Guitar styles riff by riff
Each style has a right hand, a sound and a handful of moves. Pick a style: its riffs play on the guitar in the page, every note lights up, and the tab waits for you to play it back, slower if you need.
Every riff, every style
Filter by style, pick a riff and it plays on the neck. Loop it and slow it down while you learn.
Pick a style
Each lesson has the riffs of the style on a playable guitar.
blues guitar
Blues guitar
The shuffle, the turnaround and the minor pentatonic box.
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rock guitar riffs
Rock guitar
Power chords, open-string riffs and palm muting.
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metal guitar riffs
Metal guitar
The gallop, palm-mute chugs and chromatic power chords.
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funk guitar
Funk guitar
Sixteenth-note scratching, ninth chords and single-note grooves.
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jazz guitar chords
Jazz guitar
Shell voicings of the ii-V-I, comping, and a first jazz line.
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reggae guitar
Reggae guitar
The skank on the off-beat, short chords high on the neck.
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fingerstyle guitar
Fingerstyle guitar
Travis picking, arpeggios and folk melodies with the fingers.
Open the lesson →How these lessons work
Every lesson puts the riffs of a style on a guitar in the page: pick one, it plays on the neck with each note lit, its frets stay marked and its tablature appears below. Loop it, slow it to 50 or 75%, then play it back yourself with the mouse, a finger or the computer keyboard.
Where to start
New to the guitar? The free guitar course covers chords, strumming and a first solo. Then rock and blues are natural first styles; funk and reggae train the rhythm hand; jazz and fingerstyle open the harmony.
Everything runs in your browser, free and without an account. When you want to record, add drums or loop a part, GOONS Studio opens with a free trial.
Frequently asked
Are these lessons free?
Yes. Every style lesson and its playable guitar are free, with no account and nothing to install.
Which style should I learn first?
Rock or blues: power chords, a shuffle and the minor pentatonic box get you playing riffs and solos within weeks.
Are the riffs and pieces copyright-free?
They are either in the public domain (classical pieces, traditional tunes and patterns) or original GOONS material written for these lessons, free to play and record.
Turn a style into a track
The guitar is free. GOONS Studio adds drum machines, synths and a sequencer that play together, with a free trial and no card required.
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