Play Pop-Rock Today: 
The Basics to Pop-Punk Rock Music

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. How to read tab
3. Power chords
4. Octaves
5. Drop D tuning
6. Palm muting
7. Rakes
8. Techniques
	a. Legato
	b. String bending
	c. Slides
9. Sites for good lessons
__________________________________________________  _________________

1. Introduction

	In this lesson, you will learn to play pop-punk music! These are very easy things to learn, and with a few weeks of practice, you will be able to play many rock songs. This lesson will cover how to read tab, power chords, octaves, Drop D tuning, palm muting, rakes, hammer-ons, pull-offs, string bending, slides, and solos.

2. How to read tab

	You probably already know how to read tablature, but in case you don?t hear is a good place to go to learn it:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/for_beginners/reading_guitar_tablature_ii.html

3. Power chords
	
	Power chords are the basis of rock music. It?s hard to find a rock song that doesn?t have at least one power chord in it. Power chords are made to sound big with little or no distortion. 
	Power chords have 1 basic shape. The shape looks like this:

|---------------|
|---------------|
|---------------|
|-2--3--4--5--6-| and so on down the fretboard
|-2--3--4--5--6-|
|-0--1--2--3--4-|

There are also power chords that use the ADG strings. They look like this:

|---------------|
|---------------|
|-2--3--4--5--6-|
|-2--3--4--5--6-| and so on down the fretboard
|-0--1--2--3--4-|
|---------------|

	To play power chords (the Kurt Cobain way), you put your 1st finger (index) by the fret that is the lowest sounding and your 3rd finger (ring) on the two frets that are the same. Like this:

I = Index
M = Middle
R = Ring
P = Pinky

  0  1   2   3   4   5 
e|-|---|---|---|---|---|
B|-|---|---|---|---|---|
G|-|---|---|---|---|---|
D|-|---|---|-R-|---|---|
A|-|---|---|-R-|---|---|
E|-|-I-|---|---|---|---|

	Another very common (probably the most common) way to play power chords is with your 1st (index), 3rd (ring), and 4th (pinky) fingers like this:
  0  1   2   3   4   5
e|-|---|---|---|---|---|
B|-|---|---|---|---|---|
G|-|---|---|---|---|---|
D|-|---|---|-P-|---|---|
A|-|---|---|-R-|---|---|
E|-|-I-|---|---|---|---|

Here are some songs that use power chords:

Nirvana
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Intro)

e|--------------------------------|
b|--------------------------------|
G|-----------3-3-------------6-6--| (x2)
D|--3--3-3---3-3----6--6-6---6-6--|
A|--3--3-3---1-1----6--6-6---4-4--|
E|--1--1-1----------4--4-4--------|


Relient K
Sadie Hawkins Dance (Chorus)

e|---------------------|
b|---------------------|
G|-3333--------------8-|
D|-3333--3333--5555--8-| (x2)
A|-1111--3333--5555--6-|
E|-------1111--3333----|

Switchfoot
Dare you to Move (Chorus)

e|---------------------------------------|
b|---------------------------------------|
G|-9-9-9-9-9-----------------------------|
D|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-| (x2)
A|-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-|
E|-----------7-7-7-7-7-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-|

Greenday
American Idiot (Intro)

e|----------------------------|
b|----------------------------|
G|---------6-6-6-------6------|
D|--6-6-6--6-6-6--4-4--6-6-4--|
A|--6-6-6--4-4-4--4-4--4-6-4--|
E|--4-4-4---------2-2----4-2--|


If you need more help learning power chords, you can learn them here: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/the_basics/rhythm_guitar_part_1-_powerchords.html

4. Octaves

	Octaves are a lot like power chords, but you just mute the string between the top and bottom strings your playing. Octaves are just two of the same notes, only one note is higher than the other. Octaves look like this:

Played on the EAD strings (rarely played on these strings):

|---------------|
|---------------|
|---------------|
|-2--3--4--5--6-|
|-x--x--x--x--x-|
|-0--1--2--3--4-|

They also are played on the ADG strings like this (mostly played on these strings):

|---------------|
|---------------|
|-2--3--4--5--6-|
|-x--x--x--x--x-|
|-0--1--2--3--4-|
|---------------|

	The "x" you see means that you mute that string so you can barely hear it. You mute this string with your 1st finger by laying it over the string that needs to be muted. You then play the highest string with your 3 finger.
	If you look at what the notes on the frets your playing are, then you'll find that they are the same notes, only one note is higher than the other. This example should show you:

|---|      |---|              |---|      |---|
|---|      |---|              |---|      |---|
|-2-|  or  |-A-|    also...   |-9-|  or  |-E-|
|-x-|      |-x-|              |-x-|      |-x-|
|-0-|      |-A-|              |-7-|      |-E-|
|---|      |---|              |---|      |---|
	
