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Glam Metal Guitar

47 songs · 13 artists

Glam metal (also called hair metal) combined flashy guitar solos, big ballads and arena-sized hooks with image-conscious showmanship. It dominated the Sunset Strip in the late 80s and produced some of the most fun guitar songs ever written.

Motley Crue, Poison, Skid Row and Def Leppard bring the riffs, solos and power ballads. If you want to learn vibrato, string bending and melodic soloing, glam metal is a gold mine.

Songs to Start With

Motley Crue - Kickstart My HeartDef Leppard - Pour Some Sugar on MeScorpions - Still Loving YouSteelheart - She's Gone
A
Autograph 1
  1. 1 Turn Up The Radio LESSON 1984
View all Autograph songs →
B
Black Diamond 1
  1. 1 Kiss 💎 TAB 1986
View all Black Diamond songs →
C
Cinderella 5
  1. 1 Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) TAB 1988
  2. 2 Gypsy Road LESSON 1988
  3. 3 Heartbreak Station LESSON 1990
  4. 4 Nobody's Fool TAB 1986
  5. 5 Shake Me LESSON 1986
View all Cinderella songs →
D
Dokken 6
  1. 1 Alone Again LESSON 1984
  2. 2 Breaking the Chains LESSON 1981
  3. 3 Dream Warriors LESSON 1987
  4. 4 In My Dreams LESSON 1985
  5. 5 Into the Fire TAB 1984
  6. 6 Unchain The Night LESSON 1985
View all Dokken songs →
E
EUROPE 1
  1. 1 Carrie _ International Collaboration_ TAB 1987
View all EUROPE songs →
F
Firehouse 2
  1. 1 Love of a Lifetime LESSON 1990
  2. 2 When I Look Into Your Eyes LESSON 1992
View all Firehouse songs →
M
Motley Crue 11
  1. 1 Dr. Feelgood TAB 1989
  2. 2 Girls TAB 1987
  3. 3 Home Sweet Home TAB 1985
  4. 4 Kickstart My Heart TAB 1989
  5. 5 Live Wire TAB 1981
  6. 6 Looks That Kill TAB 1983
  7. 7 Same Ol' Situation TAB 1989
  8. 8 Shout At The Devil TAB 1983
  9. 9 Smokin' In The Boys Room LESSON 1985
  10. 10 Take Me To The Top TAB 1981
  11. 11 Too Young To Fall In Love LESSON 1983
View all Motley Crue songs →
P
Poison 6
  1. 1 Every Rose Has Its Thorn TAB 1988
  2. 2 Fallen Angel LESSON 1988
  3. 3 Life Goes On LESSON 1990
  4. 4 Nothin’ But a Good Time TAB 1988
  5. 5 Something To Believe In LESSON 1990
  6. 6 Talk Dirty To Me TAB 1986
View all Poison songs →
R
Ratt 4
  1. 1 Body Talk LESSON 1990
  2. 2 Lay It Down TAB 1985
  3. 3 Round and Round TAB 1984
  4. 4 You're In Love TAB 1985
View all Ratt songs →
S
Skid Row 5
  1. 1 18 and Life TAB 1989
  2. 2 I Remember You TAB 1989
  3. 3 In a Darkened Room LESSON 1991
  4. 4 Monkey Business LESSON 1991
  5. 5 Youth Gone Wild TAB 1989
View all Skid Row songs →
Steelheart 2
  1. 1 She's Gone TAB 1990
  2. 2 She's Gone s TAB 1990
View all Steelheart songs →
T
Tesla 1
  1. 1 Love Song LESSON 1989
View all Tesla songs →
W
White Lion 2
  1. 1 Wait LESSON 1987
  2. 2 When the Children Cry LESSON 1987
View all White Lion songs →

Glam Metal Guitar Style

Glam metal guitar sits between hard rock and shred. The rhythm parts use open power chords and palm-muted chugging, while the solos lean heavily on pentatonic runs, wide vibrato and melodic phrasing. Many glam metal solos are more singable than technical, which makes them great for developing your ear and expression.

The tone is typically a hot-rodded Marshall: lots of gain but with more presence and brightness than thrash metal. Many songs also feature clean arpeggiated intros (the power ballad formula) that are perfect for practicing chord transitions.

Kickstart My Heart delivers high-energy rhythm and a memorable solo. She's Gone is one of the greatest power ballad guitar performances ever recorded. Pour Some Sugar on Me is pure arena rock fun.

Explore the broader Hard Rock genre or see what else the 80s had to offer.