Ask the expert – online rock & pop lessons for acoustic guitar

Ask the expert – online rock & pop lessons for acoustic guitar

We have a large archive of online lessons teaching individual songs. Worship songs are covered for guitar, keyboard and bass but we’ve also got some 70 lessons teaching classic rock & pop songs for guitar. These are presented on the website in order of difficulty – stage 1 is for complete beginners and suitable for both acoustic and electric players and the later stages quite advanced. You can read the detail about each of the lessons here.

Geoff Whitt from Newfoundland, Canada emailed asking for advice on which of our online lessons teaching rock & pop guitar are suitable for acoustic players.

Whilst many of the later stages are more focussed on electric, we do have some lessons specifically for acoustic guitar.

Online Rock & Pop Guitar Stage 4

In Stage 4 we use all your previous knowledge to start to play the actual guitar parts contained on your favourite albums. We also learn about riffs combining open and fretted notes, more new extended and bar chords, 7th chords and arpeggios

Imagine – John Lennon

This lesson iwill really help you speed up your guitar chord changes when moving to the tricky F chord. You will also learn some nice Dm and G7 chord changes too.

Online Rock & Pop Guitar Stage 5

Stage 5 is where guitar playing really starts to get exciting as we take you through some exact guitar parts of well known rock & pop songs. You’ll pick up some great techniques too e.g. strengthening your bar chord ability and knowledge, alternative tunings, right hand picking skills, string bending, playing riffs in 3rds and octave based soloing

Wake Me Up When September Ends – Green Day

Learn all the right chords on the guitar, arpeggio picking parts and even the solo so you can play along with the original track, note for note.

Summer of 69 – Bryan Adams

Develop guitar right hand picking skills as we break down how to play all chords to the song and show the classic riff, note for note 3.Kashmir – Led Zeppelin Alternative tunings! We show you how to play all the parts to this brilliant Led Zeppelin song using the correct DADGAD tuning. The step by step way we break each section down makes it easy!

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding

Increase your knowledge of barre chords all over the neck as you learn Otis Redding’s timeless masterpiece

Stage 6

Stage 6 combines learning some great guitar parts note for note, with essential modern guitar technique. So you’ll learn pentatonics in all 5 positions to cover the whole neck, some useful cheat acoustic chords in G, where to use octaves in soloing, how to play funk and disco rhythms, some great finger style playing and much more.

You’re Beautiful – James Blunt

By learning this track you will also understand how to play any song on guitar in any major key using a capo and 1 finger chord changes based around the key of G.

Bohemian – Dandy Warhols

By learning this song you will also learn how to use E and A shaped barre chords all over the neck on guitar 7.Fade Out (Street Spirit) – Radiohead Develop your guitar finger picking technique as we break down the exact parts for this song bar by bar and build it up in sections

Stage 7

By learning all the material in stage 7 you’ll give your rhythm and lead playing a serious workout. You’ll learn some great rock guitar parts note for note, some more cheat acoustic chords in G and E, all 7 positions of the major scale for lead guitar, plus the classic intro to Johny B Goode in detail. A must for develop your kit bag of blues and classic rock licks.

Green Day – Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

Billie Joe Armstrong’s wonderful acoustic guitar part will teach you about arpeggios, picking technique and 1 finger chord changes in G. In this lesson we break the parts, and show how to play it properly

Lead Guitar – The 7 Major Scale Positions

Another essential building block for lead guitarists is learning how to play the major scale over the entire neck. This lesson shows you the 7 positions that will allow you to play all the right notes in any key. A great starter all sorts of lead guitar playing and a first step towards learning about modal playing

High and Dry – Radiohead

An early Radiohead classic that combines octaves with some very usable slash chords in the key of E. Really useful stuff for rhythm and acoustic guitar players

Stage 8

Every Breath You Take – The Police

Add9 chords are a wonderful addition to any acoustic and rhythm players repertoire. As we teach you this song you will learn the shape that will allow you to play add9 chords anywhere on the guitar neck