	Here are some songs using octaves:

Alkaline Trio
Time to Waste (Solo)


e|---------------------------------------------------------|
b|---------------------------------------------------------|
G|-6666-141414141313131311111111-7777-14141414131313137777-|
D|-xxxx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--xxxx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xxxx-|
A|-4444-12121212111111119 9 9 9 -5555-12121212111111115555-|
E|---------------------------------------------------------|

e|------------------------------------------------|
b|------------------------------------------------|
G|8888-141414141313131311111111-7777-14141414-9-7-|
D|xxxx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x x x x -xxxx-x-x-x-x--x-x-|
A|6666-12121212111111119 9 9 9 -5555-12121212-7-5-|
E|------------------------------------------------|

Here's a song using octaves and power chords:



Hawthorne Heights
Ohio is for Lovers (Pre- Chorus)

e|------------------------------------------------|
b|------------------------------------------------|
g|-----------666688889999-------------------------|
d|-2-4-66----xxxxxxxxxxxx---22222222222222--44-66-|
a|-2-4-66----444466667777---22222222222222--44-66-|
e|-0-2-44-------------------00000000000000--22-44-|

e|-------------------------------------------|
b|-------------------------------------------|
g|-131313131515151516161616------------------|
d|--x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x---22222222222222-|
a|-111111111313131314141414---22222222222222-|
e|----------------------------00000000000000-|

Fall Out Boy
Dance, Dance (Bridge)
e|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
G|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-91111-11b-11b-|
D|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x---------|
A|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-9-9---------|
D|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|

e|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
G|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-|
D|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
A|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-7-7-7-|
D|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|

e|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
G|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-|-7-7-9-9111116161515161618182121-|
D|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
A|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|-5-5-7-7-9-914141313141416161919-|
D|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|

e|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
G|11111111111111111111111111111111-|11111111-11b~--------------------|
D|-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|-x-x-x-x--x----------------------|
A|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|-9-9-9-9--9b~--------------------|
D|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|




5. Drop D Tuning

	Other than the normal EADGbe tuning, there is also another tuning. It is DADGbe or "Drop D" for short. It is simple, you just tune the low E string to be a low D. To do this, you tune the 6th string, 7th fret so it matchs the 5th string, no frets. Another way to tune it, is by ear. All you do is strum the 4, 5, and 6 strings and lower the 6th string. If you listen to it, you will be able to tell if it is tuned right, you just have to listen to it.

Power chords in Drop D:

	Power chords in Drop D are the same as EADGbe power chords except all of the strings are on the same fret. They look like this:

|---------------|
|---------------|
|---------------|
|-0-1-2-3-4-5-6-| and so on down the fretboard
|-0-1-2-3-4-5-6-|
|-0-1-2-3-4-5-6-|

	To play power chords on the ADG strings, you DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING. These power chords look the same because none of those strings have a different tuning then before.

	Here are a couple of songs using the Drop D tuning:

Switchfoot
Meant to Live (Verse)

Verse
e|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
b|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-4--4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-7--5-------|
A|-4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-4--4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-7--5-------|
D|-4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-4--4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-7--5-------|

e|---------------------------------------------------------|
b|---------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------|
D|-4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-4--4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-7--|
A|-4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-4--4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-7--|
D|-4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-4--4-0--0-2-0--0-4-0--0-4-5-7--|


Now let's combine the DAD strings with the ADG string octaves in Sugar, We're Going Down by Fall Out Boy.


Fall Out Boy
Sugar, We're Going Down (Chorus)

e|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
b|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-0000000000000000-5555555555555555-999999999999999-5555555555555555-|
A|-0000000000000000-5555555555555555-999999999999999-5555555555555555-|
D|-0000000000000000-5555555555555555-999999999999999-5555555555555555-|

e|------------------------------------------------------------|
b|------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----777-----777-----777-----777----------------------------|
D|-000-xxx-000-xxx-555-xxx-555-xxx----------------------------|
A|-000-555-000-555-555-555-555-555----------------------------|
D|-000-----000-----555-----555--------------------------------|

e|------------------------------------------------------------|
b|------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----111111-----111111-----777-----777----------------------|
D|-999-x-x-x--999-x-x-x--555-xxx-555-xxx----------------------|
A|-999-9-9-9--999-9-9-9--555-555-555-555----------------------|
D|-999--------999--------555-----555--------------------------|

6. Palm Muting

	Palm muting is just a very simple technique that gives you a short, stubby sound that doesn't completely mute the string but you would think that because of the name. All you have to do is place the side of your right hand (not necessarily  your palm) at the bottom of the strings, right by the bridge. 
	To know that you need to palm mute, you will see dots (.) underneath each power chord or chord or so on. Here is an example:

|---------------------|
|---------------------|
|---------------------|
|-2222-4444-6666-8888-|
|-2222-4444-6666-8888-|
|-0000-2222-4444-6666-|
  .... .... .... ....

