the theme of her call being too late at night and in life.
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Posted July 8, 2011 at 5:57 am | No comments
In 1970, legendary roots rock band Credence Clearwater Revival released Pendulum and shortly thereafter released “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” as a single. The single went Gold in the U.S and has since been a staple of rock radio stations. “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” has that CCR unstoppable freight train rhythm section drive that fans had come to expect, but it is the instantly singable chorus that has made this song a classic. Like usual, the chords are simple, but the melody captivates. This is one to learn how to sing along as you play for sure.
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Posted July 7, 2011 at 5:57 am | No comments
“Sambe Pa Ti,” which translates to “Samba For You,” is an instrumental song from Santana’s second album, Abraxas. On this tune, Carlos Santana plays smoothly but with an aggressive tone over the laid-back samba groove, playing the melody and soloing for almost the entire song.
Jose Feliciano covered “Samba Pa Ti” on his 1982 album Escenas de Amor, adding lyrics that Santana wrote for him specifically to sing, but Santana’s version remains the definitive one. Learn this while listening to the original to get schooled on how to play melody on guitar.
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Posted July 6, 2011 at 5:57 am | No comments
“Pretty On The Outside” is an emotionally charged driving metal song by Welsh heavy metal outfit Bullet For My Valentine. The song, which features guitarists Matt Tuck and Michael Paget playing lightning fast palm muted riffage that builds up to a huge melodic chorus, is the album closer from the band’s latest effort Fever, which has sold over 250,000 copies in the US since its release in April of 2010.
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Posted July 5, 2011 at 2:08 pm | No comments
Blink 182’s smash hit “What’s My Age Again?” was many a teenager’s theme song from late 1999 into 2000. The boisterous pop punk tune, written by bassist/singer Mark Hoppus, tells a story of a young adult (“Nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three”) who can’t seem to act his age. The song begins with a tender-sounding guitar pattern, but quickly jumps into hard-rocking power chords. The song employs a couple of often-used pop punk chord progressions, so if you learn this one, you can play a host of other songs in the genre.
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Posted July 4, 2011 at 2:08 pm | No comments
The second single off of Audioslave’s debut self-titled effort, “Like A Stone” shows off the band’s more relaxed side. Following the explosive “Cochise,” “Like A Stone” is a significant departure from Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden’s (the bands that combined to make Audioslave) hard edges. For most of the song, singer Chris Cornell croons over a dark landscape of wavering guitar, a groovy bass line and a simple drum beat. Guitarist Tom Morello does get to have a bit of fun with his crazy sound effects in the bridge, however, as he plays a very melodic solo that sounds like a bending synthesizer.
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