The 70s Guitar
1970–1979
The 1970s were the golden age of guitar. Hard rock, heavy metal, punk, prog and southern rock all exploded at once. The electric guitar was the dominant instrument in popular music, and every week brought a new guitar hero.
Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Queen and Boston represent the breadth of 70s guitar. From Gilmour's melodic solos to Van Halen's tapping revolution, this decade redefined the instrument.
If you want to learn guitar seriously, the 70s is the richest decade to explore.
A
AC/DC 6
Aerosmith 11
- 1 Dream On TAB 1973
- 2 Dream On - Famous Riffs LESSON 1973
- 3 Mama Kin LESSON 1971
- 4 One Way Street Brad Whitford TAB 1974
- 5 One Way Street Joe Perry TAB 1974
- 6 Sweet Emotion TAB 1975
- 7 Sweet Emotion Pt.1 - Rhythm Guitar Parts LESSON 1975
- 8 Train Kept A-Rollin' TAB 1974
- 9 Walk This Way TAB 1975
- 10 Walk This Way Pt.1 - Rhythm Guitar Parts LESSON 1975
- 11 Walk This Way Pt.2 - Guitar Solos - Joe Perry LESSON 1975
Ten Years After 1
Zohar Argov 1
B
Steve Miller Band 2
The Allman Brothers Band 2
The Beatles 6
Bolling, Claude 1
Boston 11
- 1 Foreplay/Long Time LESSON 1976
- 2 Foreplay/Long Time - Intro LESSON 1976
- 3 Foreplay/Long Time - Main Solo LESSON 1976
- 4 Foreplay/Long Time - Part 2 LESSON 1976
- 5 More Than a Feeling TAB 1976
- 6 More Than A Feeling Pt.1 - All Acoustic Guitar Rhythm Parts LESSON 1976
- 7 More Than A Feeling Pt.2 - All Electric Guitar Rhythm Parts LESSON 1976
- 8 Peace of Mind LESSON 1976
- 9 Peace Of Mind - Famous Riffs LESSON 1976
- 10 Rock & Roll Band LESSON 1976
- 11 Smokin' LESSON 1976
David Bowie 5
The Doobie Brothers 3
Blues Brothers 1
Jimmy Buffett 1
C
John Carpenter 1
Stray Cats 4
Eric Clapton 4
Commodores 1
Bad Company 2
Alice Cooper 2
Cosma, Vladimir 1
Christopher Cross 1
Blue Oyster Cult 4
D
John Denver 3
Rick Derringer 1
The Doors 1
E
The Eagles 2
F
José Feliciano 1
Pink Floyd 30
- 1 Another Brick In The Wall TAB 1979
- 2 Another Brick in the Wall - Solo LESSON 1979
- 3 Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 TAB 1979
- 4 Atom Heart Mother TAB 1970
- 5 Brain Damage LESSON 1973
- 6 Breathe LESSON 1973
- 7 Comfortably Numb TAB 1979
- 8 Dogs TAB 1977
- 9 Echoes (Live at Pompeii) TAB 1971
- 10 Eclipse LESSON 1973
- 11 Fat Old Sun TAB 1971
- 12 Goodbye Blue Sky LESSON 1979
- 13 Have a Cigar TAB 1975
- 14 Hey You TAB 1979
- 15 In the Flesh? LESSON 1979
- 16 Money TAB 1973
- 17 Mother TAB 1979
- 18 Nobody Home LESSON 1975
- 19 Pigs TAB 1976
- 20 Run Like Hell COVER 1979
- 21 Shine On You Crazy Diamond COVER 1975
- 22 Shine On You Crazy Diamond part II TAB 1975
- 23 Shine On You Crazy Diamond part III TAB 1975
- 24 The Great Gig in the Sky COVER 1973
- 25 The Thin Ice LESSON 1979
- 26 Time TAB 1973
- 27 Us and Them LESSON 1973
- 28 Welcome to the Machine LESSON 1975
- 29 Wish You Were Here TAB 1975
- 30 Young Lust LESSON 1979
Foreigner 1
Peter Frampton 1
Aretha Franklin 1
G
Rory Gallagher 2
Michael Schenker Group 1
H