Here are some songs using palm muting:

Hawthorne Heights
Ohio is for Lovers (Verse 2)

e|------------------------------------------------------------------|
b|------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-66666666666644446666666666664444222222222222444422  22222222224444-| x2
A|-66666666666644446666666666664444222222222222444422  22222222224444-|
E|-44444444444422224444444444442222000000000000222200  00000000002222-|
   ..................................................  ..............

Relient K
Sadie Hawkins Dance (Verse)

e|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
b|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------------------------------8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8---|
D|-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8---| 
A|-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6---|
E|------------------1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--------------------|
   . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . .


Now try palm muting in Drop D tuning:


Fall Out Boy
Sugar, We're Going Down (Pre Chorus)

e|---------------------------------------------------------|
b|---------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------|
D|-000000-55555555-777777-99999999-101010101010-99999999-5-|
A|-000000-55555555-777777-99999999-101010101010-99999999-5-|
D|-000000-55555555-777777-99999999-101010101010-99999999-5-|
   ...... ........ ...... ........ ............ ........ 

7. Rakes

	Rakes are pretty much just muting strings. All you do is place your whole hand over all strings to mute them and strum. Natural harmonics are shown with x's.

Here are some songs using natural harmonics (I just added the natural harmonics where they go on these songs we already learned):

Nirvana
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Intro)

e|--------xxxx-----xx----------xxxx----xx-|
b|--------xxxx-----xx----------xxxx----xx-|
G|--------xxxx--33-xx----------xxxx-66-xx-| (x2)
D|--3--33-xxxx--33-xx---6--66--xxxx-66-xx-|
A|--3--33-xxxx--11-xx---6--66--xxxx-44-xx-|
E|--1--11-xxxx-----xx---4--44--xxxx----xx-|

8. Techniques

	Here are a few common guitar techniques that will enhance the sound of your music. Please note, these are not the only guitar techniques there are to learn.


a. Legato

	Legato, or more commonly called hammer-ons and pull-offs, is a guitar technique that is used to make your sound more smooth. When you do a hammer-on of pull-off it's like doing a slur in sheet music. Here's how you do each:

Hammer-ons-

	You do a hammer-on when you go from a note on the guitar to a higher note (like from the 2 fret on the low E string to the 3 fret on the low E string) without picking the second time. All you do is pick the first note then press down the fret on the next note. Hammer-ons are done on the same string and are shown in tab by an "h".

Pull-offs-

	To do a pull-off, you just do the opposite of a hammer-on. Instead of going to a higher note, you would go to a lower note (like from the 3 fret om the low E string to the 2 fret on the low E string.) And, once again, you would only pluck the string the first time and pull-off your finger to let the second note ring out. Pull-offs are shown in tab by a "p". 

	Here are a BUNCH of hammer-on and pull-off exercises I do for practice. Try doing these in different picking patterns (all downstrokes, all upstrokes, alternate picking):

1)
|---------------------5h6------------------------| 
|-----------------5h6-----5h6--------------------| 
|-------------5h6-------------5h6----------------| 
|---------5h6---------------------5h6------------| 
|-----5h6-----------------------------5h6--------| 
|-5h6-------------------------------------5h6----| 

2)
|---------------------5h7------------------------| 
|-----------------5h7-----5h7--------------------| 
|-------------5h7-------------5h7----------------| 
|---------5h7---------------------5h7------------| 
|-----5h7-----------------------------5h7--------| 
|-5h7-------------------------------------5h7----| 

3)
|---------------------5h8------------------------| 
|-----------------5h8-----5h8--------------------| 
|-------------5h8-------------5h8----------------| 
|---------5h8---------------------5h8------------| 
|-----5h8-----------------------------5h8--------| 
|-5h8-------------------------------------5h8----| 

4)
|---------------------6p5------------------------| 
|-----------------6p5-----6p5--------------------| 
|-------------6p5-------------6p5----------------| 
|---------6p5---------------------6p5------------| 
|-----6p5-----------------------------6p5--------| 
|-6p5-------------------------------------6p5----| 

5)
|---------------------6h7------------------------| 
|-----------------6h7-----6h7--------------------| 
|-------------6h7-------------6h7----------------| 
|---------6h7---------------------6h7------------| 
|-----6h7-----------------------------6h7--------| 
|-6h7-------------------------------------6h7----| 

