Israa
Verified buyer
12/23/21
amazing course
thanks a lot
All-Around Rock
The Rhythm & Riffing Styles of Rock's Greatest Players
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TrueFire
Educator
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About this course
All Around Rock is a collection of TrueFire lessons curated by Total Guitar Editor, Chris Bird. Chris’ selection of lessons from top TrueFire educators is designed to help you take your rock rhythm playing to the next level.
”For most gigging guitarists, rhythm playing is our bread and butter. Though a blazing solo gives you a moment in the spotlight, the simple truth is that most of our time is spent playing rhythm.
Most rock and pop songs are vocal-led and most guitar parts are based around strummed chords, ostinato riffs or simple melodic figures. With that in mind, I’ve compiled this selection of lessons for intermediate level players on the rhythm and riffing styles of some of rock’s greatest guitarists.
The course kicks off with Jeff Scheetz’s ‘Solidify’ lesson, a juicy funk-rock riff that’ll help you get your groove on, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello style. It’s all about feel and keeping your pick hand moving constantly as you change between the E7 triad, the muted stabs and the single-note lines.
And if you’re really feeling that funky single-note vibe, I recommend you check out Jeff’s ‘Tommy Boy’ lesson too. Inspired by the late, great Tommy Bolin, these blues-scale ideas can be applied in most funk-rock styles, from classic to contemporary.
Staying on the funk-rock theme, I’ve also chosen Jeff’s ‘Octave Slip’ lesson, which reminds me of early 90s Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, but octave shapes are often used in punk and other styles too.
Next, I want to draw your attention to ‘Rokken’. Drawing on some obvious George Lynch influences, this is a fantastic lesson on power-chord riffs and how employing a few extra shapes can elevate them.
Angus Clark’s ‘Nu Metal Ostinato’ lesson gives you an alternative take on the power-chord theme, adding melodic notes into the mix. Nu metal it may be, but Angus is outlining a concept that can be found throughout the history of metal, used by everyone from Black Sabbath to Mastodon and beyond. There’s a lot of mileage in this idea.
I also wanted to include a tutorial that would help you improve your picking technique, and Jeff’s Randy Rhoads style lesson ‘I Know’ is a great workout. There are four bars of music but the main part of the exercise is a mere three notes long – the repeating ‘gallop riff’ played in bars 1 to 3.
I recommend you use TrueFire’s speed tool here. Either practice within your comfort zone or push the tempo to develop your speed picking – it’s up to you.
These are just a few of the highlights from my curated collection and there’s plenty more to learn once you get inside, whatever style of rock you play. Every lesson is self-contained, so feel free to dip in and choose the ones that interest you the most. Let’s get rocking!”
Who better than the top editors of our cherished guitar magazines to lend their eyes, ears and guitar acumen to help guide how we put our precious practice time to optimal use? Thanks Chris!
You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson.
You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are also included to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s dig in with Total Guitar Editor Chris Bird's curated collection of TrueFire lessons!
”For most gigging guitarists, rhythm playing is our bread and butter. Though a blazing solo gives you a moment in the spotlight, the simple truth is that most of our time is spent playing rhythm.
Most rock and pop songs are vocal-led and most guitar parts are based around strummed chords, ostinato riffs or simple melodic figures. With that in mind, I’ve compiled this selection of lessons for intermediate level players on the rhythm and riffing styles of some of rock’s greatest guitarists.
The course kicks off with Jeff Scheetz’s ‘Solidify’ lesson, a juicy funk-rock riff that’ll help you get your groove on, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello style. It’s all about feel and keeping your pick hand moving constantly as you change between the E7 triad, the muted stabs and the single-note lines.
And if you’re really feeling that funky single-note vibe, I recommend you check out Jeff’s ‘Tommy Boy’ lesson too. Inspired by the late, great Tommy Bolin, these blues-scale ideas can be applied in most funk-rock styles, from classic to contemporary.
Staying on the funk-rock theme, I’ve also chosen Jeff’s ‘Octave Slip’ lesson, which reminds me of early 90s Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, but octave shapes are often used in punk and other styles too.
Next, I want to draw your attention to ‘Rokken’. Drawing on some obvious George Lynch influences, this is a fantastic lesson on power-chord riffs and how employing a few extra shapes can elevate them.
Angus Clark’s ‘Nu Metal Ostinato’ lesson gives you an alternative take on the power-chord theme, adding melodic notes into the mix. Nu metal it may be, but Angus is outlining a concept that can be found throughout the history of metal, used by everyone from Black Sabbath to Mastodon and beyond. There’s a lot of mileage in this idea.
