Intermediate guitarists have a wide range of songs to learn from.
Instead of giving you a ton of intermediate guitar songs to learn, I’ve chosen seven songs that cover a significant amount of the theoretical and technical elements you’ll be using in your guitar playing as you advance further.
Among them, these songs should provide you with a solid foundation on which to build and specialize in your preferred genre.
Some of these songs can be played from beginning to end by an intermediate guitarist, while others have sections that you will be able to play as you progress to more advanced levels of playing.
For each song, I will explain the most important musical elements that you can add to your vocabulary.
Nirvana – Smells like teen spirit
Smells Like Teen Spirit, like most Nirvana songs, is an excellent choice for intermediate guitarists looking to put their newly acquired skills to use.
It doesn’t use advanced techniques (such as sweep picking, tapping, and fast legato playing), instead blending more basic elements creatively enough to light up the 1990s and establish a new genre, grunge, on the musical landscape.
Here’s what you can learn from Smells Like Teen Spirit:
A full song
When I was in the early intermediate stages of my guitar playing, I found it difficult to find songs that I could play from beginning to end.
It could be a few bars or an entire section, like the solo, but every song seemed to have something that was out of reach for me.
This is not a major issue. It’s okay to learn 80% of a song because, in the end, what you take away from it is what matters.
However, it’s useful to have a few songs that you can play from beginning to end, and Smells Like Teen Spirit is ideal for that. There are no shredded scale runs, pinch harmonics, complex bends, or tapped notes, and certainly no sweep picking.
Power chords in context
The main riff of the song employs a cool power chord progression. Try experimenting with it, such as changing the chord order or rhythm. This will help you begin to develop a skill that we will discuss soon: songwriting.
Dead notes and left hand muting
To get that scratching rhythmic sound from some of the chords in the riff, mute them with your left hand and convert their notes into what is known as dead notes or ghost notes.
This is accomplished by lightly lifting your left hand fingers while keeping them in contact with the string and strumming with your right hand.
It’s a simple technique (just lift your fingers slightly), but it can be difficult to play on time.
Dead note practice improves rhythmic precision and adds a percussive element to your playing. Smells Like Teen Spirit is an excellent example of how this technique can be used creatively. You can also refer to this lesson for a more detailed explanation of dead notes.
Easy to start writing songs
Guitar playing and songwriting are two separate skills that complement one another. This means that it’s easier to write songs if you can play the guitar, and vice versa: while you’re writing songs, you’re learning things that will help you play the guitar better.
The main reason many intermediate guitar students don’t write songs is that they believe it’s too difficult, that they’ll only be able to do so after they improve their guitar skills even more, or, worse, that songwriting is a gift that comes naturally and that they lack.
The truth is that if you already have some guitar skills, the barrier to entry into songwriting is relatively low.
That threshold is even lower in music genres such as punk and grunge.
When I first started writing songs, I was mostly into Punk rock, which was a good thing because many Punk songs were simple. As a result, I was able to use techniques that I was already fluent in while focusing solely on the creative aspect of songwriting.
The same goes for grunge.
If you like heavy metal or jazz, you may want to venture out and write songs in more beginner-friendly genres such as punk, grunge, folk, and blues.
Black Sabbath – Paranoid
Except for the solo section, Paranoid is relatively easy to play for an intermediate player. You may want to try the solo, but if you find it too difficult, you can save it for later.
The remaining sections may be challenging, but they should not be out of reach.
Here are some things you can take from it:
Palm Muting
Palm muting is an important technique, particularly in music genres that use guitar distortion.
Like the dead notes explored above, palm muting is not a complete form of muting since that would require complete silence from the guitar.
Instead, it dampens the notes (or chords) to create the chug-chug-chug sound. They are performed with the right hand resting lightly on the strings to which you want to apply the effect.
In Paranoid, palm muting is used on the majority of the power chords in the verse riff.
Controlled hammer ons
Getting hammer ons and pull offs right, on time, and at speed can be one of the most difficult challenges for intermediate guitarists.
Paranoid’s opening riff employs two alternating rhythmic patterns interspersed with hammer ons, pull offs, and picked notes.
This can be difficult at first, but it’s an essential exercise for developing rhythmic control during hammer ons and pull offs.
