Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Girlschool

1 guitar song · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Hard Rock

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Race With The Devil - Guitar Tab

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Band Overview

Girlschool emerged from Leicester, England in 1978 as a Hard Rock and Heavy Metal outfit that proved women could play with the same technical ferocity and raw power as their male counterparts. Founded by bassist Enid Williams and drummer Denise Dufort, the band's core lineup featured guitarists Kim McAuliffe and Enid Williams (who doubled on rhythm guitar), delivering a sound rooted in classic hard rock with a British metal edge. At their peak in the early 1980s, Girlschool occupied a unique space in metal history, touring with Motorhead and releasing albums that showcased solid songwriting paired with competent, straightforward rock guitar work. What makes Girlschool essential for guitarists isn't virtuosity or innovative technique, but rather their demonstration of how attitude, consistency, and pocket-playing can command respect in a male-dominated scene. The band's guitar style relied on solid rhythm section work, catchy riff structures, and the kind of mid-range crunch you get from standard rock tone without needing excessive effects or complexity. Kim McAuliffe was the primary lead guitarist, handling both rhythm duties and occasional lead breaks, while the band's strength lay in their ability to write memorable, singable hard rock songs with functional but effective guitar parts. Learning Girlschool material teaches intermediate guitarists valuable lessons in straightforward rock construction, how to play in a tight ensemble, and the importance of serving the song rather than overcomplicating the arrangement. Their difficulty level sits comfortably in the intermediate range, making them accessible for players building confidence with power chords, basic pentatonic leads, and controlled distortion tone.

What Makes Girlschool Essential for Guitar Players

Girlschool's rhythm guitar work emphasizes downpicking and power chord clarity rather than complex techniques. Learning their riffs teaches you how to lock in with a tight rhythm section and deliver consistent, punchy rhythm guitar that sits well in a band mix without needing extended technique.
The band's lead guitar approach uses simple, melodic pentatonic scales in comfortable positions, making their solos highly learnable for intermediate players. Songs like 'Race With The Devil' feature leads you can grasp without excessive finger gymnastics, focusing instead on phrasing, timing, and bending control.
Girlschool demonstrates the power of chorus-based songwriting with repetitive, hooks-focused riff structures. This approach teaches guitarists how memorable riffs don't require complexity, just clarity and groove, which is invaluable for writing in rock and metal contexts.
The band's tone comes from straightforward gear setup and technique rather than processing or effects. Understanding how Kim McAuliffe shaped her tone through amp settings and picking attack rather than pedal chains is a practical lesson in core tone fundamentals that many modern players skip.
Girlschool's rhythm guitar often features palm-muting for dynamics and texture control, especially in verses before opening up to full power chords in choruses. This dynamic range, though subtle, is essential for modern rock playing and keeps songs from sounding one-dimensional.

Did You Know?

Girlschool toured extensively with Motorhead in the early 1980s, and their ability to hold their own against Lemmy's raw power gave them credibility in a scene where women were often sidelined. From a guitar perspective, this meant learning to play with precision and conviction in high-pressure live environments, which directly influenced their studio sound.

Kim McAuliffe's approach to lead guitar was deliberately modest and melodic rather than flashy. She focused on serving the song and maintaining clarity over the vocals, which is a valuable lesson for guitarists who might assume that technical ability should always be on display.

The band recorded their most famous material on a modest budget with straightforward production, meaning their tone is essentially 'guitar into amp into tape' with minimal overdubs. This raw approach influenced how they approached both tone-shaping and arrangement, avoiding the complex layering that became common in 1980s metal.

Girlschool's rhythm section of Denise Dufort (drums) and Enid Williams (bass) was unusually tight and groove-oriented for a metal band, pushing the guitarists to play with pocket and restraint rather than constantly filling space. This rhythm-focused interplay teaches modern guitarists valuable lessons about space and serving the song.

The band's first album was largely self-produced and self-financed, giving them complete control over their sound but also forcing them to be economical with studio time. This necessity led to straightforward arrangements and confident takes rather than endless layering, which paradoxically makes their material more learnable and more fun to play in a band context.