I also wanted to include a tutorial that would help you improve your picking technique, and Jeff’s Randy Rhoads style lesson ‘I Know’ is a great workout. There are four bars of music but the main part of the exercise is a mere three notes long – the repeating ‘gallop riff’ played in bars 1 to 3.
I recommend you use TrueFire’s speed tool here. Either practice within your comfort zone or push the tempo to develop your speed picking – it’s up to you.
These are just a few of the highlights from my curated collection and there’s plenty more to learn once you get inside, whatever style of rock you play. Every lesson is self-contained, so feel free to dip in and choose the ones that interest you the most. Let’s get rocking!”
Who better than the top editors of our cherished guitar magazines to lend their eyes, ears and guitar acumen to help guide how we put our precious practice time to optimal use? Thanks Chris!
You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson.
You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are also included to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s dig in with Total Guitar Editor Chris Bird's curated collection of TrueFire lessons!
What you'll learn
- Play barre chords with thirds prominently featured
- Execute arpeggiated figures using octaves and open strings
- Use chord inversions and arpeggios for variation
- Play clean 16th note ostinato patterns with palm muting at high gain
- Maintain groove by feeling the backbeat (2 and 4) rather than counting subdivisions
Release date: 07/07/2021 • 1h 04m runtime
Sample lessons
Solidify
Rhythm #1
I Know
Rhythm #49
Nu Metal Ostinato
Performance
Nu Metal Ostinato
Breakdown
What's included
19 lessons • 14 charts • 14 Jam Tracks
All-Around Rock
All Around Rock is a collection of TrueFire lessons curated by Total Guitar Editor, Chris Bird. Chris’ selection of lessons from top TrueFire educators is designed to help you take your rock rhythm playing to the next level.
”For most gigging guitarists, rhythm playing is our bread and butter. Though a blazing solo gives you a moment in the spotlight, the simple truth is that most of our time is spent playing rhythm.
Most rock and pop songs are vocal-led and most guitar parts are based around strummed chords, ostinato riffs or simple melodic figures. With that in mind, I’ve compiled this selection of lessons for intermediate level players on the rhythm and riffing styles of some of rock’s greatest guitarists.
The course kicks off with Jeff’s ‘Solidify’ lesson, a juicy funk-rock riff that’ll help you get your groove on, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello style. It’s all about feel and keeping your pick hand moving constantly as you change between the E7 triad, the muted stabs and the single-note lines.
And if you’re really feeling that funky single-note vibe, I recommend you check out Jeff’s ‘Tommy Boy’ lesson too. Inspired by the late, great Tommy Bolin, these blues-scale ideas can be applied in most funk-rock styles, from classic to contemporary.
Staying on the funk-rock theme, I’ve also chosen Jeff’s ‘Octave Slip’ lesson, which reminds me of early 90s Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, but octave shapes are often used in punk and other styles too.
Next, I want to draw your attention to ‘Rokken’. Drawing on some obvious George Lynch influences, this is a fantastic lesson on power-chord riffs and how employing a few extra shapes can elevate them.
Angus Clark’s ‘Nu Metal Ostinato’ lesson gives you an alternative take on the power-chord theme, adding melodic notes into the mix. Nu metal it may be, but Angus is outlining a concept that can be found throughout the history of metal, used by everyone from Black Sabbath to Mastodon and beyond. There’s a lot of mileage in this idea.
I also wanted to include a tutorial that would help you improve your picking technique, and Jeff’s Randy Rhoads style lesson ‘I Know’ is a great workout. There are four bars of music but the main part of the exercise is a mere three notes long – the repeating ‘gallop riff’ played in bars 1 to 3.
I recommend you use TrueFire’s speed tool here. Either practice within your comfort zone or push the tempo to develop your speed picking – it’s up to you.
These are just a few of the highlights from my curated collection and there’s plenty more to learn once you get inside, whatever style of rock you play. Every lesson is self-contained, so feel free to dip in and choose the ones that interest you the most. Let’s get rocking!”
Who better than the top editors of our cherished guitar magazines to lend their eyes, ears and guitar acumen to help guide how we put our precious practice time to optimal use? Thanks Chris!
You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson.
You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are also included to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s dig in with Total Guitar Editor Chris Bird's curated collection of TrueFire lessons!
