Anyone Can Play Guitar

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Single Note Riffs

Another Girl, Another Planet

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This 1978 track from the Only Ones has to be one of the greatest rock songs of the ’70s. It contains plenty of memorable guitar playing, from Peter Perrett and lead guitarist John Perry.

 

 
I’ve written out the first bit of the intro rhythm guitar and the intro guitar solo below. On the original recording the solo is double tracked with each guitar playing slightly differently. So my transcription is kind of an average of both parts. It’s all based on the E major pentatonic and E major scales.

If there’s overwhelming demand for it I’ll write out the main guitar solo too. Let me know if you’d find that helpful.

Three Gang Of Four Riffs

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In this lesson I’m taking a look at 3 of my favourite riffs from Gang of Four’s Andy Gill. Tab/music can be found below. For a high-quality, downloadable PDF click here.

Get The Sound

According to my research Andy Gill’s famously abrasive guitar sound on Entertainment was achieved by plugging a Fender Strat into a solid state Peavey Classic amp. As usual, in my video I’m just trying to get reasonably close to the right sound with the gear I have. So I’m using my 52 Reissue Tele into an 80s Fender Super Champ. Distortion comes from a Mooer Black Secret distortion pedal, set quite bright with a medium level of gain. A lot of the sound comes from your your hands and fingers though, so give it some attitude and play hard!

Gimme Danger by Iggy & The Stooges

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I’ve had a few requests for this one, and I’m very happy to be returning to The Stooges with this look at possibly my favourite track on the Raw Power album. 

 

I’ve written out some basic music/tab for all the main sections of the song below. With music like this it’s impossible and probably a bit pointless try and to transcribe everything note-for-note. So use my tab as a guide and, once you’ve got the basic idea, feel free to do things your own way. Want a high-quality PDF? Get it here.

Transmission by Joy Division

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Here’s another great, pretty easy to play Joy Division song.

 

 

I’ve written out the music/tab below:

 

 

 

She’s Lost Control by Joy Division

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Quite why I’ve never looked at a Joy Division song before I don’t know. Anyway, here’s a lesson on the classic She’s Lost Control. A great and easy to play song: one barre chord shape is all you need. The bass line is awesome too and works really well played on the guitar.

This is a famous 1979 TV performance of the song:

And here’s my video:

I’ve written out the riffs below. Download a high-quality PDF here. There’s really not much to it; if you know your barre chords then it’s pretty easy. But as I’m always saying, make sure you do the easy stuff really well: pay particular attention to the rhythm.

Shadowplay by Joy Division

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Following my look at She’s Lost Control, here’s another dose of post-punk genius from Joy Division. In this style of music attitude and ideas count for more than technique and guitar heroics, and Bernard Sumner’s guitar parts are easy play but perfectly formed. If you don’t already know it check out the original recording below, as well as a great live TV performance introduced by Tony Wilson.

 

 

And here’s my take on how to play it:

 

Find the music/tab below. If you’d like a high-quality PDF to download, click here.