Guitar solo
Because the solo is a musician’s opportunity to shine, many guitarists incorporate fast notes, wide bends, and complex rhythmic patterns (among other things) to make their solo more intricate.
This may make many solos out of reach for intermediate guitar players, as it is most likely the case with parts of Paranoid’s solo.
Having said that, there are still things you can learn from this solo. Here are some of them:
• Listening. Find out what makes a good solo.
• Learn it at a much slower pace. It shouldn’t be too difficult, and you’ll still learn important musical concepts.
Gary Moore – Still Got The Blues
This song contains a wealth of musical knowledge that will be useful to both blues and non-blues musicians.
It also includes two guitar parts, so I’ll explain what you can take from each separately.
Lead guitar
Blues guitar licks
Guitar licks are sprinkled throughout Still Got The Blues.
This should help you understand the importance of using guitar licks correctly and provide you with a large number of blues licks to expand your guitar lick vocabulary.
Guitar Phrasing Techniques
This song uses a variety of guitar phrasing techniques, including string bending, slides, and vibrato.
Learning these techniques is an important part of electric guitar playing; however, keep in mind that they are not something you can learn once and forget about.
Even the most advanced guitarists are constantly refining their vibrato or getting creative with how they bend strings.
This means that after learning the fundamentals of such techniques, you should be able to see them used in a variety of ways by great musicians.
In Still Got The Blues, Gary Moore makes good use of these techniques.
Melodic Soloing
When I ask an intermediate guitar student to compose his first lick or solo, the student almost always makes the same mistake: he uses too many notes.
It’s the same mistake I made as a student when a teacher asked me to improvise.
What’s the reason?
In my case, I was trying to prove to the teacher that I had learned my scales rather than coming up with a melody.
In most cases, the student seems to be concerned about “using the right notes, and as many of them as possible” rather than coming up with a tune.
The solo section of Still Got The Blues is an excellent example of how to create a melody with long notes, slow bends, and rests.
The solo contains fast sections (which you may not be able to play yet), but Gary Moore uses fast notes sparingly in the solo, to create excitement, not all the time.
Rhythmical subdivisions
Still Got The Blues is in compound meter rather than from the more commonly used simple meter.
The licks and solos also employ a wide range of rhythmic patterns. Creating great melodies entails not only using the right notes but also creating rhythms that are coherent but have enough variation to keep them interesting.
Gary Moore certainly does a good job with this.
Rhythm guitar
Broken chords
Broken chords are a common technique for creating a song’s rhythm section, and they can be found in many great songs.
To play a broken chord, you pick the notes of a chord one by one, rather than strumming them. These are similar to arpeggios, which are also the notes of a chord played individually, however arpeggio playing implies these notes are played in order, rather than according to fingering of the chord.
The majority of the rhythmic part in Still Got The Blues is made up of broken chords, which provides a good exercise in using this widely used technique and demonstrates how it can be used creatively in songwriting.
Less Common Chords
The most commonly used chords are major, minor, and dominant 7th chords, which you have most likely learned by now.
Chords do not become more difficult to learn as you progress, but chords that are less commonly used, such as the sixth and ninth chords, require more care when used in a musical context.
Thus, as you learn the rhythm section of this song, you will not only expand your chord vocabulary, but you will also be able to see how these chords are used in a musical context.
David Bowie – Rebel Rebel
This song should be easy to learn because it uses a lot of repetition. However, you can learn some valuable lessons from it.
String skipping
The main riff in Rebel Rebel is not particularly difficult, but includes challenging parts due to the wide intervals between some notes.
This requires you to skip strings rather than playing notes on adjacent strings, which is more difficult.
It is also something you should practice because you will undoubtedly encounter string skipping in the songs you are learning, and you will be limited if you do not use it in the music you compose.
Repetition – role of guitar riff
A guitar riff is meant to be repeated, as demonstrated clearly in this song.
When I first started jamming with friends, I felt like I had to constantly come up with new ideas, even if I was playing rhythm.
This inevitably annoyed others who were struggling to improvise to a constantly changing riff.
Many guitarists make this mistake when they first start playing with other people.