Van Halen 22
- 1 Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love LESSON 1978
- 2 Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love TAB 1978
- 3 Amsterdam LESSON 1979
- 4 Atomic Punk LESSON 1978
- 5 Beautiful Girls LESSON 1979
- 6 Bottoms Up! LESSON 1979
- 7 D.O.A. LESSON 1979
- 8 Dance the Night Away LESSON 1979
- 9 Eruption TAB 1978
- 10 Feel Your Love Tonight LESSON 1978
- 11 I'm The One LESSON 1979
- 12 Ice Cream Man LESSON 1978
- 13 Jamie's Cryin' LESSON 1978
- 14 Light Up the Sky LESSON 1979
- 15 Little Dreamer LESSON 1978
- 16 On Fire LESSON 1978
- 17 Pretty Woman LESSON 1979
- 18 Runnin' with the Devil TAB 1978
- 19 Somebody Get Me a Doctor LESSON 1979
- 20 Spanish Fly LESSON 1979
- 21 Women in Love... LESSON 1979
- 22 You Really Got Me TAB 1978
George Harrison 2
Molly Hatchet 1
Talking Heads 1
Heart 4
The Hollies 2
J
Michael Jackson 1
Billy Joel 4
Elton John 5
K
Kansas 18
- 1 Carry On Wayward Son TAB 1976
- 2 Carry On Wayward Son - Bridge LESSON 1976
- 3 Carry On Wayward Son - Instrumental Section & Solo LESSON 1976
- 4 Carry On Wayward Son - Main Riffs & Intro Solo LESSON 1976
- 5 Carry On Wayward Son - Outro Solos LESSON 1976
- 6 Carry On Wayward Son - Verse & Chorus LESSON 1976
- 7 Carry On Wayward Son Pt.1 - Main Riffs & Intro Solo LESSON 1976
- 8 Carry On Wayward Son Pt.2 - Verse & Chorus LESSON 1976
- 9 Carry On Wayward Son Pt.3 - Instrumental Section & Solo LESSON 1976
- 10 Carry On Wayward Son Pt.4 - Bridge LESSON 1974
- 11 Carry On Wayward Son Pt.5 - Outro Solos LESSON 1976
- 12 Dust in the Wind TAB 1977
- 13 Dust In The Wind - Chorus, Bridge & Outro LESSON 1977
- 14 Dust In The Wind - Intro & Verse LESSON 1977
- 15 Dust In The Wind - Solo LESSON 1978
- 16 Dust In The Wind Pt.1 - Intro & Verse LESSON 1978
- 17 Dust In The Wind Pt.2 - Chorus, Bridge & Outro LESSON 1978
- 18 Dust In The Wind Pt.3 - Solo LESSON 1977
Kikuchi, Shunsuke 1
Kiss 14
- 1 100,000 Years TAB 1974
- 2 Beth LESSON 1974
- 3 Black Diamond TAB 1974
- 4 Detroit Rock City TAB 1976
- 5 Detroit Rock City - Chords/Riffs LESSON 1976
- 6 Goin' Blind TAB 1974
- 7 I Was Made For Lovin' You LESSON 1979
- 8 Love Gun TAB 1977
- 9 Rock and Roll All Nite - Chords LESSON 1975
- 10 Rock and Roll All Nite - Solo LESSON 1974
- 11 Rock and Roll All Nite Pt.2 - Solo LESSON 1975
- 12 Rock Bottom (Acoustic Intro) TAB 1974
- 13 Shock Me TAB 1974
- 14 Strutter TAB 1974
L
John Lennon 5
Thin Lizzy 2
M
Fleetwood Mac 6
Paul McCartney 3
Don McLean 1
Mountain 2
N
Harry Nilsson 1
O
Electric Light Orchestra 2
Ozzy Osbourne 1
P
Elvis Presley 1
Deep Purple 9
Q
Queen 13
- 1 39 LESSON 1975
- 2 Bohemian Rhapsody TAB 1975
- 3 Don't Stop Me Now TAB 1978
- 4 Fat Bottomed Girls LESSON 1978
- 5 Keep Yourself Alive TAB 1973
- 6 Killer Queen LESSON 1974
- 7 Love of My Life LESSON 1975
- 8 Somebody to Love TAB 1976
- 9 Stone Cold Crazy LESSON 1974
- 10 Tie Your Mother Down LESSON 1976
- 11 We Are the Champions COVER 1977
- 12 We Will Rock You LESSON 1977
- 13 You're My Best Friend LESSON 1975