Kim McAuliffe and Enid Williams' guitar tone relied heavily on mid-range presence and natural distortion from cranked tube amps rather than pedal-driven effects. Learning to dial in a Marshall or similar rock amp for maximum punch without losing definition is a practical skill their catalog reinforces.

Girlschool's live reputation was built on tight playing and confident stage presence rather than complex arrangements, meaning their studio recordings are relatively faithful to what you hear in a live setting. This directness makes their songs excellent learning material because what you see on tabs is what you actually need to play.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Demolition 1980

Demolition is Girlschool's most essential album for guitarists because it showcases their best balance of memorable riffs, accessible songwriting, and competent lead work. Songs like 'Race With The Devil' and 'Emergency' feature straightforward but effective power chord progressions and pentatonic lead work that teaches intermediate players how to construct engaging rock songs without overcomplication. The production clarity lets you hear exactly how the guitar sits in the mix, making it invaluable for understanding tone and arrangement choices.

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Hit and Run 1981

Hit and Run represents Girlschool at their commercial peak and offers a slightly more polished production while maintaining their core straightforward rock approach. The album is excellent for learning how to layer rhythm guitar parts for texture without losing clarity, and the lead guitar work demonstrates solid control over bending, vibrato, and phrasing within a pentatonic framework. Songs on this album are consistently strong teaching material for players developing their rhythm playing confidence.

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Warrior 1982

Warrior shows the band pushing slightly toward heavier, more complex arrangements while still maintaining accessibility. The guitar work demonstrates more dynamic use of open strings, alternate picking patterns, and controlled distortion texture. This album is particularly useful for intermediate players working on tightening their rhythm playing and understanding how dynamics can shape a song's impact without requiring technical pyrotechnics.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Kim McAuliffe primarily used Gibson SG models throughout Girlschool's classic era, favoring the instrument's lighter weight and aggressive aesthetic that matched the band's hard rock identity. Gibson SGs from the 1978-1982 period featured traditional single-coil pickups (not humbuckers), which gave Girlschool's tone more treble presence and bite compared to heavier-voiced instruments. The SG's thin body and bright natural tone cut through in a band mix effectively, which was critical for being heard alongside a powerful rhythm section and Motorhead's overwhelming volume during their touring partnership. Stock hardware and minimal modifications kept the tone direct and focused on playing dynamics rather than equipment compensation.

Amp

Girlschool's core tone came from Marshall amplifiers, the standard British rock stack of the era. Kim McAuliffe likely used Marshall 100-watt heads (either JMP or early JCM models) pushed to around 6-7 on the master volume for that natural power-tube saturation and breakup that defined early 1980s rock guitar tone. The setup was simple and road-tested: head into a Marshall 4x12 cabinet with Celestion Greenback speakers for vintage bark and presence. No channel switching, no effects loops, just straightforward volume-dependent distortion and natural speaker compression, which meant tone came entirely from picking attack and dynamics rather than processing.

Pickups

Gibson SG single-coil pickups of the late 1970s and early 1980s were traditionally bright and spiky with a sharp attack and less bass bloom than humbuckers. These pickups forced guitarists to rely on technique and amp tone rather than pickup output for sustain and distortion, making them ideal for learning proper muting control and picking dynamics. The single-coil character also helped Girlschool cut through in a live band context and prevented the tone from becoming too muddy or compressed when driven through a cranked Marshall stack.

Effects & Chain

Girlschool's guitar tone was notably direct and effect-free, with minimal use of pedals or processing chains. The band's straightforward approach to tone was actually a strength in hard rock contexts, where clarity and punch matter more than textural effects. Any effects used were minimal and primarily for specific song moments rather than constant texturing. This direct signal path is an invaluable lesson for modern guitarists conditioned to assume that tone requires extensive pedalboards: Girlschool proves that a good guitar, a quality amp, and confident playing technique are sufficient for professional, commercially successful rock tones.

How to Practice Girlschool on GuitarZone

Every Girlschool 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 Race With The Devil - Guitar Tab