6)
|---------------------6h8------------------------| 
|-----------------6h8-----6h8--------------------| 
|-------------6h8-------------6h8----------------| 
|---------6h8---------------------6h8------------| 
|-----6h8-----------------------------6h8--------| 
|-6h8-------------------------------------6h8----| 

7)
|---------------------7p5------------------------| 
|-----------------7p5-----7p5--------------------| 
|-------------7p5-------------7p5----------------| 
|---------7p5---------------------7p5------------| 
|-----7p5-----------------------------7p5--------| 
|-7p5-------------------------------------7p5----|

8)
|---------------------7p6------------------------| 
|-----------------7p6-----7p6--------------------| 
|-------------7p6-------------7p6----------------| 
|---------7p6---------------------7p6------------| 
|-----7p6-----------------------------7p6--------| 
|-7p6-------------------------------------7p6----|

9)
|---------------------7h8------------------------| 
|-----------------7h8-----7h8--------------------| 
|-------------7h8-------------7h8----------------| 
|---------7h8---------------------7h8------------| 
|-----7h8-----------------------------7h8--------| 
|-7h8-------------------------------------7h8----| 

10)
|---------------------8p5------------------------| 
|-----------------8p5-----8p5--------------------| 
|-------------8p5-------------8p5----------------| 
|---------8p5---------------------8p5------------| 
|-----8p5-----------------------------8p5--------| 
|-8p5-------------------------------------8p5----| 

11)
|---------------------8p6------------------------| 
|-----------------8p6-----8p6--------------------| 
|-------------8p6-------------8p6----------------| 
|---------8p6---------------------8p6------------| 
|-----8p6-----------------------------8p6--------| 
|-8p6-------------------------------------8p6----| 

12)
|---------------------8p7------------------------| 
|-----------------8p7-----8p7--------------------| 
|-------------8p7-------------8p7----------------| 
|---------8p7---------------------8p7------------| 
|-----8p7-----------------------------8p7--------| 
|-8p7-------------------------------------8p7----|


b. String Bending

	String bending is the sound you hear when a pitch is altered by moving up and down according to how much you bend the string. To do string bending, you do just as it sounds, bend the string on the fret your playing. When bending a string, you just pull the string down after you press it down. A bend is represented on tablature with a "b" and you release the bend when you see the "r."

Here's a song that uses a bend:

Switchfoot
Meant to Live (Intro)
Drop D tuning

e|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
b|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
D|--------4b--4r---------4b--4r---------4b--4r--5--5-5-5-7---------|
A|-2-2-2----------0-0-0-------------------------5--5-5-5-7---------|
D|-------------------------------2-2-2----------5--5-5-5-7---------|

c. Slides

	Slides are just as they sound. You just slide your chord, note, power chord, to a new position (picking/strumming twice) but you don't lift your hand, you just slide it along the fretboard to the next space. The only time your really ever do this with chords are when you do barre chords, you rarely do it any other time with chords. Example: Bm to Cm. Slides are represent in tab by a "/" or "\". Here is another Switchfoot song that uses a slide and rakes:

Switchfoot
Dare you to Move (Verse 2)

E|--------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------|
D|-9/11-xxxx-9/11-xxxx-9/11x7-9/11-xxxx-|
A|-9/11-xxxx-9/11-xxxx-9/11x7-9/11-xxxx-|
E|-7/9--xxxx-7/9--xxxx-7/9-x5-7/9--xxxx-|

E|--------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------|
G|--------------------------------------|
E|9/11-xxxx-9/11x7-4-4-4-xxxx-4-4-4-xxx-|
A|9/11-xxxx-9/11x7-4-4-4-xxxx-4-4-4-xxx-|
E|7/9--xxxx-7/9-x5-2-2-2-xxxx-2-2-2-xxx-|


E|------------------------------|
B|------------------------------|
G|------------------------------|
D|x4x-7-7-7xxxx-7-7-7xxxx-7-7-7-|
A|x4x-7-7-7xxxx-7-7-7xxxx-7-7-7-|
E|x2x-5-5-5xxxx-5-5-5xxxx-5-5-5-|

E|----------------------------------------------|
B|----------------------------------------------|
G|----------------------------------------------|
D|9/11-xxxx-9/11-xxxx-9/11x7~-4-4-4xxxx4-4-4xxx-|
A|9/11-xxxx-9/11-xxxx-9/11x7~-4-4-4xxxx4-4-4xxx-|
E|7/9--xxxx-7/9--xxxx-7/9-x5~-2-2-2xxxx2-2-2xxx-|


E|--------------------------|
B|--------------------------|
G|--------------------------|
D|x-4x7-7-7xxxx-7-7-7xxxx-7-|
A|x-4x7-7-7xxxx-7-7-7xxxx-7-|
E|x-2x5-5-5xxxx-5-5-5xxxx-5-|