There is this belief that if we don’t constantly come up with new ideas, we will be perceived as boring.
The truth is that, as the riff in Rebel Rebel clearly demonstrates, a rhythm guitarist can be extremely effective when playing the same thing repeatedly.
I would also point out that even guitar soloists can fall into the trap of constantly coming up with new ideas.
If you study great guitar solos, you will notice that the guitarist is often not introducing new ideas with each bar, but rather experimenting with the same rhythmic or melodic ideas in different forms and variations.
Led Zeppelin – Rock N Roll
This song used to be difficult for me, owing primarily to its speed.
If that’s the case, start at a slower pace and gradually increase the speed until you’re comfortable doing so.
Infusing blues into rock
The main riff of Rock N Roll best exemplifies the blues’ influence on rock music. If you play rock, blues, or both, this is a riff you should know.
Quarter tone bends
To play a quarter bend, gently bend the string but not enough to reach the tone of the next fret (a half bend).
This minor effect can have a significant impact on a riff, as seen in Rock and Roll, which employs quarter tone bends on low notes almost every other bar.
If you play the same riff without these minor bends, it loses its spice.
Solo – pick and choose cool licks
The guitar solo in Rock N Roll includes advanced techniques such as double stop bends and fast playing.
However, many parts are learnable by an intermediate player. Pick and choose what you like and can learn from this solo, and then learn them in isolation to expand your vocabulary with quality licks.
The Who – Behind blue eyes
Behind Blue Eyes is one of the best songs in rock music, and it also contains a wealth of musical knowledge for an intermediate guitarist.
Let’s get to it.
Intricate broken chord picking
Though the chords used in this song are mostly open and simple to play, the picking on the broken chords is very intricate.
It is thus challenging for your right hand and helps you improve your picking technique.
Intricate strumming
The broken chords feature intricate picking, but the strummed sections also make extensive use of rhythmic subdivisions.
Practicing these parts improves your strumming technique.
Suspended chords
The chord progression for Behind Blue Eyes makes extensive use of suspended chords. In fact, the song begins with a suspended chord (Esus 4).
Suspended chords are no more difficult to learn than major and minor chords, but they must be resolved carefully to create a beautiful effect, as seen in the song.
Rainbow – Since you’ve been gone
Ritchie Blackmore’s intro riff to Since You’ve Been Gone is one of rock’s most iconic riffs.
Unlike the riff to Rock N Roll, it has less blues influences and leans more toward the classical side of classic rock.
Here’s what you can learn from it:
Rests
The intro riff to Since You’ve Been Gone is a series of power chords made interesting by the strategic use of silence in between.
The abrupt rests make the riff stand out and, at times, create an effect of syncopation – accenting a note (or chord) where it is not expected.
Verses – inverted chords
Throughout the verses, Ritchie Blackmore plays quiet broken chords.
These include inverted chords (D/F# and G/B).
A chord is inverted when the root is not in the bass and the note to be played in the bass is written after the slash. For example, D/F# is a D major chord with F# in the bass, whereas G/B is a G major chord with B in the bass.
Blending chords in root position and chords in inversion is a sophisticated compositional technique that Ritchie Blackmore masters with grace.
Licks and outro solo
On the bridge and outro, Blackmore performs solos that make good use of the most common guitar phrasing techniques, including slides, bends, vibrato, hammer ons, and pull offs.
It’s worth noting the use of hammer ons and pull offs to ornament notes, called a trill. A trill is a series of hammer ons and pull offs on a note a fret or two higher than the original notes. This trills lesson delves deeper into the technique.
Intermediate Guitar Song Vocabulary
In my later stages of intermediate guitar playing, I became concerned that there were very few songs that I could play note for note from beginning to end, so I discussed the matter with my teacher at the time.
He asked me if playing covers was one of my main goals, and I said no.
My goal was (and still is) to create my own music, and having a large repertoire of songs under my belt was not the quickest way to achieve it.
The takeaway here is that the number of intermediate songs you know should be determined by your goals.
Because what matters is not how many songs you know, but what you learn from them.
For example, if you’ve learned how to use palm muting, string bending, or a rhythmic pattern from a song, you’re going to encounter those techniques again in the future, whether you play covers or create your own music.
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