Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Panic! at the Disco

2 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Pop Rock

Choose a Panic! at the Disco Song to Play

Always - Guitar Lesson

YouTube Stats: 151K · 2.8K

GuitarLessons365SongLessons Guitar Lesson

Victorious - Guitar Cover

YouTube Stats: 91K · 3.1K

Kfir Ochaion Guitar Cover

Band Overview

Panic! At The Disco emerged from Las Vegas in 2004, originally as a four-piece fronted by Brendon Urie, with guitarist Ryan Ross crafting the band's early baroque pop and emo-influenced sound. Over the years, the project went through dramatic lineup changes and genre shifts, eventually becoming essentially a Brendon Urie solo vehicle by 2018. For guitarists, Panic! At The Disco is a fascinating case study in versatility. The catalog spans jangly Indie Rock, theatrical pop-punk, synth-driven arena pop, and even vaudeville-influenced arrangements, meaning the guitar parts range from rhythm-focused strumming patterns to inventive lead lines layered with effects. Ryan Ross was the original guitarist and primary songwriter through the first two albums, and his playing drew heavily from British Invasion jangle, post-punk arpeggios, and The Beatles-inspired chord voicings. His parts on the debut album are deceptively tricky, full of quick chord changes, unusual voicings, and melodic fills that weave around Urie's vocals. After Ross departed in 2009, the guitar role shifted. Touring guitarist Kenneth Harris joined the live lineup and handled guitar duties for much of the later catalog, bringing a more polished, pop-rock approach with tighter palm-muted chugs, cleaner arpeggiated passages, and occasional lead work that leans on delay-soaked melodic lines. For players looking to learn Panic! At The Disco songs, the difficulty level sits in the beginner-to-intermediate range overall. Songs like "Always" feature accessible chord progressions and strumming patterns that newer players can tackle, while tracks like "Victorious" incorporate driving eighth-note rhythms, power chord movement, and energetic palm-muting that will sharpen your timing and right-hand consistency. The real challenge often lies in nailing the dynamics and feel. Many songs shift quickly between quiet, clean verses and explosive, distorted choruses, so learning to manage your picking attack and volume knob becomes essential. If you want to develop your versatility as a rhythm guitarist and learn how guitar can serve a song across multiple genres, Panic! At The Disco is an excellent band to study.

What Makes Panic! at the Disco Essential for Guitar Players

Ryan Ross's early work relies heavily on jangly open chord voicings and arpeggiated patterns reminiscent of 1960s British pop guitar. Practicing these parts will develop your fingerpicking accuracy and chord transition speed in open positions.
Palm-muting is a core technique across Panic!'s more energetic tracks like "Victorious." The verse riffs use tight, muted eighth-note strumming on power chords that demand precise right-hand control to keep the rhythm punchy without muddying the low end.
Dynamic contrast is a hallmark of Panic! guitar parts. Many songs require you to shift from delicate clean arpeggios to full-on distorted power chord blasts within a few beats, making volume knob control and pickup switching essential skills to practice.
Several tracks feature melodic single-note fills between vocal phrases, often played on the higher strings with a clean or lightly overdriven tone. These parts are great for developing your ability to add tasteful embellishments without stepping on the vocal melody.
Kenneth Harris's live performances incorporate delay and reverb-heavy lead tones for atmospheric post-chorus sections. Learning to play in time with a dotted-eighth delay effect is a practical skill you can pick up from studying these arrangements.

Did You Know?

Ryan Ross originally cited The Smiths' Johnny Marr as a primary influence, which explains the jangly, arpeggiated guitar style on 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.' You can hear Marr-style sus2 and add9 chord voicings throughout the album.

The guitar on 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' was recorded with a combination of clean Fender tones and lightly driven amp settings, giving it that crisp, theatrical quality that contrasts with the heavier emo bands of the same era.

Brendon Urie is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, piano, bass, and drums. Several guitar parts on later albums were actually tracked by Urie himself in the studio rather than a dedicated guitarist.

Kenneth Harris, the touring guitarist from 2012 onward, came from a metalcore background, which is why some live performances feature tighter, more aggressive picking techniques than what appears on the studio recordings.

The band's debut album was largely recorded when the members were still teenagers, and many of the guitar parts were written using basic open chords reimagined with creative capo placements to achieve unusual voicings.

For 'Victorious,' the production team layered multiple guitar tracks with different gain levels to create a massive wall-of-sound effect. Recreating this live requires careful EQ and gain staging to fill the sonic space with just one guitar.

