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This rock guitar lesson will explain the most commonly used chords and scales that are used in rock. Rock music takes its roots in blues; so many of the components of rock will also be common to blues.

In rock guitar the most common scales used for soloing are the minor pentatonic, major pentatonic and blues scales. With rock music there are common chords that are used, the most common being the 5 chord or power chord, the major and minor chords.

The 5 chord or power chord is simply the root and the perfect fifth and can be played just using these two notes. This chord is used extensively in hard rock, rock, punk and metal. The chord is commonly played with the root on the low E string or on the A string, but a 5 chord can also be played less commonly over the higher strings as well. As most chords are constructed using a root and fifth, it is important to know how to use power chords as they are a stepping stone to learning more complex ones.

Rock guitar uses the major and minor chords, in the form of triads, extensively. If we take a 5 chord and simply add a flat 3, we create a minor chord. If we add a major 3 we create a major chord. It is common in rock guitar to use these chords in the open position on the fretboard, but they can be played on any part of the fretboard.

In rock, the most commonly scale used for soloing is the minor pentatonic scale. It is the “bread and butter” scale of rock. This scale is extremely versatile and should be the first scale learned when studying rock guitar. The blues scale is also very useful, and is created by simply adding a flat five to the minor pentatonic.

The major pentatonic scale and the major scale are commonly used in rock guitar playing. Both of these scales will give a brighter sound to that of the minor pentatonic. These scales can be applied to many different styles of rock music from pop to heavy rock to country.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this rock guitar lesson, it should give you a clear understanding of what you need to learn to play rock music. Keep practicing, and best of luck with the guitar.

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