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Fleetwood Mac

5 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Rock

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Band Overview

History and Guitar Legacy

Fleetwood Mac formed in London in 1967 as a British blues band led by Peter Green before undergoing major transformations. The classic lineup solidified in 1975 with Lindsey Buckingham on guitar and vocals, alongside Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood. This era produced massively successful albums including the self-titled "Fleetwood Mac" (1975), "Rumours" (1977), and "Tusk" (1979), establishing the band as essential listening for guitarists studying diverse approaches to the instrument.

Playing Style and Techniques

Fleetwood Mac showcases two contrasting guitar philosophies worth studying. Peter Green's blues approach featured liquid vibrato, singing sustain, and economical note placement that influenced guitarists like Gary Moore and Kirk Hammett. Lindsey Buckingham brought intricate Travis style fingerpicking adapted for rock contexts, aggressive pick-less strumming patterns, layered studio arrangements, and rhythmically complex constructions. Together, they demonstrate dynamic control and musicianship that moves far beyond pentatonic box patterns.

Why Guitarists Study Fleetwood Mac

The band represents a masterclass in tasteful playing and song serving musicianship rather than shredding or heavy riffing. Their catalog rewards guitarists who prioritize tone, touch, and groove over speed. Studying their material develops real dynamic control and teaches how to serve songs effectively. Both Peter Green's soulful blues approach and Lindsey Buckingham's sophisticated fingerpicking and arrangement work provide essential lessons for moving beyond basic technique into mature, expressive playing.

Difficulty and Learning Path

Fleetwood Mac's catalog spans multiple difficulty levels. "Landslide" suits intermediate players learning fingerpicking fundamentals, while "Rhiannon" offers intermediate practice with arpeggiated chords and melodic fills. "Go Your Own Way" develops aggressive strumming dynamics and lead phrasing. "Never Going Back Again" presents advanced challenges requiring precise right hand independence and demanding left hand stretches. Starting with approachable songs builds foundations before tackling the band's more technically complex arrangements.

What Makes Fleetwood Mac Essential for Guitar Players

  • Lindsey Buckingham plays almost exclusively with his bare fingers rather than a pick, using a combination of Travis picking, aggressive nail strumming, and thumb-driven bass lines. Studying his right-hand technique is essential for developing fingerstyle rock chops.
  • "Never Going Back Again" is built on a fingerpicking pattern in open D tuning (or variations of dropped tuning) that requires complete independence between the thumb and index/middle fingers. It's one of the best intermediate-to-advanced fingerpicking etudes in all of rock music.
  • Peter Green's iconic tone came partly from a reversed neck pickup in his 1959 Les Paul, which created an out-of-phase sound when both pickups were selected together. This gave his playing a thin, haunting, nasal quality that's become legendary, and it's a tone trick worth understanding.
  • Buckingham's rhythm playing on songs like "Go Your Own Way" features aggressive percussive strumming where he slaps the strings with his fingers and palm to create a driving, almost drum-like attack. Learning this approach will transform your dynamic range as a rhythm player.
  • Many Fleetwood Mac songs use open tunings and capo positions to create rich, ringing chord voicings that wouldn't be possible in standard tuning. "Landslide" uses a capo at the 3rd fret with standard tuning, while other Buckingham compositions explore open G, open D, and DADGAD variants.

Did You Know?

Lindsey Buckingham developed his fingerpicking style partly because he couldn't afford picks as a teenager and simply adapted to playing without one, a limitation that became his greatest stylistic signature.

Peter Green's 1959 Gibson Les Paul, the one with the reversed pickup, was later owned by Gary Moore and eventually sold to Kirk Hammett of Metallica for a reported $2 million, making it one of the most famous guitars in rock history.

On "Tusk," Buckingham recorded many guitar parts in his home bathroom and bedroom, using lo-fi recording techniques and layering dozens of guitar tracks to create dense sonic textures years before home recording became common.

The fingerpicking pattern in "Never Going Back Again" was inspired by Buckingham's study of classical and folk fingerstyle players, but he adapted it into a rock context with steel strings and a more percussive attack than traditional classical technique.

"Go Your Own Way" features a drum pattern Mick Fleetwood intentionally played against the guitar rhythm, creating a tension between the two that makes the song feel urgent and slightly chaotic, a great lesson in how rhythm section interplay affects your guitar part's feel.

Buckingham famously refused to use a pick even in the studio, which meant engineers had to carefully mic his acoustic guitars to capture the full range of his finger attacks, from delicate harmonics to aggressive nail strums.