Ryan Ross famously used a Fender Telecaster and a Gibson SG at different points, reflecting his tonal shift from jangly indie to more classic rock-influenced sounds on 'Pretty. Odd.'

Essential Albums for Guitarists

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out 2005

This debut album is the best place to start for guitarists because it packs in the most varied guitar techniques. You will find staccato palm-muted verse riffs, jangly arpeggiated clean sections, and quick power chord transitions. Songs like 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' and 'Time to Dance' teach you how to balance rhythm guitar with theatrical song arrangements.

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Pretty. Odd. 2008

This album is a Beatles-influenced departure that will expand your acoustic and clean electric playing. Ryan Ross channels George Harrison with fingerpicked arpeggios, folk-rock strumming, and melodic lead fills. Tracks like 'Nine in the Afternoon' and 'Northern Downpour' are excellent for practicing open-position chord movement and adding subtle melodic embellishments.

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Death of a Bachelor 2016

For players interested in modern pop-rock guitar, this album showcases how to make guitar parts sit in a dense, synth-heavy mix. 'Victorious' is a great exercise in driving rhythm guitar and palm-muted power chords, while 'Emperor's New Clothes' features heavier distorted riffs that push into hard rock territory. It teaches you how to be effective without overplaying.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Ryan Ross was most closely associated with a Fender Telecaster during the early era, using its bright single-coil snap for the jangly clean tones that defined the first album. He later moved to a Gibson SG for warmer, midrange-heavy tones on 'Pretty. Odd.' Kenneth Harris has been seen with PRS Custom 24 guitars and various Fender Stratocasters during live performances, favoring the PRS for its versatility between clean and driven tones via the coil-split function.

Amp

The band's studio tones have been achieved through a mix of Fender Twin Reverbs for sparkling cleans and Vox AC30s for that chiming, slightly compressed crunch. For heavier sections, Marshall-style amps or amp modelers have been used to get thicker saturation. Kenneth Harris has used Kemper Profiling Amps live, which allows him to switch between clean Fender-style patches and high-gain Marshall profiles seamlessly between song sections.

Pickups

The tonal palette across Panic!'s catalog relies on the contrast between single-coil brightness and humbucker warmth. Ross's Telecaster used stock Fender single-coils for cutting, articulate cleans, while his SG ran stock Gibson humbuckers for a fuller midrange push. Harris's PRS guitars typically run the stock PRS 85/15 humbuckers, which offer a balanced output around 8.5k ohms, keeping dynamics responsive and clean tones bell-like while still having enough output for convincing crunch.

Effects & Chain

Panic! guitar tones lean on reverb and delay as primary effects. A digital delay set to dotted-eighth notes (think a Boss DD-7 or similar) creates the atmospheric repeats heard in many verses and post-chorus sections. Spring or plate reverb adds depth to clean arpeggios. A mild overdrive pedal, like a Tube Screamer or Klon-style circuit set at low gain, handles the bridge between clean and distorted tones. Chorus effects appear on some early tracks for that 80s-influenced shimmer. The overall approach is relatively minimal: the tone stays clear and defined rather than buried under heavy effects chains.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Kenneth Harris relies on the Stratocaster's versatile single-coil and humbucker combinations for live performances, allowing smooth transitions between Panic!'s clean, jangly verses and driven choruses. Its responsive dynamics complement the band's minimalist effects approach.

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Ryan Ross's signature tool during Panic!'s debut era, the Telecaster's bright single-coils deliver the cutting, articulate clean tones that define the album's jangly rhythmic foundation and atmospheric arpeggios.

Guitar

PRS Custom 24

Kenneth Harris favors the PRS Custom 24's balanced 85/15 humbuckers and coil-split versatility for live work, enabling bell-like cleans and convincing crunch without sacrificing the clarity essential to Panic!'s intricate arrangements.

Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

This amp provides the sparkling, dimensional clean tones foundational to Panic!'s studio sound, delivering the natural spring reverb that bathes the band's arpeggios and post-chorus passages in atmospheric depth.

Amp

Vox AC30

The AC30's naturally compressed, chiming crunch gives Panic! the slightly overdriven tone that bridges their clean verses and heavier sections while maintaining the tonal definition their layered arrangements demand.

Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

This mild overdrive pedal acts as Panic!'s secret weapon for connecting clean and distorted tones, pushing the amp gently into crunch without burying the articulation and clarity their minimalist effects philosophy requires.

How to Practice Panic! at the Disco on GuitarZone

Every Panic! at the Disco 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 Always - Guitar Lesson Practice Victorious - Guitar Cover