”For most gigging guitarists, rhythm playing is our bread and butter. Though a blazing solo gives you a moment in the spotlight, the simple truth is that most of our time is spent playing rhythm.
Most rock and pop songs are vocal-led and most guitar parts are based around strummed chords, ostinato riffs or simple melodic figures. With that in mind, I’ve compiled this selection of lessons for intermediate level players on the rhythm and riffing styles of some of rock’s greatest guitarists.
The course kicks off with Jeff’s ‘Solidify’ lesson, a juicy funk-rock riff that’ll help you get your groove on, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello style. It’s all about feel and keeping your pick hand moving constantly as you change between the E7 triad, the muted stabs and the single-note lines.
And if you’re really feeling that funky single-note vibe, I recommend you check out Jeff’s ‘Tommy Boy’ lesson too. Inspired by the late, great Tommy Bolin, these blues-scale ideas can be applied in most funk-rock styles, from classic to contemporary.
Staying on the funk-rock theme, I’ve also chosen Jeff’s ‘Octave Slip’ lesson, which reminds me of early 90s Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, but octave shapes are often used in punk and other styles too.
Next, I want to draw your attention to ‘Rokken’. Drawing on some obvious George Lynch influences, this is a fantastic lesson on power-chord riffs and how employing a few extra shapes can elevate them.
Angus Clark’s ‘Nu Metal Ostinato’ lesson gives you an alternative take on the power-chord theme, adding melodic notes into the mix. Nu metal it may be, but Angus is outlining a concept that can be found throughout the history of metal, used by everyone from Black Sabbath to Mastodon and beyond. There’s a lot of mileage in this idea.
I also wanted to include a tutorial that would help you improve your picking technique, and Jeff’s Randy Rhoads style lesson ‘I Know’ is a great workout. There are four bars of music but the main part of the exercise is a mere three notes long – the repeating ‘gallop riff’ played in bars 1 to 3.
I recommend you use TrueFire’s speed tool here. Either practice within your comfort zone or push the tempo to develop your speed picking – it’s up to you.
These are just a few of the highlights from my curated collection and there’s plenty more to learn once you get inside, whatever style of rock you play. Every lesson is self-contained, so feel free to dip in and choose the ones that interest you the most. Let’s get rocking!”
Who better than the top editors of our cherished guitar magazines to lend their eyes, ears and guitar acumen to help guide how we put our precious practice time to optimal use? Thanks Chris!
You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson.
You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are also included to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s dig in with Total Guitar Editor Chris Bird's curated collection of TrueFire lessons!
Solidify
On this riff I am really just emphasizing the groove. The E7 sets it in a bluesy feel, but our overdrive keeps it a bit nasty, and then riffing through basically the E minor pentatonic scale makes it seem a little funky. You can actually change the riff around quite a bit as there is plenty of room between notes to experiment. Using the right pickup setting on my custom Overture guitar makes this one sound just right. Let's start this rhythm course off with the mantra we will be coming back to many times on our funky stuff - "Keep the right hand moving up and down at ALL times"!! Thank you.
Indie
While this one may be best played with horn-rimmed glasses and jet black hair covering at least one eye, wearing black "skinny" jeans, it can also be beneficial to those of us who are not alt rockers. There are some really good stretches here, and of course the droning open strings give it a stable feel.
Deeper
Once again, what does this riff use to make it sound interesting? Inversions. Honestly, knowing your inversions and being able to use them effectively is maybe the most important thing you could do for your playing. Instead of using common shapes for the first three chords I am using inversions to keep the interesting sounds going. Then we follow those up with a Dm9 chord, which is a little different, and just adds to the vibe.
Tommy Boy
This riff is from the late great Tommy Bolin. It really shows what you can do with a simple line. The interesting thing about this one is the half steps involved where you may normally think of whole steps. Really cool riff with some groovy syncopation as well.
Octave slip
Octave shapes are an important technique to master and this riff will help with that. Whether you are doing a Wes Montgomery style tune or more of an Indie rock thing, having the ability to slide around with your octave shapes is valuable. Remember to use your first finger to lay on the next string over and mute it - that way you can still strum through the three strings, while actually only sounding the two that are playing the octaves. Octaves make a great substitute for power chords when you don't want as much harmonic information to sound out in your riff.
D open up
Using a drone note, like in this case the open D string, can be a cool way to tie a riff together. While we are moving on the G string, that open D keeps the foundation. This is heard in many songs (think Collective Soul) and can be used in a rock context that is heavy, or more "indie" feeling.
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