R
Gerry Rafferty 1
Creedence Clearwater Revival 2
The Romantics 1
Uli Jon Roth 1
Rush 4
S
Black Sabbath 10
Scorpions 7
Bob Seger 3
Lynyrd Skynyrd 10
- 1 Free Bird TAB 1973
- 2 Free Bird - Chords/Rhythms LESSON 1973
- 3 Free Bird Instrumental LESSON 1973
- 4 Free Bird SOLO VIDEO #500!! TAB 1973
- 5 Simple Man TAB 1973
- 6 Sweet Home Alabama TAB 1974
- 7 Sweet Home Alabama Pt.2 - First Solo LESSON 1974
- 8 Sweet Home Alabama Pt.3 - Main Solo LESSON 1974
- 9 Sweet Home Alabama Pt.4 - Piano Solo on Guitar LESSON 1974
- 10 Tuesday's Gone LESSON 1973
Cat Stevens 1
Rod Stewart 1
The Rolling Stones 3
Dire Straits 3
Supertramp 3
T
James Taylor 1
Cheap Trick 1
Robin Trower 2
U
UFO 4
W
Bob Marley & The Wailers 1
Whitesnake 5
The Who 3
Williams, John 1
Bill Withers 2
Y
Neil Young 3
Z
Zamfir, Gheorghe 1
Led Zeppelin 29
- 1 Achilles Last Stand TAB 1975
- 2 All My Love LESSON 1979
- 3 Black Dog TAB 1971
- 4 Bron-Y-Aur Stomp LESSON 1970
- 5 Bron-Yr-Aur LESSON 1975
- 6 Custard Pie LESSON 1975
- 7 D'yer Mak'er LESSON 1973
- 8 Friends LESSON 1970
- 9 Going to California TAB 1971
- 10 Houses of the Holy LESSON 1975
- 11 Immigrant Song TAB 1970
- 12 Kashmir TAB 1975
- 13 Misty Mountain Hop LESSON 1971
- 14 No Quarter LESSON 1973
- 15 Over the Hills and Far Away TAB 1973
- 16 Rock and Roll TAB 1971
- 17 Rock N Roll - Coda LESSON 1971
- 18 Rock N Roll Pt.1 - All Rhythm Guitar Parts LESSON 1971
- 19 Rock N Roll Pt.2 - Guitar Solo LESSON 1971
- 20 Rock N Roll Pt.3 - Coda LESSON 1971
- 21 Stairway to Heaven TAB 1971
- 22 Stairway to Heaven (Intro) TAB 1971
- 23 Tangerine LESSON 1970
- 24 Ten Years Gone LESSON 1975
- 25 The Ocean LESSON 1973
- 26 The Rain Song COVER 1973
- 27 The Rover TAB 1975
- 28 Trampled Under Foot LESSON 1975
- 29 When the Levee Breaks LESSON 1971
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Guitar in the 1970s
The 70s is the decade where every major guitar genre either started or matured. Led Zeppelin perfected hard rock and planted the seeds of metal. Black Sabbath invented heavy metal. Pink Floyd made guitar solos feel like poetry. Queen layered guitars into orchestral arrangements. And in 1978, Van Halen's debut album changed lead guitar technique overnight with the tapping solo on Eruption.
Meanwhile, punk stripped everything back. The Ramones and Sex Pistols proved you didn't need technique to make powerful music. And Boston, Kansas and Rush built complex, multi-layered guitar arrangements that pushed the boundaries of production.
Gear That Defined the Decade
The Marshall stack became the standard for live rock. The MXR Phase 90 and flanger became essential effects. Gibson Les Pauls dominated hard rock, while Strats held their ground in blues and funk. The Mesa/Boogie Mark I introduced high-gain preamp distortion, changing amp design forever.
Key Genres of the 70s
Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Southern Rock, Punk Rock. Each genre represents a different philosophy of what guitar could be.