Peter Green's vibrato is widely considered one of the finest in blues-rock guitar, B.B. King himself praised Green as having the sweetest tone he'd ever heard. His secret was a slow, wide wrist vibrato that let notes breathe and sing.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Rumours album cover
Rumours 1977

The essential Fleetwood Mac album for guitarists. "Never Going Back Again" is a fingerpicking masterpiece that will level up your right-hand technique, "Go Your Own Way" teaches aggressive rhythm dynamics and lead integration, and "The Chain" delivers one of rock's most iconic bass-driven arrangements with tasteful guitar layering. Every track is a lesson in restraint and serving the song.

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Fleetwood Mac 1975

The self-titled album introduced Buckingham's fingerpicking approach to the band's sound. "Landslide" is a must-learn for any acoustic guitarist, its arpeggiated picking pattern and vocal accompaniment teach you how to be a one-person arrangement. "Rhiannon" features excellent arpeggiated electric work and melodic fills that show how to play with atmosphere and mood.

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Tusk album cover
Tusk 1979

Buckingham pushed his guitar experimentation furthest on this double album. "Not That Funny" features aggressive, almost punk-influenced strumming, while "Sara" and "That's Enough for Me" showcase layered acoustic textures. This is the album to study if you want to understand Buckingham as an innovator and learn how stacking multiple guitar parts creates depth.

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Then Play On album cover
Then Play On 1969

The Peter Green era's masterpiece. Tracks like "Oh Well" feature one of the greatest acoustic-to-electric transitions in rock, with blues phrasing, fingerpicking, and raw emotional soloing. Green's vibrato and dynamic control on this album are a blueprint for expressive blues-rock lead playing.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Lindsey Buckingham is most associated with a custom Rick Turner Model 1, a semi-hollow guitar with a rotating pickup that blends between humbucker and single-coil voicings, giving him tonal versatility for both fingerpicked clean parts and aggressive rhythm work. He also frequently used a Gibson Les Paul Custom and various Martin acoustics, particularly a Martin D-28 for songs like "Landslide" and "Never Going Back Again." Peter Green played a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard with the famous reversed neck pickup that produced his signature out-of-phase tone.

Amp

Buckingham relied heavily on a pair of Fender Twin Reverbs for clean headroom and articulation, essential for fingerstyle playing where every nuance of the right hand needs to come through. He also used Mesa/Boogie Mark series amps for overdriven tones on tracks like "Go Your Own Way." Peter Green favored a cranked Fender Dual Showman and Marshall Bluesbreaker combos, running them at stage volume to get natural tube saturation and that creamy, singing sustain.

Pickups

The Rick Turner Model 1 uses a proprietary humbucker with a rotating mechanism that tilts the pickup from full humbucker to a more single-coil-like response, allowing Buckingham to dial in anything from warm, full-bodied fingerstyle tones to brighter, more cutting sounds. Peter Green's reversed PAF humbucker in the neck position of his Les Paul, the magnet was flipped, creating an out-of-phase nasal tone when both pickups were engaged, is one of the most famous pickup stories in guitar history and directly shaped the haunting sound of songs like "Albatross."

Effects & Chain

Buckingham kept his effects chain remarkably minimal, the vast majority of his tone comes from his fingers, the Turner guitar, and clean Fender amps. Occasional studio compression and light reverb are present on recordings, but there's no significant pedalboard to speak of. Peter Green similarly ran mostly straight into his amp, relying on volume knob manipulation and natural tube breakup for dynamics. The lesson from both players: tone lives in the hands, not the board.

Recommended Gear

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Peter Green's 1959 Les Paul Standard with its reversed PAF neck pickup created the iconic out-of-phase tone that defines Fleetwood Mac's early blues sound, heard on haunting tracks like 'Albatross.' This unique pickup configuration became one of rock's most legendary tonal accidents, directly shaping the band's mystical, creamy sustain.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Lindsey Buckingham used the Gibson Les Paul Custom alongside his Rick Turner for thicker, more aggressive rhythm parts and overdriven tones on Fleetwood Mac's 1977 masterpiece. The Les Paul's body warmth complemented his fingerstyle technique while providing the weight needed for songs like 'Go Your Own Way.'

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Lindsey Buckingham's pair of Fender Twin Reverbs provided the clean headroom and articulation essential for his fingerstyle playing, where every right-hand nuance cuts through clearly. The Twin Reverb's natural breakup and reverb gave Fleetwood Mac's intricate guitar arrangements their signature clarity and spaciousness.

How to Practice Fleetwood Mac on GuitarZone

Every Fleetwood Mac 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 Landslide - Guitar LessonPractice Never Going Back Again - Guitar TabPractice Rhiannon - Guitar Lesson