Early Rock 'n' Roll

Rock and roll started out as a rowdy combination of many different elements of distinctly American music. Artists like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley found new and exciting ways to mix blues, country, jazz and boogie woogie into a new style that would become known as rock 'n' roll.

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style
Chuck Berry image
No Particular Place to Go Chuck Berry

In this series of song lesson, Mike Olekshy will teach "No Particular Place To Go", by Chuck Berry. Mike will introduce the song and talk about gear and tone, then break down the Chuck in and verse groove. Rhythm lessons for the verse and solo are next, then the main solo followed by the outro solo. We'll do a full performance play along and a single guitar performance, and finish with a jam along.

Published: 06/12/2013 Upgrade
Chuck Berry image
Brown Eyed Handsome Man Chuck Berry

Mike will show you the single electric guitar layer in this song. It features an aggressive intro lick using double stops,, barre chords, two solos, and an aggressive strumming approach.

Published: 01/19/2016 Upgrade
Chuck Berry image
Nadine Chuck Berry

In this song tutorial, Anders Mouridsen will break down all the elements of the class rock 'n' roller "Nadine", by Chuck Berry. We'll give you an overview of the song, then look at the gear and tones; after which we'll detail the intro riff. Then we'll look at the verses: one basic, and the other the more advanced that occurs later. A fun additional lesson will be learning the horn part, then we'll end with the play along and the jam along.

Published: 11/07/2012 Upgrade
Chuck Berry image
You Never Can Tell Chuck Berry

In these nine videos, Anders Mouridsen will lay out the simple and fun parts to "You Never Can Tell", by Chuck Berry. Anders will talk a bit about the old style tones, then teach the intro riff. Next you'll learn the simple I-V chord progression, and the boogie pattern. Before we learn the song ending and do the performance and jam along, we'll show you the piano solo and how to solo over the progression.

Published: 05/09/2012 Upgrade
Elvis Presley image
Jailhouse Rock Elvis Presley

In this series of lessons we'll break down the parts of the 50s classic "Jailhouse Rock", as made famous by the inimitable Elvis Presley. The guitarist on the original recording is Scotty Moore, of the fathers of early rock 'n' roll. He tuned down for this song to accommodate Elvis' vocal range. You'll learn the form of the song, the feel of the rhythm, the solo, and play through the whole classic tune with a play along. Let's rock!

Published: 08/17/2010 Upgrade
Elvis Presley image
Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley

In this eight lesson set, Henrik Linde will teach you the rock 'n' roll standard "Heartbreak Hotel" as made famous by Elvis Presley. Henrik will talk about the old school rockabilly tone, and those snappy ensemble hits. He'll clue you in to that classic blues-based rock 'n' roll riff on the IV chord, and also examine the V chord and the turnaround. He'll show you the simple but very cool and effective solo, the slight change in the last verse, and then you'll play along in a full play-through!

Published: 02/18/2011 Upgrade
Elvis Presley image
Love Me Tender Elvis Presley

In this song tutorial, Henrik Linde will teach you "Love Me Tender", as made famous by Elvis Presley. Henrik will talk about the song a bit then the acoustic tone, after which he'll go right into breaking down the verse part. Next up is the chorus section, and the appraoch to the ending of the song. Lastly you'll play along through the song with Henrik, then follow the vocals in the jam along.

Published: 05/23/2012 Upgrade
Elvis Presley image
That's All Right Elvis Presley

In this set of song lessons, Lee Wanner will teach you "That's All Right", by Elvis Presley. Lee will clue you into the overall song and the gear and tones, then launch right in with the acoustic intro, followed by the verse and refrain. Then it's time to look at the electric guitar: first the rhythm elements, then the solo, and finally the outro to the song. We'll conclude with a play along, then you'll take over in the jam along.

Published: 12/19/2012 Upgrade
Elvis Presley image
Burning Love Elvis Presley

In this set of lessons, Sharon Aguilar will teach "Burning Love", recorded and performed by Elvis Presley. Sharon will introduce the song then talk about gear and tone, then teach the intro and verse parts for the two guitars. The parts for the chorus and bridge are next, including a 3rd effected guitar. We'll look at the outro parts for all three guitars before we head to full and single guitar performances, then a jam along.

Published: 07/13/2014 Upgrade
Duane Eddy image
Rebel Rouser Duane Eddy

In this tutorial, Hunter Perrin will teach you "Rebel Rouser", by Duane Eddy. Hunter will give a song overview, then talk about the gear and tone; then he'll break down the classic melody and rhythm parts in E. After that, we'll learn those same parts as they modulate to F, F#, and then G. We'll conclude with a full performance, a single guitar performance, then you'll take over in the jam along.

Published: 09/11/2013 Upgrade
The Ventures image
Walk Don't Run The Ventures

Mike will show you all the parts in this early 60s surf instrumental, from the iconic melody to the rhythm guitar chord progression. There's also the vibrato-bar heavy "surf guitar sounding" technique to dig into.

Published: 04/23/2015 Upgrade
The Ventures image
Perfidia The Ventures

Mike will show you the 2 clean electric guitar layers. One plays the chord progression, while the second plays some vibrato-bar heavy, surf-guitar-sounding melodies.

Published: 01/31/2017 Upgrade