// Rock guitar pack. Shapes verified by note-spelling against: guitarplayer.com // (Malcolm Young, Hendrix rhythm rules), musicradar.com (Keith Richards grips, // Andy Summers add9), appliedguitartheory.com (triads on string sets), // fundamental-changes.com (open-G translations), justinguitar.com (unison bends). // Power chords — the rock engine room. omit3: works over major or minor. const P5R_6 = { rootStr: 6, offsets: [0, 2, 2, 'x', 'x', 'x'], fingers: [1, 3, 4, 0, 0, 0] } // R-5-R const P5R_5 = { rootStr: 5, offsets: ['x', 0, 2, 2, 'x', 'x'], fingers: [0, 1, 3, 4, 0, 0] } // Full barres. const E_BARRE_MAJ = { rootStr: 6, offsets: [0, 2, 2, 1, 0, 0], fingers: [1, 3, 4, 2, 1, 1] } const A_BARRE_MAJ = { rootStr: 5, offsets: ['x', 0, 2, 2, 2, 0], fingers: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1] } const E_BARRE_MIN = { rootStr: 6, offsets: [0, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0], fingers: [1, 3, 4, 1, 1, 1] } // Open-position big chords (Malcolm Young) — render only when the chord root matches. const OPEN_A = { onlyRoot: 9, frets: ['x', 0, 2, 2, 2, 0], fingers: [0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 0] } const OPEN_G = { onlyRoot: 7, frets: [3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 3], fingers: [2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 3] } const OPEN_D = { onlyRoot: 2, frets: ['x', 'x', 0, 2, 3, 2], fingers: [0, 0, 0, 1, 3, 2] } // Triads on the top string sets — the second-guitar register. const TRIAD_GBE_MAJ = { rootStr: 3, offsets: ['x', 'x', 'x', 0, 0, -2], fingers: [0, 0, 0, 3, 4, 1] } // R-3-5 const TRIAD_GBE_MAJ_INV1 = { rootStr: 1, offsets: ['x', 'x', 'x', 1, 0, 0], fingers: [0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 1] } // 3-5-R const TRIAD_GBE_MIN_INV1 = { rootStr: 1, offsets: ['x', 'x', 'x', 0, 0, 0], fingers: [0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1] } // ♭3-5-R barre const TRIAD_DGB_MAJ = { rootStr: 4, offsets: ['x', 'x', 0, -1, -2, 'x'], fingers: [0, 0, 3, 2, 1, 0] } // R-3-5 const TRIAD_DGB_MIN = { rootStr: 4, offsets: ['x', 'x', 0, -2, -2, 'x'], fingers: [0, 0, 3, 1, 1, 0] } // R-♭3-5 // Hendrix/Frusciante thumb-over E-shape — A string muted, fingers free to embellish. const THUMB_E = { rootStr: 6, offsets: [0, 'x', 2, 1, 0, 0], fingers: [0, 0, 3, 2, 1, 1] } // Police-style add9 stretches (clean arpeggio picking). const ADD9_ARP = { rootStr: 6, offsets: [0, 'x', 2, 1, 0, 2], fingers: [1, 0, 3, 2, 1, 4] } // R-R-3-5-9 const MADD9_ARP = { rootStr: 6, offsets: [0, 'x', 2, 0, 0, 2], fingers: [1, 0, 3, 1, 1, 4] } // R-R-♭3-5-9 export default { styleIntro: 'Rock rhythm guitar is arrangement: the same chords played as muted chugs, open-string detonations, or high triad shimmer depending on the section. With two guitars, split the register — one low and thick, one high and thin — and never share an octave.', comping: [ { label: 'Straight-8ths downstroke drive', rhythm: '♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪ all downstrokes', description: 'Relentless eighth-note downpicks on power chords, slight palm mute, no gaps — the punk/Ramones engine. Only works if the other guitar stays sparse or high.', }, { label: 'Malcolm Young space', rhythm: 'accent hits + deliberate rests', description: 'Big open-position chords hit hard with silence between — the rests ARE the hook. Low gain, all downstrokes, let the band breathe.', }, { label: 'Palm-muted chug with pushes', rhythm: 'muted 8ths/16ths, lift on the and-of-4', description: 'Muted root chug; lift the palm for full-ring accents on anticipations. High note-density, low spectral density — leaves room above.', }, { label: 'Keith Richards sus figure', rhythm: 'hammer sus4/6 on the offbeats', description: 'Hold the A-shape barre, hammer