Before There Was Rock, There Was Rock ‘n Roll

Every rock guitarist owes Chuck Berry a debt. Every metal player. Every punk rocker. Every blues-rock shredder. Because before anyone else was playing rock guitar, Chuck Berry was inventing it—those double-stop runs, that duck walk, those licks that made teenagers lose their minds in the 1950s.

Rock ‘n roll guitar licks are deceptively simple. They’re not complicated jazz lines or blazing metal runs. But try to play them with the attitude and swing feel of the originals, and you’ll understand why these licks changed music forever.

Double Stops Made Chuck Berry Famous

Listen to the intro to “Johnny B. Goode.” Those aren’t single-note runs—they’re double stops, two notes played together. Sixths mostly, sometimes fourths. This technique came from jazz and country players, but Berry made it his signature sound.

Double stops are harder than they look. You need to fret both notes cleanly, pick both strings evenly, and keep the rhythm driving forward. But once you get them down, you understand why this became the foundation of rock guitar soloing.

The Shuffle Feel Is Non-Negotiable

Rock ‘n roll isn’t played with straight eighth notes. It swings. That triplet feel—not quite straight eighths, not quite full triplets, somewhere in between—is what makes rock ‘n roll licks groove.

Listen to early Elvis records with Scotty Moore. Listen to Eddie Cochran. That swing feel is what made people dance. Without it, rock ‘n roll licks sound stiff and lifeless.

Boogie Patterns Run Everything

The boogie-woogie bass line—1, 3, 5, 6, flat 7, 6, 5, 3—became the rhythmic engine of countless rock ‘n roll songs. It works as a bass line. It works as a guitar lick. It works over pretty much any chord in a 12-bar blues progression.

Learn this pattern in all 12 keys. Seriously. It’s that fundamental to rock ‘n roll guitar. Once you’ve got it, half the classic rock ‘n roll repertoire becomes accessible.

Tone: Clean with Grit

Rock ‘n roll guitar tone isn’t modern high-gain distortion. It’s clean with edge—a Fender amp pushed just to the point of breakup. Enough grit to cut through the mix, but clean enough that every note speaks clearly.

This tone choice forces you to play cleanly. There’s no wall of distortion to hide behind. Every missed note, every sloppy technique shows through. That’s good. It makes you better.

Learn Rock ‘n Roll Licks Below

Browse our rock ‘n roll guitar licks below. These are the phrases that started it all—the foundation of modern guitar playing.