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Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Aerosmith

18 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Hard Rock

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Dream On - Guitar Tab Guitar Tab

Dream On - Guitar Tab

YouTube Stats: 2M · 36K

Mr. Tabs Guitar Tab
One Way Street Joe Perry - Guitar Tab Guitar Tab

One Way Street Joe Perry - Guitar Tab

YouTube Stats: 771 · 47

StephLeGratteux Guitar Tab
Dream On - Famous Riffs - Guitar Lesson Guitar Lesson

Dream On - Famous Riffs - Guitar Lesson

YouTube Stats: 763K · 8.6K

GuitarLessons365SongLessons Guitar Lesson
Dream On - Guitar Cover Guitar Cover

Dream On - Guitar Cover

YouTube Stats: 956K · 24K

Kfir Ochaion Guitar Cover

Band Overview

History and Guitar Legacy

Aerosmith emerged from Boston in 1970 and became one of the defining Hard Rock bands of the '70s, earning the nickname 'America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band.' The dual-guitar partnership of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, often compared to Jagger and Richards but with more lead firepower, created a guitar dynamic that influenced countless rock acts from Guns N' Roses to the Black Crowes. For guitarists, Aerosmith represents a masterclass in blues-rock vocabulary applied to arena-sized riffs.

Playing Style and Techniques

Joe Perry anchors Aerosmith's sound with pentatonic and blues scales delivered with loose, swaggering feel. His approach features slippery legato runs, expressive string bends, and wide vibrato slightly behind the beat for dangerous unpredictability. Brad Whitford serves as the unsung hero with tight, inventive rhythm parts featuring subtle chord voicings beyond basic power chords. Together they trade rhythm and lead duties fluidly, demonstrating how two guitars can interlock seamlessly within rock arrangements.

Why Guitarists Study Aerosmith

Aerosmith songs provide essential study material for developing blues-rock vocabulary, dynamic control, and the ability to make simple pentatonic ideas sound massive. The dual-guitar interplay between Perry and Whitford reveals how rhythm and lead roles can flow seamlessly, while their techniques address phrasing, vibrato control, and feel over pure speed. This partnership demonstrates the power of complementary guitar styles working together within hard rock arrangements.

Difficulty and Learning Path

Aerosmith sits in the comfortable intermediate range with some advanced moments. 'Walk This Way' demands precise muted funk-rock picking and clean position shifts. 'Dream On' introduces acoustic fingerpicking and arpeggiated progressions for beginners. 'Sweet Emotion' features recognizable bass-driven intros with layered guitar harmonics and slide work. Intermediate players benefit from studying the band's emphasis on feel-based soloing, dynamic control, and how simple ideas create massive impact in rock contexts.

What Makes Aerosmith Essential for Guitar Players

  • Joe Perry's lead style is built on minor pentatonic and blues scales in standard tuning, but his phrasing is what sets him apart, lazy, behind-the-beat bends and a wide, vocal-like vibrato that gives even simple licks a signature swagger. Focus on his bending accuracy and release control to nail his sound.
  • The 'Walk This Way' riff is a must-learn for developing muted funk-rock picking technique. It requires precise palm-muting, quick hammer-ons, and the ability to shift positions cleanly on the neck while keeping a tight rhythmic groove, all at a brisk tempo that punishes sloppy fretting.
  • Brad Whitford's rhythm work uses open-string voicings, partial barre chords, and double-stops that add harmonic richness beyond standard power chords. His parts on 'Sweet Emotion' and 'Love In An Elevator' are excellent for learning how a rhythm guitarist can drive a song without just chugging root-fifth shapes.
  • 'Dream On' showcases a different side of Aerosmith's guitar work: arpeggiated acoustic chords in Am, building from delicate fingerpicking into full strummed power. It's a great exercise in dynamic control and transitioning from clean, quiet passages to overdriven climaxes within a single song.
  • Perry frequently employs slide guitar and open tunings on tracks like 'Sweet Emotion' and deeper cuts. His slide work is gritty and imprecise in the best way, more blues juke joint than polished Nashville, making it an approachable entry point for guitarists learning slide technique.

Did You Know?

Joe Perry recorded the iconic 'Walk This Way' riff on a Fender Stratocaster through a cranked Fender Twin Reverb, not the Les Paul and Marshall setup most people assume. The single-coil snap is a big part of that riff's cutting attack.

The 'Sweet Emotion' intro that everyone remembers is actually a bass riff played by Tom Hamilton, but the guitar layers that enter, including Perry's talk box line and Whitford's rhythmic chord stabs, are what make the full arrangement a guitar lesson in arrangement and texture.

Brad Whitford tuned his guitar to open E for several classic Aerosmith tracks and used a capo extensively in the studio, a technique more associated with folk and country that he repurposed for hard rock chord voicings.

Joe Perry's guitar on 'Mama Kin' was recorded almost entirely live in the studio with the whole band playing together, no overdubs on the rhythm track. That raw, room-bleed energy is part of why early Aerosmith records feel so alive compared to later, more produced albums.

During the 'Rocks' sessions, Perry and producer Jack Douglas experimented with placing amplifiers in stairwells and bathrooms to capture natural reverb and room ambience, long before modern producers popularized the technique.

Joe Perry has owned over 600 guitars throughout his career but keeps coming back to a small rotation of Les Pauls and a 1959 Telecaster Deluxe that he considers his 'lucky' studio guitar.