the sus4 (B string +1) and the 6th (top string +2) on the "ands", pull back to the triad. The Start Me Up / Brown Sugar move.', }, { label: 'Clean add9 arpeggio picking', rhythm: 'steady picked 8ths, light mute', description: 'Hold the add9 stretch and pick through it string by string — the Every Breath You Take verse texture everyone else lays out under.', }, ], plays: { 'rock-mixo-vamp': [ { label: 'Big open chords (Malcolm)', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: OPEN_A, note: 'I — open A, all six strings of it' }, { shape: OPEN_G, note: '♭VII — open G' }, { shape: OPEN_D, note: 'IV — open D' }, ], tips: 'The open-chord version lives in the key of A (A–G–D). Hit hard, then shut up — the space between hits is the AC/DC trick. In other keys, use the barre or triad play.', }, { label: 'Second-guitar triads, top strings', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: TRIAD_GBE_MAJ, note: 'I up high' }, { shape: TRIAD_GBE_MAJ_INV1, note: '♭VII — nearest inversion, no jump' }, { shape: TRIAD_GBE_MAJ, note: 'IV' }, ], tips: 'This is the guitar-2 part: triads above fret 5 while someone else owns the low end. Move to the nearest inversion, not the same shape up the neck.', }, ], 'rock-145': [ { label: 'Barres, straight-8ths drive', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: E_BARRE_MAJ, note: 'I — 6th-string root' }, { shape: A_BARRE_MAJ, note: 'IV — same fret, root string up' }, { shape: A_BARRE_MAJ, note: 'V — two frets up' }, ], tips: 'Same I/IV/V geometry as a blues: one position, two grips. Verse = palm-muted, chorus = open. The dynamic contrast is the part.', }, { label: 'Keith sus figure on the IV and V', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: A_BARRE_MAJ, note: 'hammer the sus4 (B string +1) on the and-beats' }, { shape: A_BARRE_MAJ, note: 'same figure — sus4 and 6th (top string +2) trading' }, { shape: A_BARRE_MAJ, note: 'resolve the hammer INTO the change' }, ], tips: 'The grip stays still; two fingers do the talking. Swing the hammers slightly even over straight drums — that lag is the Stones feel.', }, ], 'rock-minor-descent': [ { label: 'Barres walking down the 6th string', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: E_BARRE_MIN, note: 'i' }, { shape: E_BARRE_MAJ, note: '♭VII — two frets down' }, { shape: E_BARRE_MAJ, note: '♭VI — two more' }, { shape: E_BARRE_MAJ, note: 'V — one more half-step, the borrowed pull home' }, ], tips: 'The whole progression is the low-E string walking down: root, -2, -4, -5 frets. Let the audience hear that bassline inside your chords.', }, { label: 'High triads (Watchtower texture)', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: TRIAD_DGB_MIN, note: 'i — middle-string triad' }, { shape: TRIAD_DGB_MAJ, note: '♭VII' }, { shape: TRIAD_DGB_MAJ, note: '♭VI' }, { shape: TRIAD_DGB_MAJ, note: 'V' }, ], tips: 'Strum these as 16th-note skanks or let them ring — either way you\'re the texture, not the foundation. Classic when keys or a second guitar hold the low end.', }, ], 'rock-axis': [ { label: 'Power-chord chug', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: P5R_6, omit3: true, note: 'I' }, { shape: P5R_6, omit3: true, note: 'V' }, { shape: P5R_6, omit3: true, note: 'vi — same shape; the bass note carries the minor' }, { shape: P5R_5, omit3: true, note: 'IV — 5th-string root keeps you in position' }, ], tips: 'No 3rds anywhere — major and minor come from the root motion, which is why one shape plays the whole loop. Save the full barres for the last chorus.', }, { label: 'Add9 arpeggio verse (Police)', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: ADD9_ARP, extensions: ['9'], note: 'pick through, low to high, let it ring' }, { shape: ADD9_ARP, extensions: ['9'], note: '' }, { shape: MADD9_ARP, extensions: ['9'], note: 'minor add9 — one finger lifts' }, { shape: ADD9_ARP, extensions: ['9'], note: '' }, ], tips: 'It\'s a stretch — practise the grip high on the neck first, then move down. Light palm mute, clean tone, metronomic 8ths: the part is a clock, not a riff.', }, ], 'rock-riff-cell': [ { label: 'Power chords (Smoke on the Water)', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: P5R_6, omit3: true, note: 'i' }, { shape: P5R_6, omit3: true, note: '♭III — three frets up, same shape' }, { shape: P5R_6, omit3: true, note: 'IV — two more' }, ], tips: 'Root–♭3–4 on one string is the riff; the power chords are it harmonised. The famous version is two-note 4ths on the middle strings — same cell.', }, { label: 'Thumb-over with embellishments', level: 'intermediate', chords: [ { shape: E_BARRE_MIN, note: 'i' }, { shape: THUMB_E, note: '♭III — thumb takes the bass, hammer the sus4 (G string +1)' }, { shape: THUMB_E, note: 'IV — add the 9 with the pinky (top string +2)' }, ], tips: 'The Hendrix/Frusciante device: thumb frets the root, the freed fingers decorate inside the chord. The Dorian IV is where the colour lives — lean on it.', }, ], }, improv: { scales: [ { over: 'i / I', scale: 'minor', why: 'Minor pentatonic box 1 plus the ♭5 (blues scale) is the rock default over almost everything.' }, { over: 'I (country-rock)', scale: 'major', why: 'Major pentatonic for the Skynyrd/Allman sweetness — same box shape three frets down from the minor one.' }, { over: 'I–♭VII–IV', scale: 'mixolydian', why: 'Major pentatonic + the ♭7 and 4. The ♭7 of the key IS the root of the ♭VII chord — free target note.' }, { over: 'i–♭VII–♭VI', scale: 'minor', why: 'Natural minor (Aeolian): minor pentatonic + the 2 and ♭6 for the stepwise colour.' }, { over: 'i–♭III–IV', scale: 'dorian', why: 'The major IV asks for Dorian — minor pentatonic + the natural 6.' }, ], targetNotes: 'Root and 5th are safe everywhere; the 3rd of the chord of the moment is the pro move. Double-stops are rock\'s vocabulary: Berry 4ths on the top two strings, unison bends, and the quarter-step blues curl on the ♭3.', licks: [ { over: 'rock-145', description: 'Chuck Berry double-stop intro figure (Johnny B. Goode device, shown in A): one-finger barre on the top two strings, slid in from below, hammered in triplets.', tab: 'e|--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--\nB|3/5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--5--\n (slide in; A on e + E on B = root+5th of A)', source: 'Chuck Berry, "Johnny B. Goode" (1958); JustinGuitar song lesson SB-425', }, { over: 'rock-axis', description: 'Box-1 unison bend cliché: bend the B-string ♭7 a whole step up to the root against the same note held on the top string (Hendrix "Purple Haze" outro, Page, May).', tab: 'e|---5------5------5------5----\nB|--8b10---8b10---8b10---8b10--\n (G bent to A against the A on e-string 5)', source: 'JustinGuitar unison bend technique BL-607; Happy Bluesman unison bends', }, ], }, // Structured licks (SCHEMA.md "Licks", task P-24). Written in a home key each // (noted per lick) but key-agnostic in spirit — chordContext names the station. // Every pitch hand-verified: s6=E s5=A s4=D s3=G s2=B s1=e (+fret, mod 12). licks: [ { // In A: the 4 slid up to the 5 on the B string, the root stacked on top // (E+A — the Berry 4ths dyad), hammered in triplets, then the ♭3→3 curl // and home. The rock-and-roll intro figure. id: 'rock-berry-double-stop', name: 'Berry double-stop intro figure', level: 'foundation', chordContext: 'over the I — intro or turnaround energy', techniques: ['slide', 'double-stop', 'hammer-on', 'vibrato'], source: 'in the style of the "Johnny B. Goode" intro double-stops — Chuck Berry (1958); JustinGuitar song lesson