The solo in 'Dream On' was one of the first major rock solos to use a heavily layered, multi-tracked approach, Perry recorded several takes and the best phrases were composited together, a technique that became standard in rock production.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Toys in the Attic album cover
Toys in the Attic 1975

This is the Aerosmith guitar album. 'Walk This Way' teaches funk-rock muted riffing, 'Sweet Emotion' covers groove-based rhythm and slide guitar, and deep cuts like 'Round and Round' and 'No More No More' are packed with bluesy double-stop licks and tight dual-guitar interplay. If you learn this album front to back, your blues-rock vocabulary will level up dramatically.

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Rocks album cover
Rocks 1976

Often cited as Aerosmith's heaviest record, 'Rocks' features some of Perry and Whitford's most aggressive rhythm work. 'Back in the Saddle' opens with a detuned, almost proto-metal riff, while 'Last Child' blends funky rhythm guitar with slide leads. The raw production means every guitar part is exposed, great for studying tone and dynamics without studio polish hiding mistakes.

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Get a Grip album cover
Get a Grip 1993

'Crazy,' 'Amazing,' and 'Livin' on the Edge' showcase Aerosmith's more polished '90s sound with cleaner tones, layered acoustic-electric arrangements, and melodic soloing that's more accessible for intermediate players. The ballads on this record are excellent for learning expressive bending, vibrato control, and how to build emotional solos using just a handful of pentatonic positions.

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Aerosmith (Debut) 1973

'Mama Kin' and 'Dream On' alone make this essential. The debut is raw, stripped-back blues rock where Perry's Stones-influenced rhythm style and early lead approach are fully on display. It's the least produced Aerosmith record, so every guitar part is transparent and easy to dissect, perfect for learning how simple blues-based riffs can carry an entire song with the right feel and attitude.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Joe Perry's primary guitars are Gibson Les Pauls, particularly a 1959 Les Paul Standard ('the Holy Grail') and various Custom Shop reissues. He also heavily uses a B.C. Rich Bich and a late-'50s Fender Stratocaster for cleaner, snappier tones (notably on 'Walk This Way'). His Epiphone Joe Perry signature models feature humbuckers with a slightly hotter wind. Brad Whitford favors Gibson SGs, ES-335s, and various Les Paul Juniors with P-90 pickups for a grittier, more midrange-focused rhythm tone.

Amp

Perry's core amp for decades has been a modified Marshall JCM800, typically run at high volume for natural tube saturation with the gain around 6-7 and the presence cranked. He's also used Fender Twin Reverbs for cleaner tones and in the studio, and has incorporated Ampeg VT-40s for their warm, compressed breakup. In later years he added Krank and Budda amps to his rig for additional tonal variety. Whitford often runs Marshalls and Mesa/Boogies in tandem for a thicker rhythm sound.

Pickups

Perry's Les Pauls are typically loaded with PAF-style humbuckers, either original Gibson PAFs in his vintage instruments or Seymour Duncan and Gibson Burstbucker reproductions in the 7-9k ohm range. This moderate output preserves pick dynamics and allows his playing touch to come through, especially important for his expressive bending and vibrato. Whitford's P-90-equipped guitars give him a rawer, more aggressive midrange bite that cuts through the mix differently from Perry's smoother humbucker tone.

Effects & Chain

Perry keeps his pedalboard relatively simple: a Dunlop Cry Baby wah is central to his sound (heard prominently on 'Sweet Emotion' and countless solos), plus a talk box for signature moments. He uses a Boss SD-1 or Ibanez Tube Screamer as a solo boost to push the front end of his Marshalls harder, and occasionally employs a phase shifter and chorus for texture. Overall, Aerosmith's guitar tone is amp-driven, Perry relies on volume knob manipulation and pickup selection more than effects. His signal chain is typically guitar → wah → overdrive → amp, with minimal modulation.

Recommended Gear

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Joe Perry uses a late-1950s Strat for cleaner, snappier tones on tracks like 'Walk This Way', providing brighter single-coil bite that contrasts with his heavier Les Paul work. The Strat's tonal versatility lets him achieve crisp rhythm parts and articulate lead passages without the thick humbucker warmth.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Perry's 1959 Les Paul Standard, his 'Holy Grail' guitar, delivers the thick, singing sustain and natural harmonic bloom central to Aerosmith's classic rock sound. Its PAF humbuckers respond beautifully to his expressive bending and vibrato technique, especially through cranked Marshalls.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Perry's Custom Shop Les Paul reissues replicate his vintage instrument's tone with modern reliability, maintaining the smooth, responsive humbucker character that lets his playing dynamics shine through. These guitars are essential for capturing his signature fat lead tone on stage and in the studio.

Gibson ES-335
Guitar

Gibson ES-335

Brad Whitford's semi-hollow ES-335 provides warm, compressed breakup with enhanced midrange that cuts through Aerosmith's thick dual-guitar arrangements. The semi-hollow body's natural resonance adds depth to his rhythm playing when paired with his Marshall and Mesa/Boogie stack.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Joe Perry's modified JCM800 has been his core amp for decades, delivering natural tube saturation at high volume with a presence-peaked treble that defines Aerosmith's aggressive, sustaining lead tone. The amp's responsiveness to his volume knob control and pickup selection is crucial to his expressive playing approach.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Perry uses the Fender Twin Reverb for cleaner studio tones and textures, providing headroom and natural reverb that balances the JCM800's darker aggression. The Twin's clarity preserves his picking precision and note articulation for rhythm parts and cleaner passages.

How to Practice Aerosmith on GuitarZone

Every Aerosmith song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Dream On - Guitar TabPractice Walk This Way - Guitar TabPractice Dream On - Guitar Cover