SB-425', tab: [ { string: 2, fret: 3 }, // D — the 4, pickup two frets below { string: 2, fret: 5, technique: 'slide' }, // E — the 5th, slid up the B string { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'double-stop' }, // A — root on top: the Berry 4ths dyad lands { string: 2, fret: 5 }, // E — restrike the pair in triplets { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'double-stop' }, // A { string: 2, fret: 5 }, // E { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'double-stop' }, // A { string: 3, fret: 5 }, // C — ♭3 { string: 3, fret: 6, technique: 'hammer-on' }, // C♯ — the 3: the curl resolves up { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'vibrato' }, // A — end on the root ], }, { // In A, box 1 at fret 5: the B-string ♭7 (G) bent a whole step up to the // root against the same root held on the top string — the beating unison, // then the ♭3 answer and home. The Purple Haze-outro cliché. id: 'rock-unison-bend', name: 'Box-1 unison bend', level: 'intermediate', chordContext: 'over the I (or i) at the solo climax', techniques: ['bend', 'double-stop', 'vibrato'], source: 'the unison-bend cliché ("Purple Haze" outro lineage — Hendrix, Page, May); JustinGuitar unison bend technique BL-607', tab: [ { string: 1, fret: 5 }, // A — state the root first { string: 2, fret: 8, technique: 'bend' }, // G — ♭7 bent a whole step up to A { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'double-stop' }, // A — held on top: the unison pair beats { string: 2, fret: 8, technique: 'bend' }, // bend it again { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'double-stop' }, // A on top { string: 1, fret: 8 }, // C — the ♭3: blues grit over a major I { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'vibrato' }, // A — resolve on the root ], }, { // In A Mixolydian (I–♭VII–IV = A–G–D): climb the mode from the root and // land the key's ♭7 (G) exactly as the ♭VII chord hits — it IS that // chord's root — then let it fall a half step to F♯, the IV's 3rd. A // voice-leading rail, rock edition. id: 'rock-mixo-rail', name: 'Mixolydian rail onto the ♭VII', level: 'intermediate', chordContext: 'I → ♭VII → IV vamp', techniques: ['slide', 'vibrato'], source: 'the I–♭VII–IV Mixolydian language ("All Right Now"/"Highway to Hell" triads) — GuitarPlayer "Master the Mixolydian Mode"; Fundamental Changes "Study the Mixolydian Mode Pt 1"', tab: [ { string: 4, fret: 7 }, // A — root, over the I { string: 3, fret: 4 }, // B — 2 { string: 3, fret: 6 }, // C♯ — 3 { string: 3, fret: 7, technique: 'slide' }, // D — 4, slid into { string: 2, fret: 5 }, // E — 5 { string: 2, fret: 8, technique: 'vibrato' }, // G — the key's ♭7: the ♭VII's root, landed at the change { string: 2, fret: 7 }, // F♯ — falls a half step: the IV's 3rd { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'vibrato' }, // A — the IV's 5th; home ], }, { // In A minor, box 1: the descending pull-off cascade — two notes per // string down the pentatonic, ending on the root an octave down. The // stock rock run every soloist owns. id: 'rock-box1-cascade', name: 'Descending pull-off cascade', level: 'foundation', chordContext: 'over the i — works across the whole minor-key vamp', techniques: ['pull-off', 'vibrato'], source: 'the box-1 descending run — stock rock vocabulary; MusicRadar "50 rock guitar licks you need to know"; Guitar World "20 rock guitar licks"', tab: [ { string: 1, fret: 8 }, // C — ♭3 { string: 1, fret: 5, technique: 'pull-off' }, // A — root { string: 2, fret: 8 }, // G — ♭7 { string: 2, fret: 5, technique: 'pull-off' }, // E — 5 { string: 3, fret: 7 }, // D — 4 { string: 3, fret: 5, technique: 'pull-off' }, // C — ♭3 { string: 4, fret: 7, technique: 'vibrato' }, // A — root, an octave down: land it ], }, ], }